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 were looking for a soon-to-be-prominent group of people last week, and our one theme entry was the central spanner at 33-Across: [Risky financial practice, or a hint to the meta (not that I’m doubting the creditworthiness of any of the meta answer people!)] = SUBPRIME LENDING. Now what?
Sub is Latin for “under,” and prime hints at prime numbers. And there’s the trick: take the 17 square numbers in this grid that are prime, and then look at the box underneath them (in orange above). They spell out contest answer GUEST CONSTRUCTORS, and June is Guest Constructor Month here at my site, so I’m indeed handing over the the keys. Don’t trash the place, you kids!
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from among the 315 correct entries received, is Kate Deyst of Harvard, Mass. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set, Kate will also receive a 1-year subscription to Matt Gaffney’s Daily Crossword.
MAY WINNERS:
Congratulations to the following 10 May MGWCC winners, whose names were chosen at random from among the 179 people who sent in the correct contest answer to each of last month’s four puzzles (TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, DISNEY, ALL-AROUND, GUEST CONSTRUCTORS). Each will also receive a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set:
Steve Bernstein — Flint, Mich.
Neville Fogarty — Newport News, Va.
Jake Kesselman — Philadelphia, Penna.
Joshua Kosman — San Francisco, Calif.
John Kromer — Providence, R.I.
K.M.
Giovanni Pagano — Newark, Del.
Scott Rogoff — Mountain View, Calif.
Alex Sisti — Whitesboro, N.Y.
Doug Zongker — Mountain View, Calif.
Congratulations to our ten winners, and to everyone who went 4-for-4 in May.
GUEST CONSTRUCTOR MONTH, PUZZLE #1:
Here we go — Guest Constructor Month 2017 starts NOW!
We lead off with a big one, a 19×19 co-constructed by husband-and-wife team Amanda Chung and Karl Ni plus indie crossword great Erik Agard.
Karl and Amanda live in the Bay Area with their dog Rosie. They’ve been married for three years, during which Amanda introduced Karl to her love of crossword puzzles. They attended ACPT for the first time this year and met Erik on the way back from lunch, which led to this collaboration. So that’s a fringe benefit of attending a crossword tournament! You might get to co-construct a puzzle with…
Erik Agard is a force of nature in the crossword world. His extremely entertaining blog is here, and you can find him this weekend co-directing the Indie 500 Crossword Tournament in Washington, D.C.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
Someone’s been pilfering letters from local restaurant signs! As managers struggle to adapt, it’s up to you to solve this heinous crime. The meta answer is the culprit.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.