Ahoy, Fellow Cruciverbalists! Welcome to Week 27 of my crossword contest. If you’re new to the contest and would like to enter, please see the site FAQ on the left sidebar for instructions.
Note: I’m headed out to a doctor’s appointment at 3, so I’m only going to post this week’s puzzle right now. When I get home later this afternoon I’ll post last week’s results. Nothing serious…and I think it’s even given me a theme for next week. How’s that for dedication? My head feels like a cantaloupe wedged in a vise and I’m still thinking of crossword themes.
UPDATE, 4:50 PM: It’s not strep, so out the window with my theme idea. Just a virus going around. 
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
A “poultry” 58 solvers managed to deduce last week’s contest answer phrase, YOU’RE WELCOME, appropriate for a Thanksgiving-week puzzle. Solution grid at left.
They got there two ways: by noticing that the puzzle’s four theme entries ended with the words/phrases ANYTIME, NOT AT ALL, SURE THING, and YOU BET, all of which stand in frequently for YOU’RE WELCOME. Confirmation came at the puzzle’s equator, where the words YORE/WHELK/HAIM steered solvers again, a tad obliquely perhaps, toward the correct phrase.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen randomly from among the 58 correct answers, is Richard Kalustian of Tacoma, Wash. Richard has selected as his prize a copy of Literary Crosswords, and becomes the second two-time winner of MGWCC.
Those solvers who haven’t been fortunate enough to win once might be justified in feeling a wee mite miffed at those who’ve won twice, but help is on the way: now that I’m consistently getting over 100 entries per week, I’ll be adding new, non-book prizes early in the new year. Merit-based, too! So bear with me and keep sending those entries in.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
I recently took a trip around the world — a themed trip, naturally. When I got home, though, I realized I had neglected to travel to two countries on my list. This week’s contest answer words are the two countries I forgot to visit. E-mail them to me at crosswordcontest@gmail.com by Tuesday at noon ET. Please put the contest answer words in the subject line of your e-mail.
To print the puzzle out, click on the image below and hit “print” on your browser. To solve using Across Lite, join the Google Group here:
http://groups.google.com/group/mgwcc
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.