IMPORTANT NOTE: As of January 2015 MGWCC is a subscribers-only crossword. The cost is $26 per year, and you can subscribe (or get a free trial month first) here:

www.mgwcc.com

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:

Strange instructions last week! They were:

To solve this meta,
do as I will instruct you —
or else you will fail!

The three theme entries, each a grid-spanner, were:

17-A [Lines hiding herein] = TWENTY-FOUR POEMS
34-A [How to do as I instruct] = OBEY ELEVENS ONLY
54-A [Solvers must do this] = UNCOVER YOUR TASK

OK, so what’s happening here? Some solvers noticed that there are 72 clues, which would divide nicely into 24 three-line poems. Others noticed that both the meta instructions and the three theme entries are oddly phrased. Still others noticed a lack of one-word clues, or of any particularly short clues at all.

All this seems to point to HAIKU, but what is this “task” that you must uncover by “obey[ing] elevens only”?

It turns out that every three clues in this puzzle take the 5-7-5 syllable pattern of a haiku. For instance, 1-Across is five syllables [Danza sitcom word], 5-Across is seven syllables [Corridors you walk right down], and 10-Across is five syllables [Comedian Mort].

Final step is to realize that ELEVENS refers to the eleventh syllable of each haiku, which would be the penultimate syllable of each seven-syllable clue. They are:

[Corridors you walk right down]
[T.S. who adored the cats]
[Thug who may stink at word games]
[In cuteness, scoring highly]
[Burly, like Gerry Cooney]
[How to do as I instruct]
[Sheep only seen in the dark]
[Bills whose back features an eye]
[Hooky players’ are certain]
[Where you can dump flour boxes]
[Zaps with an overall shock]
[He made machines for sewing]
[“Listen up now, alright dude?”]
[Gehrig who would play outside]
[God often seeking a fight]
[Organ that may look crosswise]
[Woodwinds much seen in word games]
[Those who earn very highly]
[Event with hugs and cooing]
[Sort of torte eaten in Linz]
[Kind of org. that hosts the frats]
[When spotting deer is common]
[Votes for those parliament folk]
[Brand name on vodka boxes]

Read these 11th syllables aloud and you get the task: write the word haiku in the answer box; also write out a crossword haiku in the comment box. 203 solvers did just that, and some of the most entertaining were:

daviddwild:

A crossword haiku?
I’m not very poetic
I hope this one counts

rogerf4:

Words across and down
The secret of the meta
There goes my weekend.

Matthew G.:

A perfect month, me?
Not in ages! But today
Toddler took long nap.

Aerion:

You won’t believe these
Sixty-eight amazing clues!!!
–Caleb Madison

(Caleb’s the editor of the new BuzzFeed puzzles, if you didn’t know already)

Lisa from Queens:

Suddenly, I cheered
Startling fellow commuters.
I’d solved a Week 4!

KAW:

O English degree!
You are useful at long last
To solve a crossword.

And finally, zezimmerman:

metas can be hard
they do not always make sense
refrigerator

There were a lot more that I’d like to share, so I’m going to run a few each week here for the rest of the month.

This week’s winner, whose name was chosen randomly from the 203 correct entries received, is Coreen Steinbach of Pompey, N.Y. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, Coreen will also receive a signed copy of William Bernhardt’s new game/puzzle-based novel The Game Master.

SPECIAL PRIZE THIS WEEK AND NEXT:

In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, weekly winners this week and next will also receive a copy of Brendan Quigley’s new Marching Bands Kickstarter project.

MONTHLY WINNERS:

82 solvers submitted the correct contest answer to all four of March’s challenges (THE PEACE CORPS, SURGEON, MISS POTTER, HAIKU). The following ten skillful and lucky winners, chosen randomly from that group, will receive a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set:

Michael Areinoff — Tucson, Ariz.

Cynthia Wong — Mountain View, Calif.

Congratulations to our ten winners, and to everyone who went 4-for-4 in March.

ACPT RESULTS:

Congratulations also to Dan Feyer, who won his record sixth consecutive American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in a photo finish last weekend. Dan broke the fivepeat record of second-place finisher Tyler Hinman, and next year will aim to tie the record for overall ACPT wins, currently held by the legendary Jon Delfin (7 championship titles). Bravo, Dan!

GORDON KICKSTARTER:

Peter Gordon’s Fireball Newsflash Crosswords Kickstarter is down to its final day, and needs one last push to make it over the top! Kick in to receive 20 top-quality (I don’t throw that word around lightly) crosswords with current events themes for as little as $6 (with cool swag for a higher pledge).

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is a three-letter word often found in crossword grids.

IMPORTANT NOTE: As of January 2015, MGWCC is a subscribers-only crossword. The cost is $26 per year, and you can subscribe (or get a free trial month first) here:

www.mgwcc.com

Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.