Prompt: This week’s contest answer is a country.
Answer: AUSTRALIA
Correct entries: 725
A record number of correct answers last week, breaking even the Pre-Subscription Era-record of 723! Awesome.
Four wacky entries showed solvers the way:
16-A: [Security at a Japanese gambling arcade?] = PACHINKO ALARMS
28-A: [Escaping Jafar’s clutches, wooing Jasmine, and learning how to ride the magic carpet?] = ALADDIN GOALS
42-A: [Take care of director Lee’s hotel accommodations?] = BOOK ANG A ROOM
54-A: [What you pay if both of your children attend Wharton?] = TWO MBA TUITIONS
What’s going on? An animal is camflouging itself against the backdrop of each of these! In grid order we find a KOALA, DINGO, KANGAROO, and WOMBAT hiding in there entries, leading to contest answer AUSTRALIA. Never been but it’s on my list!
Macado picked a good time to start:
My first time solving and entering!
hibob says:
good one. I actually Laughed out loud at the hidden kangaroo. well done.
Tyler Hinman notes:
I like that the rest of 42A is BOOM.
As in BOOMerang!?
And finally, Golem doesn’t miss a trick:
With a bonus themer in 41A
You can’t have an Aussie Animals crossword without one of those…
THREE THINGS FROM PETER GORDON:
The great Peter Gordon has three notices to share:
1) The Kickstarter for Fireball Newsflash Crosswords is now live. 20 current events crosswords over the course of 2021:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/petergordonpuzzler/2021-fireball-newsflash-crosswords
2) Fireball Crosswords subscription are now open for 2021 as well. Very highly recommended. 45 tough crosswords published under the banner: “How tough are these? If you have to ask, too tough for you”
https://www.fireballcrosswords.com/subscribe.htm
3) This Sunday’s New York Times has a 12-page Puzzle Mania section with a Super Mega meta-crossword by Peter. I tested this and it’s magnificent. Not available online. If you can’t find the print edition, you can order it online here:
https://store.nytimes.com/products/puzzle-mania-2020?variant=32233130065990
First prize is $1,000 and 25 runners-up get a book of Times crosswords.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a song sung by John Lennon.