IMPORTANT NOTE: The 2022 MGWCC Tip Jar is now open! See below for details or click this link if you don’t need to see the details!

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:

Title: “Name That City”
Prompt: This week’s contest answer is a four-letter U.S. city.
Answer: NAPA
Correct entries: 563 overall, of which 535 were solo solves

Four theme entries in this 13×13 grid, each with a nudge toward our mystery city:

18-A: [Many structures in our meta city underwent this after a devastating 1980s flood] = RENOVATION
27-A: [This kind of transaction can get expensive in our meta city] = HOME SALE
32-A: [Our meta city and its surrounding area contain many of these businesses] = WINERIES
40-A: [What the weather is like in our meta city] = PHENOMENAL

Overall, sounds like quite a nice city to live in — but what city is it? Big thing to notice is that each of these theme entries conceals a four-letter U.S. city itself:

RENOVATION
HOMESALE
WINERIES
PHENOMENAL

I’ve been to 0 of these 4; how about you? If you’ve been to at least three of them, email me — I doubt we have a 4/4 in the crowd, but we might have a 3/4.

Anyhoo, What do we do with these four? Let’s look at their states:

RENO — Nevada
MESA — Arizona
ERIE — Pennsylvania
NOME — Alaska

Those first letters spell contest answer NAPA, California.

David Lonoff writes:

I need a nap after the week I’ve had.

Tyler Hinman says:

I suppose “a four-letter kind of cabbage” would have been too guessable

MaineMarge wasn’t going to miss this one:

Hey Matt! You can’t kid a kid who has actually lived there. And even though the weather is phenomenal, we missed the change of seasons. So here we are back in Maine forever. And don’t try slipping Orono by me in the future- been there; did college there. Thanks for the fun!❤️Marge

And finally, MajordomoTom says:

Nice and particularly awarding!

We see what you did there!

2022 MGWCC TIP JAR:

Feeling extra appreciative of the MGWCC these days? Help me to help you express this appreciation monetarily by leaving some coin in the 2022 MGWCC Tip Jar.

Zero pressure — you already pay me for these, for which I’m greatly thankful — but if you’re so inclined, then by all means, proceed below.

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is a seven-letter word.

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