LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:

Title: “Corner the Market” by Nam Jin Yoon
Prompt: This puzzle’s contest answer is a loanword for which the stress falls on the second syllable.
Answer: BODEGA, found by 211 solvers, of which 78 were solo solves

An extremely complex tour de force from Nam Jin Yoon last week. Let’s dive right in…

STEP 1:

Notice the big overt hint in the grid, which are the intersecting clues at 62-A and 26-D:

62-A: [Snip, as you might with six clues] = CUT ACROSS
26-D: [Add something to, as you might six times] = DRESS DOWN

OK, those aren’t a coincidence, But now what?

STEP 2:

Well, this is quite a strange-looking grid, so that’s probably in service of something. We’re thinking of corners from those two clues (or with the help of Hint #1, which went out on Sunday). So to quote that hint in its entirety: “An interesting aspect of this grid is that there are exactly six squares that begin both an Across and a Down entry.”

That’s not many, so let’s take a look:

1-A/D: 1, [Canine cry] HOWL crosses [Divine] = HOLY
5-A/D: [Overly literary] ARTY crosses [Positive quality] = ASSET
9-A/D: [Make content] SEDATE crosses [Ready] = SET
37-A/D: [Full ___] MONTY crosses [Brand] = MARK
70-A/D: [Hardly off the mark] HOT crosses [Fair] = HONEST
78-A/D: [Rip away] PEEL crosses [Gorge] = PASS

STEP 3: Now what? Well, NJY told us to snip something and add it somewhere else, so let’s see what’s snippable here:

[Canine cry] is our first clue, but if we snip it to just [Cry], that could also clue SOB at 27-A. The others are:
[Overly] = [As well] TOO
[Make] = [Depict] RENDER
[Full] =s [Whole] ENTIRE
[Hardly off the mark] = ERRING
[Rip] = {Streak} TEAR.

The first letters of those spell STREET! We must be on the right track. Now, let’s “add something to” the other six:

[Divine canine] = [Egyptian god of tombs] = ANUBIS
[Literary positive quality] = [Express] = VOICE
[Ready content] = [Mess with a guest constructor’s perfectly fine clues, say] = EDIT. This wasnt a dig at me, I swear…
adding the blank to be filled in to {Brand ___} clues {The “N” of 41-Down} NEW. (41-down is NYC.)
[Hardly fair] = [“___ Betty” (ABC dramedy based on a telenovela)] UGLY
[Gorge away] clues [Dig in] = EAT

So we have a STREET and an AVENUE crossing — and, lo and behold! Where those six A/D entries cross in the grid, their letters spell contest answer BODEGA. Just amazing!! Bravissimo to our constructor.

STREAKS AND VERIFICATIONS FROM LAST WEEK:

There’ve been some hiccups on my end over the past month with a couple of delayed posts messing with people’s entries and streaks. Webmaster and I are working on them, though, and we will get everything ironed out over the next week or so. Sorry for the hassle!

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This puzzle’s contest answer is a prop often seen on New Year’s Eve shows.

Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.