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:
Title: “Let’s Go Back to Your Place”
Instructions: This week’s contest answer is a two-syllable adjective.
Answer: RETRO
Such a strange month with difficulty levels! Week 1 didn’t look like a Week 1 but it turned out to be (nailed it!), Week 2 turned out to be Week 3-level, to my surprise, and then Week 3 turned out to be Week 2 level, which is what I intended. But then I thought Week 4 was going to be a Week 2.5., as I mentioned last week, and then it turned out to be a Week 4 after all. Clearly I have done something to mildly irritate the Crossword Gods. They are not angry at me, but they’re definitely messing with me. I will investigate.
When read backwards, each of the five theme entries concealed a word that is a member of an ordered set:
BARELYTHERE = John TYLER, 10th president
NANOENGINEERING = NEON, 10th element on the periodic table
STATEBIRD = BETA, 2nd Greek letter
ADMIRALYAMAMOTO = MAY, 5th month
STLOUISRAMS = MARS, 4th planet from the Sun
Take the 10th letter in BARELY THERE, the 10th letter in NANOENGINEERING, the 2nd letter in STATE BIRD, the 5th letter in ADMIRAL YAMAMOTO, and the 4th letter in ST LOUIS RAMS and you get RETRO, Latin for “backwards” and ergo a fitting meta answer.
You can see why I thought this was a Week 2.5; it’s rather simple. But not easy; that last step is trickier than I thought and I have to admit I really don’t understand why that is but it is, as proven by the # of correct entries.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from the 157 correct entries received, is Reid Koss of Seattle, Wash. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set, Reid will also receive a signed copy of my book Fast & Fun Mini Crosswords.
FEBRUARY MONTHLY WINNERS:
Congratulations to the following ten MGWCC winners for February, whose names were chosen at random from among the 120 people who sent in the correct contest answer to each of last month’s four puzzles (E, RICE, ATLANTIS, RETRO). Each will receive a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set:
Laura Braunstein — Lebanon, N.H.
Rich Dobkin — Chatsworth, Calif.
Travis Hime — New York City, N.Y.
Alex Jeffrey — Columbia, Md.
Kathy J. — Alameda, Calif.
Jeremy Koenig — Washington, D.C.
Joshua Kosman — San Francisco, Calif.
Brian Kulman — Los Gatos, Calif.
Jeff Louie — Providence, R.I.
Michael Schnatter — Cary, N.C.
Congratulations to our ten winners, and to everyone who went 4-for-4 in February.
LUCKY MARCH:
You don’t need to run the table in March to be eligible for monthly prizes! This is Lucky March, where you only need to go 3-for-5 or better to be eligible to win one of the 13 monthly prizes! Why 13? Because it’s Lucky March, so I’m intentionally picking an unlucky number of prizes. Doesn’t really make sense but more prizes so…good luck to all!
NEW YORK MAGAZINE PUZZLE:
Exciting news — starting this Sunday, March 3rd, my New York magazine puzzles will be available online at www.nymag.com/crossword/ . You don’t need a print subscription to solve; they’re totally free (but if you do want to subscribe, do that here. Puzzles will be updated every Sunday night, alternating between my puzzle in the current edition of the magazine and greatest hits by my great predecessors there, Maura Jacobson and Cathy Allis.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is an Oscar-winning movie of 2018.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.