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:

http://www.mgwcc.com/

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:

Title: “Double Meaning”
Instructions: You must change one letter in this grid to complete this puzzle’s theme. Which letter is it, and what letter does it change to?
Answer: D to V at 55-A/49-D

Simple, but certainly not easy! The first five down entries can be doubled to create a new word/phrase; double their clue digits, and the answer appearing there is a synonym for that new word/phrase. Like so:

1-D [Wield a cleaver] = CHOP; 11-D = MOVE, which is a synonym for “chop-chop”
2-D [Eavesdrop successfully] = HEAR; 22-A = SO TRUE, which is a synonym for “hear, hear”
3-D [In the manner of] = LIKE; 33-D = FANCY, which is a synonym for “like-like” (as in “do you like him, or do you like-like him?”)
4-D [“Look where I’m pointing!”] = THERE; 44-A = IT’S OK, which is a synonym for “there, there)

To complete the pattern, we look at 5-D [Grant’s bill] = FIFTY, so 55-A must be something that means “fifty-fifty.” So you change the D in EDEN to a V to get EVEN, which is a synonym for “fifty-fifty” (as in, “we agreed to a fifty-fifty split of the profits”).

Peter Gordon says:

I like like it.

Ale M says re 52-D:

Fun fact: I studied oboe with John Ferrillo when I was a student at Juilliard. I emailed him when I saw the clue and told him, “You finally made it!”

And Evan figured out the meta-meta:

I’m curious if this had been the same meta you were working on but had to postpone. Maybe it was a different grid but with HURRY HURRY as one of the key answers?

Exactly right (except “chop chop” was the original idea, not “hurry, hurry”). I had burned through about 8 hours on this idea last week without success and finally threw in the towel. Getting the upper-left to work and then also fitting the synonyms in at the right clue numbers was far more difficult than I had anticipated, in part because there was a massive hidden constraint: there couldn’t be a 66 in the grid. Keeping the count that low turned out to be so difficult that I abandoned the idea altogether — but then on Friday afternoon I had a revelation and found a way to make it work. So while I still used “chop chop” and needed a synonym for “hurry,” I hoped that no one would remember that from my e-mail (or that if they did it would only be in retrospect). Seems to have worked, as Evan was the only one who mentioned it in comments. Phew! Meta-solvers have “aha!” moments, but meta writers have “I can’t believe that actually worked” moments. Call it a “phew!” moment.

This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from the 126 correct entries received, is Tina Lippman of Newburgh, Ind. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set, Tina will also receive a signed copy of my book Fast & Fun Mini Crosswords.

JANUARY PRIZES:

Congratulations to the following ten MGWCC winners for January, whose names were chosen at random from among the 99 people who sent in the correct contest answer to each of last month’s four puzzles (LAUNDRY DETERGENT, SHANE, TAXI DRIVER, D –> V). Each will receive a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set:

Greg Anderson — Middleton, Wisc.

Ken Stern — Brooklyn, N.Y.

Congratulations again to our ten winners, and to everyone who went 4-for-4 in January.

FINAL PRIZE RULES FOR MGWCC 2019:

OK, free month of January is over. I’ve had time to discuss the prize situation with solvers and here are the final rules for prizes in 2019 at MGWCC. Things are pretty much the same as I announced on the Jan. 18th post, but with a couple of differences:

1) January 2019 didn’t count; everyone went 4-for-4 with respect to yearly prizes. Even if you didn’t enter, you went 4-for-4.

2) Solo/group solve status affects ONLY year-end prizes, not weekly or monthly prizes. Everyone is eligible for weekly and monthly priuzes regardless of solve status.

3) Solo solving status means you got ZERO outside help from another person. You can use Google or dictionaries or whatever else, but the slightest hint from a person equals a group solve. This includes verifying your answer with someone, a raised eyebrow, a not-raised eyebrow, anything. Rule of thumb: if you have to ask, it’s a group solve.

4) CHANGE FROM 1/18 POST: There will NOT be separate prizes for solo and group solvers; only solo solvers are eligible for yearly prizes. One exception below at 5). The prize situation has become unwieldy in the past year as group solving has become more popular, so I need to draw the line here. For example: if you get all 52 answers right in 2019 but solved 50 of them solo and 2 as a group, then you are eligible for the 50-right answer prize only.

5) What about people who solve regularly in a group of two or more? YOU MAY SOLVE IN A GROUP, BUT ONLY ONE PERSON IN THAT GROUP GETS CREDIT FOR A GIVEN ANSWER. So if Alice and Bob solve MGWCC together every week, they may enter together each week and be eligible for yearly prizes, but they will only receive one communal prize, not two. This rule is important because I know there are solvers who solve together every week as a unit; as long as there’s no further outside help, that group of two (or more) is eligible for ONE yearly prize.

OK, I hope that settles everything. The yearly prizes really were intended to reward individual (or small, consistent group) efforts, not those who got help from others during the year. You can still win a weekly or monthly prize if you do that, just not the yearly prizes.

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is the letter that goes in the circled square.

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