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:
You already know that some things are shaped like a letter — but how many things are shaped like their first letter? I decided to find out, and a meta was born. And no counting things that are named for that letter, like A-frame houses, I-beams and T-shirts!
I found 10 good ones, and asked solvers to find two intersecting grid entries that could combine to form a fifth (theme entry). Successful metapuzzlers noticed that:
LOUISIANA looks like an L
an ORANGE looks like an O
an UDDER looks like a U
MOUNTAINS look like an M
an ARROWHEAD looks like an A
a TABLE looks like a T
a CROISSANT looks like a C
a VALLEY looks like a V
Which two intersecting entries fit this pattern? SNAKE BUTTOCKS, since a snake looks like an S and, not to be indelicate, but the human buttocks do indeed resemble a capital B.
PGW thought the meta was:
polystyrene_man writes:
Those are two words I never expected to type together.
ASB found an error:
FYI 46D: Robert Parish spells his name with only one R
Whoops. His jersey number was famously double-zero, and I get a zero for that.
Jonesy says:
4 for 4 finally! (only done it once before)
Nice!
Vraal points out:
This answer is close to the bees knees!
Veep asks:
Amusing. Did you consider others? Icicle and Pennant seem pretty good.
I found ICICLE but couldn’t fit it in. I stared at the P for a while but couldn’t come up with anything. Wish I’d seen PENNANT, since it’s very nice!
Maggie W. found ICICLE, plus another that I missed:
We’re having a cold spell in NYC, but all the buildings have turned off the heat. Egads. Guess I’ll retreat to my igloo, or as I like to call it, my Icicle Dome.
And finally, Eckmania writes, in one of my all-time favorite MGWCC e-mails:
I struggled with this week 4- for hours- until I asked my eight year old, “what does this look like to you?” She said that a mountain kinda looks like an M and an orange looks like an O. Took her about 2 seconds.
MONTHLY PRIZES:
175 solvers submitted the correct contest answer to all four of April’s challenges (OVA, PANHANDLE, JOSS WHEDON, SNAKE BUTTOCKS). The following ten skillful and lucky winners, chosen randomly from that group, will receive a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set:
Thomas Brendel — Dunwoody, Ga.
Sharon Caraballo — Clifton, Va.
Jeff Chen — Seattle, Wash.
R.H.
Bob Johnson — Ambler, Penna.
Debbie Keller — Rochester Hills, Mich.
Bob Kin — North Chesterfield, Va.
Joshua Kosman — San Francisco, Calif.
Mike Miller — New York City, N.Y.
Dave Sullivan — South Woodstock, Vt.
Congratulations to our ten winners, and to everyone who went 4-for-4 in April.
CRYPTIC STATEMENT:
Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto write The Nation‘s cryptic crosswords, and I’m informed that this week’s is especially cool (I’ll be solving it myself later this afternoon). It lies behind a paywall, but if you’ve ever considered subscribing, this would be the week to do it.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a country.
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.