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:
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
385 solvers correctly answered last week’s meta, which is just about right for a Week 2 of 4. The meta was the answer to a riddle, spelled out in the puzzle’s five theme entries:
WHICH JAMES / BOND NOVEL / IS THE FAVORITE OF / VALENTINA / TERESHKOVA?
Who’s that? Valentina Tereshkova is a Russian who became the first woman in space on June 16th, 1963. She’s from Russia and her name is “Valentina” and Valentine’s Day fell on last Sunday, so the meta answer was FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE.
End of story, right? Just another Week 2 with the right number of entries? Hardly. The puzzle got the lowest ratings of any MGWCC in recent memory over at Crossword Fiend, as well as the highest number of ratings in years (hmm…).
71 solvers sent in the answer MOONRAKER, since Tereshkova went to space and there’s even a crater on the moon named for her (though there are lunar craters named for over 1,000 people). No one really felt good about that answer, but they pointed out that the title “Space Oddity” implies that the answer will have something to do with space, which “From Russia, With Love” does not. Many also expected a “riddle” to have a humorous answer and were puzzled since the intended answer isn’t funny. I meant “riddle” as lateral thinking puzzle a la the Riddle of the Sphinx, but that word caused confusion for some.
Solvers also did not the like the intended answer itself, since the Valentina –> Valentine’s Day connection did not have the meta click that crossword writers seek to provide; even when they had FRWL, they weren’t sure it was right.
So here’s what we’ll do: if you’re one of the 385 solvers who submitted FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE, then you’re good. If you’re one of the 71 who sent in MOONRAKER, you will get credit for the meta on the yearly leaderboard and on Streaks (i.e. it will not snap your streak), but are not eligible for monthly prizes in February and were not part of the weekly drawing.
So my apologies for that dud; I know it’s frustrating when there’s no click, and you definitely let me hear about it at Fiend.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen randomly from the 385 correct entries received, is Tim Platt of South Berwick, Me. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, Tim will also receive a 1-year subscription to MGDX.
TWO THINGS:
1) When you’re done with this one (or as a warm-up for this one), head over to my contest puzzle in the Wall Street Journal. Deadline there to enter is Sunday at midnight ET:
http://blogs.wsj.com/puzzle/2016/02/18/what-am-i-missing-friday-crossword-contest/
2) Every month since 2013 I’ve been awarding a “Crossword of the Month” to the best crossword published anywhere, be it a major newspaper or obscure personal blog or anything in between.
See January’s five nominees and one winner here:
http://gaffneyoncrosswords.com/?p=720
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a message from you to me about this puzzle.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.
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: