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:
Tough for a week 1 out of 5, and with a nasty (but unintentional) trap that even snapped a 3-year-plus streak (oof). We were looking for something on my schedule for today, and our six starred entries were:
17-A [*Summer month packed with activities?] = BUSY JULY
32-A [*Cheer Liu up after “The Man With the Iron Fists” bombed at the box office?] = BUOY LUCY
46-A [*The most pathetic little wharf on the sea?] = PUNY QUAY
64-A [*Blind rage 1980s pop star Lewis goes into when a studio session isn’t going well?] = HUEY FURY
11-D [*Garland in “The Wizard of Oz,” when putting on those slippers?] = RUBY JUDY
40-D [*Upstate college named for a former Big Apple mayor?] = SUNY RUDY
So we’ve got six phrases containing two two-letter words, each of which features a *U*Y letter pattern. The only plausible thing on my schedule that fits there is JURY DUTY, found by 497 solvers (very low for a Week 1/5). As it happened, Friday’s jury duty was called off the evening before due to insufficient criminal activity in the area.
BABY DUTY was submitted by 9 solvers, including the brilliant Jeff C., whose 3-year-plus sneak abruptly snapped. Nobody’s guard is up on a Week 1, and I do have a 5-month-old, so BABY DUTY seemed right if you hadn’t noticed that *both* words in each theme entry are *U*Y. Alas…but spring is upon us soon, so what better time for a renewed streak to sprout.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from among the 497 correct entries received, is Terri Lyon of Maryville, Tenn. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set, Terri will also receive a 1-year subscription to Matt Gaffney’s Daily Crossword.
SHARE THE LOVE MONTH WINNERS:
OK, let’s take a look at Share the Love Month’s skillful and lucky two dozen! I love all our regular winners, but it’s nice to see some new names here, too. Our 24 winners, whose names were randomly chosen from the 521 solvers who sent in correct answers to at least two of February’s four metas, are:
Jennifer Ballard — Dallas, Tex.
John Bennick — Portland, Ore.
Buzz Bovshow — New York City, N.Y.
Jud Cairns — Chantilly, Va.
Jim Cassidy — Long Island City, N.Y.
J.D.
Eugene Edelstein — Hicksville, N.Y.
Courtney Ercan — Indianapolis, Ind.
H.F.
Ryan Friedman — Nashua, N.H.
Toby Golick — New York City, N.Y.
Matthew Gritzmacher — Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Hart — Arlington, Va.
Cade Hodgson — Houston, Tex.
Ingrid Karn — Anchorage, Al.
Ryan Kelly — Mountain View, Calif.
Cole Kendall — Washington, D.C.
Rebecca — Washington, D.C.
Carol Lafond — Ridgewood, N.J.
Anthony Lanese — Rochester, N.Y.
Craig Mazin — La Canada, Calif.
Sandy Teper — Medina, Wash.
Yuval Wigderson — Menlo Park, Calif.
Jesse Witt — Boulder, Colo.
Congratulations to our winners! This went so well that from now on, every February will be “Share the Love” month, with the same specs for winning and receiving prizes (24 prizes, need to go 2-for-4 or better to be eligible).
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. NOTE: For an interesting reason I’ll tell you about next week, this week’s contest deadline is Tuesday at 11:59 and 26 seconds PM Mountain Time.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.