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:
A tougher-than-usual Week 1 from Byron, as a mere 387 solvers correctly found the relevant midwestern city. Our five theme entries were:
18-A [“Jeez Louise!”] = FOR THE LOVE OF PETE
28-A [Harries with hounds] = SICS THE DOGS ON
37-A [Risked needing Alka-Seltzer] = ATE THE WHOLE THING
46-A [Radio reporter Herb Morrison’s immortal words] = OH, THE HUMANITY. When the Hindenburg crashed.
62-A [Working against] = TO THE DETRIMENT OF.
What’s the common link? Each entry begins with the homophone of a number: FOR / SICS / ATE / OH / TO. Is “oh” a number? If you’re spelling out a zip code it is, and 46802, as Google will tell you, is a zip code in meta answer FORT WAYNE, INDIANA. Birthplace of Bill Blass, Shelley Long, and many others you can peruse here.
Tony Antonakas says:
ZIPped through this one!
Steve Jorgensen had an in:
Thanks, Mr. Walden! Helps that my wife had her own column in the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette from 1975-1981. From there to the NY Times for her.
And Maggles says:
Yay! I WON the crossword!
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen randomly from the 387 correct entries received, is Darantius of Baguio, the Philippines. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, Darantius will also receive a 1-year subscription to Matt Gaffney’s Daily Crossword (MGDX).
Thanks for an outstanding and original Week 1, Byron! Tough one, but we’re kicking it up a notch anyway…
GUEST CONSTRUCTOR MONTH, WEEK 2:
Sam Donaldson is our Guest Constructor this week. He’s a law professor at Georgia State by day, but moonlights as both a crossword constructor (he won my Crossword of the Month award in May 2014 with a very beautiful theme idea) and a writer (he’s in charge of the annual Orca Awards at Diary of a Crossword Fiend).
So let’s see what he’s got in store. It’s a 21×21 grid, so I’ll let you get started ASAP!
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is something much sought after.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.