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:
“We Stand Together As One” was last week’s title, and we sought a famous TV character. The identity of theme entries was non-obvious; the four longest entries were 9 letters apiece, but only one of them was theme, for instance. Lots of initialisms and abbreviations, though, which served as an entry point to successful meta-solvers.
What they noticed: seven squares in the grid cross at an initialism/abbreviation, and the letter they cross at stands for the same word both ways. In top-to-bottom order:
1-D [MVP in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013] = LBJ, crossing 17-A [Colonial Athletic Association team] = JMU DUKES at the J, which stands for James both ways (LeBron James and James Madison University).
23-A [Not-very-feared Pepsi rival] = RC COLA, crossing 23-D [Dudley Do-Right’s org.] = RCMP at the R, which stands for Royal both ways (Royal Crown Cola and Royal Canadian Mounted Police).
28-A [911 responder] = EMT, crossing 11-D [Org. that won the 1965 Nobel Peace Prize] = UNICEF at the E, which stands for Emergency both ways (Emergency Medical Technician and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund).
39-A [Setting for many video games] = WWIII, crossing 30-D [Many a Vietnam vet] = POW at the W, which stands for War both ways (World War III and prisoner of war).
50-A [Cloak-and-dagger types, sometimes] = CIA AGENTS, crossing 51-D [Where 100 isn’t an A+] = IQ TEST at the I, which stands for Intelligence both ways (Central Intelligence Agency and Intelligence Quotient).
54-A [Netflix hit, briefly] = OITNB, crossing 43-D [Letters on fashionable caps] = DKNY at the N, which stands for New both ways (“Orange Is the New Black” and Donna Karan New York).
66-A [Possibly temporary baseball exec] = ACTING GM, crossing 68-D [Chain that sells vitamins] = GNC at the G, which stands for general both ways (general manager and General Nutrition Center).
Those spell contest answer J.R. EWING, an initials-named person himself, but also ironically apt since his JR stands for two different things — his name “John Ross,” but also that his father had the same name so he’s also a “junior.”
Here’s an earworm for you. Very ’70s, down to the copter’s shadow on the buildings.
Gwinns writes:
“Acronyms that intersect. This seems easy.” “Wait, why isn’t the I from WWIII/IOS part of this?”
Similarly, Ertchin:
I *almost* asked about the stray Q in the answer, then I checked the entries more closely.
JrMan (!) says:
Didn’t click until I was typing “meaningless” letter sequence JREWING into an anagram solver.
Molson says:
Getting a week 4? I must be dreaming!
BretBloomquist laments:
I wish you could have pulled off H.R. Pufnstuf
Burghman got there via a fascinating path, unintended by me:
Wow, talk about luck! As I was transcribing various initialisms, I mistook LBJ for the president, which led to “Conrad Bain is in the puzzle”. Lo and behold they intersect at the ‘B’!!!! And that was my big breakthrough even though it was wrong and not involved.
And finally, Jonesy writes:
i’m on such a roll! longest streak by far but i’m worried for next week….
As you should be…
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from among the 219 correct entries received, is Jerry Cushman of Virginia Beach, Va. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set, Jerry will also receive a 1-year subscription to Matt Gaffney’s Daily Crossword.
ACPT CHAMP:
Congratulations to Dan Feyer on his record-tying 7th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament victory, which he achieved even though he ran into technical difficulties mid-solve!
Congrats also to Jeopardy! champ / Puzzle writer / MGWCC blogger Joon Pahk on his 2nd-place finish, and to five-time champ Tyler Hinman on his 3rd-place finish (which was almost a first-place finish), as well as to tournament director Will Shortz and his team.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a 20th-century year.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.