LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
Something was a little off with all five pieces of theme trivia last week:
17-A [Neighbor of Iran] = KAZAKHSTAN
25-A [Best Actress winner after Young] = Olivia DE HAVILLAND
36-A [Churchill successor] = Harold MACMILLAN
50-A [Element next to fermium on the periodic table] = CALIFORNIUM
60-A [Prime number preceding 101] = EIGHTY-NINE
But none if those is quite right; in each case, in fact, there’s something between what’s in the clue and the given answer:
Iran doesn’t neighbor KAZAKHSTAN; Turkmenistan is between them
Loretta Young was followed as Best Actress not by DE HAVILLAND but by Jane Wyman
Churchill was not succeeded by MACMILLAN directly; Anthony Eden served between them
CALIFORNIUM and fermium are not next to each other on the periodic table; einsteinium comes between them
The prime number preceding 101 is in fact ninety-seven, which comes between it and EIGHTY-NINE.
Take the first letter of those in-betweeners — Turkmenistan, Wyman, Eden, einsteinium, and ninety-seven — and you get contest answer TWEEN, indeed a fitting kind of person for this meta.
kaes says:
Appropriate for the middle week of the month!
Ed liked it:
Very nice! I like how one’s entrypoint to solving the meta likely depended on one’s expertise: math, chemistry, geography, history popular culture. I knew 89 was wrong, and everything followed from there.
GMatthews is doing well:
Only two left ‘tween me and my first complete month!
Jed understands the contest answer:
I just recently acquired one of these.
People solve MGWCC all over the world, like cor:
I’m ‘tween planes in the Delhi airport lounge.
And finally, Asdanf figures:
If only the title had been “Puzzle After Week 2”, I’d be able to claim credit for solving a week 4.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from among the 325 correct entries received, is Stephen McNeil of Petaluma, Calif. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set, Stephen will also receive a 1-year subscription to Matt Gaffney’s Daily Crossword.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
Guest Constructor this week! Dave Sullivan is the web guru for MGWCC, implementing and maintaining the leaderboards without which this site couldn’t function. He’s also an accomplished constructor, and I think you’ll dig this meta as much as I did.
This week’s contest answer is a restaurant in the U.S.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.