LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
A new record: 694 solvers found COLORADO as the U.S. state in question last week, smashing the old record from February of this year (which was 645). Our numbers are growing and we cannot be stopped!
The four theme entries each contained a city in Colorado, emboldened below:
17-a [“Do unto others as you would have done unto you,” with “The”] = GOLDEN RULE
25-a [The Northern Lights] = AURORA BOREALIS
41-a [Stock prop in the Road Runner cartoons] = FALLING BOULDER. Slightly contrived, but tell that to Wile E. Coyote, who’s been smashed by many such boulders.
55-a [He began a song with “Almost heaven / West Virginia”] = JOHN DENVER
So COLORADO it had to be.
Particularly entertaining inbox this week:
Al (a Colorodan) writes:
I would hope I could get this one :-). If I didn’t, I’d plead the excuse of my brain being frozen, as it was 6 below this morning.
Brent Holman says:
Just bought tickets for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival this morning, in fact.
Jonesy:
golden almost threw me off, but to no aVail!
Jay Beaustaddy:
Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way” was on the radio while I solved this puzzle. Coincidence?
Jon Eric:
I had my suspicions when I saw golDEN, VERified with the other theme entries.
Gwinns:
Colorado Springs to mind…
Golem:
I could tell by the shape of the grid it was either that or Wyoming.
Mark G:
I’m expecting an avalanche of rapid responses.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen randomly from the 694 correct entries received, is David Poole of Peterborough, Ontario. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, David will also receive a copy of my new Kickstarter project, “Murder by Meta”. Speaking of which…
KICKSTARTER UPDATE:
First week went ridiculously well, and huge thanks to all of you who’ve backed the project. The funding goal of $5,000 was reached in four days, and folks are still signing up. Get in on the meta-fun here (even if you’re not backing it, at least watch the video — I spent a lot of time on it and think it turned out pretty funny).
MONTHLY WINNERS:
Blanked on this last week, but here it is now: 39 solvers submitted the correct contest answer to all five of November’s challenges (OZARK MOUNTAINS, ROOK, KING, VISWANATHAN ANAND, KHAKI/CINCH/GEN Y). The following ten lucky and skillful winners, chosen randomly from that group, will receive a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set:
Jeremy Conner — Los Angeles, Calif.
Mark Diehl — San Jose, Calif.
Joe Fendel — Berkeley, Calif.
Peter Gordon — Great Neck, N.Y.
Bob Klahn — Wilmington, Del.
Mark Navarrete — Quezon City, Philippines
Joon Pahk — Somerville, Mass.
Jason Rau — Carlsbad, Calif.
Peter Washington — Chico, Calif.
Stephen Williams — Holbrook, Mass.
Congratulations to our ten winners, and to everyone who went 5-for-5 in November.
RIES’S MASTERPIECES:
This is cool: Andrew Ries is re-launching his Rows Garden website as a subscription service in the new year, the pricing of which is intriguing (I think he was inspired by that Radiohead album a few years ago). Get an explanation of that and a free sample puzzle here.
BRODA’S BACK, TOO:
Good thing I never took the link off the sidebar! Check The Cross Nerd out here. This appears to be the season of cruciverbal rebirth. Bring it on!
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is one of America’s Founding Fathers. Submit your answer in the form on the left sidebar by Tuesday at noon ET. Note: the submissions form disappears from the site promptly at noon on Tuesday.
To print the puzzle out, click on the image below and hit “print” on your browser. To solve using Across Lite either solve on the applet below or download the free software here, then join the Google Group (2,146 members now!) here.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.