LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
Title: “Two People”
Prompt: This puzzle’s contest answer is a celebrity with a total of eight letters in their first and last names.
Answer: AL PACINO found by 408 solvers, 360 of which were solo solves
Small grid last week, but full of big names! Six celebrities were clued normally, as if you’d need to enter both their first and last named in the grid…but no! Just the surnames fit, like so:
15-A: [Best Supporting Actress winner for 1955’s “East of Eden”] = VAN FLEET. First name: Jo.
21-A: [Pitcher for whom an award is named] = YOUNG. First name: Cy.
40-A: [He played Andy Bernard on “The Office”] = HELMS. First name: Ed.
50-A: [He led the American League in hits in 2021 and 2022] = BICHETTE. First name: Bo.
9-D: [One of Julie Bowen’s “Modern Family” co-stars] = BURRELL. First name: Ty.
32-D: [Children’s book author who wrote “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh!”] = WILLEMS. First name: Mo.
Spotting the pattern is E-Z! Each of these six celebs has a two-letter first name:
JO Van Fleet
CY Youing
ED Helms
BO Bichette
TY Burrell
MO Willems
Now what? Look in the grid to find a three-letter entry beginning with those two letters. They are:
JO+N = JON at 48-Down
CY+A = CYA at 10-Down
ED+O = EDO at 56-Across
BO+I = BOI at 35-Across
TY+P = TYP at 5-Across
MO+C = MOC at 33-Across
Those letters spell NAOIPC in order, pointing naturally to theoretical physicist OZ NAOIPC, found by 999 solvers, a new MGWCC record! OK, I’m kidding. In the usual top-to-bottom, left-to-right grid order those spell out PACINO, strongly suggesting our contest answer, the great AL PACINO. Who also has a two-letter first name, of course!
FIREBALL NEWSFLASH:
Consider subscribing to the new edition of Fireball Newsflash Crosswords, written by the great Peter Gordon. Current events crosswords full of newsy entries:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/petergordonpuzzler/2025-fireball-newsflash-crosswords
NEW PUZZLE SUITE BY PATRICK BERRY:
It’s called “Blabyrinth” and it’s brand new. Extremely highly recommended sight unseen.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This puzzle’s contest answer is what you’ll get from me if you get it right.
Good luck!
–Matt