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: “That’s Not What I Heard”
Instructions: This week’s contest answer is an 11-letter phrase.
Answer: KISS THIS GUY
Outstanding week 2 from Laura Braunstein and Ken Stern last week, based on a novel, fun, and logical idea. You take misheard song lyrics, then extract letters from the correct lyrics. Like so:
20-A: [“It’s not fair, to deny me of the ___ that you gave to me” … since you couldn’t find a panda without strabismus? (2:6, 4:4)] = CROSS-EYED BEAR. That’s from Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” and the correct words that go in the blank are CROSS I BEAR.
31-A: [“I wanna rock and roll all night and ___” … such as mornings from 10 to 11am? (11:13)] = PART OF EVERY DAY. That’s so funny. Why would a rock star specify in lyrics that he only wants to rock and roll for “part of every day”? But the correct line from the Kiss song is PARTY EVERY DAY.
55-A: [“___, sing for the years, sing for the laughter, sing for the tears” … at the reunion of unpartnered ladies? (9:4; 6:8)] = SINGLE WOMEN, from Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” Correct line is SING WITH ME.
76-A: [“If you like ___ and getting caught in the rain” … then let’s meet at a vegetarian Mexican place? (3:11, 7:2)] = BEAN ENCHILADAS. Correct line from the Rupert Holmes song is, of course, PINA COLADAS.
93-A: [“Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly, a girl with ___” … on her way to the gastroenterologist? (1:1, 8:8)] = COLITIS GOES BY. That’s John Lennon singing on “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” and what the girl really has is KALEIDOSCOPE EYES.
12-D: [“Hold me closer ___ ” … said Judith Light to her costar? (5:1)] = TONY DANZA. This is one of the most famous “mondegreens,” as misheard song lyrics are called. The line from the Elton John song is actually TINY DANCER.
61-D: [“Feel the beat from the ___, oh yeah” … as you dance in the produce section? (10:6) = TANGERINE, but of course Abba is really feeling the beat from the supervocalic TAMBOURINE there.
The first number of those 11 parenthetical pairs contain 1 to 11 with no repeats, so that’s a big hint since we know we’re looking for an 11-letter phrase. Take the second number of the correct lyric to extract the contest answer:
(1:1) the first letter in KALEIDOSCOPE EYES is K
(2:6) the sixth letter in CROSS I BEAR is I
(3:11) the eleventh letter in PINA COLADAS is S
(4:4) the fourth letter in CROSS I BEAR is S
(5:1) the first letter in TINY DANCER is T
(6:8) the eighth letter in SING WITH ME is H
(7:2) the second letter in PINA COLADAS is I
(8:8) the eighth letter in KALEIDOSCOPE EYES is S
(9:4) the fourth letter in SING WITH ME is G
(10:6) the sixth letter in TAMBOURINE is U
(11:13) the thirteenth letter in PARTY EVERY DAY is Y
Those spell the final words of perhaps the most famous mondegreen of them all, “Excuse me while I kiss this guy,” which is Jimi Hendrix singing “Purple Haze.” The actual line is “Excuse me while I kiss the sky.”
Awesome, and everyone liked it:
docison says:
Fun and funny, and lots of songs to hum to myself! Guest Constructor Month is off to a great start!
Ed writes:
As we say in the computer speech recognition biz: It’s not easy to wreck a nice beach.
Hollie says:
Loved this puzzle! Lively clues and answers, funny theme.
patanga dug it:
Very clever concept…really enjoyed the mondegreens!
mrbreen writes:
Had wondered once if this idea could be worked into a meta. They really nailed the execution!
And finally, Dave C writes:
one of the best aha moments I’ve had in a long time as the answer emerged from the purple haze!!
Thanks again, Laura and Ken — that was really a nice one.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from the 404 correct entries received, is Dan Valachovic of Jamaica Plain, Mass. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set, Dan will also receive a signed copy of my book Pint-Size Crosswords.
GUEST CONSTRUCTOR MONTH 2019, PUZZLE #3:
For Week 3 we have a debut puzzle from Adam Simon Levine. When he’s not busy performing with Maroon 5, Adam is an assistant professor of mathematics at Duke University, where he works in the field of low-dimensional topology. He started designing puzzles last year and is happy to be making his debut on MGWCC (check out his webpage for a few more puzzles.) He also enjoys writing song parodies and mathematical sonnets.
Things get tougher starting now. Here is GCM 2019 Week 3…
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a six-letter entry with no connection.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.