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LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
Title: “Words of a Feather”
Instructions: This week’s contest answer is an eight-letter word.
Answer: DOWNSIDE
Our four themers were:
17-A: [Jacques Cartier sailed up it (3,4)] = ST. LAWRENCE RIVER
25-A: [Opera star in recent news for allegations of sexual misconduct (7,2)] = PLACIDO DOMINGO
44-A: [Sports psychologist’s principle (1,8)] = MIND OVER MATTER
58-A: [Many leis contain them (6,5)] = HIBISCUS FLOWERS
First insight is that each of these contains the name of a four-letter bird: WREN, DODO, DOVE, and IBIS.
Second insight is that the last Across clue (66-A) is a big help: [Give a talk without adequate preparation…or, how to find the meta answer] = WING IT. Interpret that visually as “take each bird’s outermost letters” and you get WN, DO, DE, and IS. Put those in order by the numbers in parentheses and you get contest answer DOWNSIDE, fitting since bird feathers = down and they’re on the sides of the birds (and on the sides of the words).
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from the 478 correct entries received, is Jake Weiner of Brooklyn, N.Y. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set, Jake will also receive a copy of all the puzzles from last weekend’s Lollapuzzoola tournament.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a ’90s political rival of 55-Across.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.