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:
Instructions last week asked: what sea creature would make a good sixth theme entry for this puzzle?
And the first five were:
17-A [Event at which you might hear: “Pardon me, sir, but might I have permission to smash this barstool over your head?”?] = QUAINT BRAWL
11-D [Danger for Tevye when there’s a thunderstorm?] = FIDDLE SHOCK
55-A [Accidentally back over a piece of Olympic equipment?] = FLATTEN LUGE
25-D [Song about the current Best Actress winner?] = LARSON DITTY
39-A [How to pay for your Vietnamese soup?] = PHO COIN
Where have you heard these before? While memorizing state capital lists as a child, since they all rhyme with a two-worder: “Saint Paul” sounds like “quaint brawl;” “Little Rock” sounds like “fiddle shock;” “Baton Rouge” sounds like “flatten luge;” “Carson City” sounds like “Larson ditty;” and “pho coin” sounds like “Des Moines.”
“I got the meta!”
So we need a two-word sea creature that sounds like a state capital, and that’d be contest answer MANTA RAY, which sounds like Santa Fe. Which is the state capital of New Mexico, the only state that appears in this puzzle’s clues (12-D), which may or may not have been a total coincidence. 1 in 50 shot! I won’t say.
Gwinns says:
Thanks! Looking forward to the discussion of the pronunciation of Pho.
Staunton just got its first pho restaurant a few weeks ago and the town is going through this linguistic struggle as we speak. It’s about 50% “fuh” and 50% “foe” right now. I know it’s closer to “fuh” in the original but I still say “foe” since I’m a coward. Before you judge me I want to hear you order “bruschetta” with a “k” sound in an Italian place.
FrotzNPL quips:
My answer has no fault, take pity!
Raygirl asks:
You chose that for me, right?
drdans entered MANTA RAY, with the comment:
(Which has never been spotted in NM)
You’d think! But while performing due diligence to make sure that no crossword had ever used this theme idea before (it hadn’t, at least not that I could find), I found this amusingly named group:
http://santafeswimmingclub.net/mantarays.htm
Eckmania reports:
I Concord the meta!
Winded was there:
How timely for me. I’m on vacation in Mexico and actually saw one of these today.
jimaquaman too, once:
In 1984 I lived on Oahu near the Ala Wai Canal, and I saw a manta with wingspan of at least 30 feet, swimming out to sea. I will never forget that!
And finally, hieronymous is on the scoreboard:
My first time submitting the answer.
You’re 1 for 1! Keep it up.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen randomly from the 415 correct entries received, is Lisa Marchessault of Ferndale, Mich. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, Lisa will also receive a subscription to Peter Gordon’s 2016-2017 Fireball Newsflash Crosswords, which he recently revived after the first campaign fell a little short. Three days left to fund this one, and it looks like it’ll make it!
OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN:
Forgot to ask Brendan Quigley to judge the three funniest entries band name entries last week! Crikey. Will do it this week for sure and report back.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a large and highly populated area.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.