LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:

Title: MGWCC #885 — “Taking the Fifth”
Prompt: This week’s contest answer is a five-letter word.
Answer: CINCO, found by 184 solvers, of which 62 were solo solves

Whoa! Last week’s puzzle played tougher than I’d anticipated, with solving numbers more fitting for a Week 4 or even 5 than a 3/5.

Step 1: Notice that each theme entry contains a word hidden backwards in it. They are: MARGE, PRESS, PACIFIC, SMELL, ERIE. See solution at right.

Step 2: Notice that each of these is one of an iconic set of five:

MARGE is one of the five main family members on “The Simpsons”
PRESS is one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the 1st Amendment
PACIFIC is one of five oceans of Earth
SMELL is one of the five senses
ERIE is one of the five Great Lakes

Step 3: Let’s take a look at the other four in each series:

Simpsons: Homer, Lisa, Maggie, Bart
1st Amendment: Speech, Assembly, Petition, Religion
Oceans: Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Arctic
Senses: Taste, Touch, Sight, Hearing
Great Lakes: Michigan, Superior, Huron, Ontario

Step 4: Find a four-word clue whose four words use the initials of the unused sets of four. In order of appearance in the theme entries:

11-A: [Large Malbec blend holder] using the first letters from Lisa, Maggie, Bart, Homer = CASK

40-D: [“Such a revolting person!”] using the first letters of
Speech, Assembly, Petition, Religion = ICK

73-A: [It senses an aroma] using the first letters of Indian, Southern, Atlantic, Arctic = NOSE

61-D: [Tidy the house, say] using the first letters of Taste, touch, hearing, sight = CLEAN

63-A: [Hound of many strips] using the first letters of Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Superior = ODIE

Those entries’ first letters spell out contest answer CINCO. Hey, I didn’t say what language the answer word would be in!! A little late for Cinco de Mayo, but at least we’re still in month number cinco.

AZinDC says:

Very fun and satisfying! Although it should have been a week 5, which would have been apt!

Evan agrees:

Whew, what a toughie. I know it’s hard to predict the exact difficulty of a meta when you get to Week 3 and on … but since this was all about five in a five-week month, I think this would have right at home on Week 5.

And Pair-o-ducks says:

Wow! Such a cool mechanism, but definitely week 6-7 material. I think it may have been a touch closer to “just” week 5 if I wasn’t so focused on “Pacifico” and “Eerie” in the clues (plus the word “senses” in the NOSE clue!) Nonetheless, a real tour de force!

OK, so clearly this was a toughie, and with two more to go in the month! Should I dial it back a little? Let’s see how this one plays…

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is a famous song from the 1980s AND its singer.