Title: “Bottom Drawers”
Prompt: This week’s contest answer is a two-word school supply.
Answer: COLORED PENCILS
Correct entries: 609 overall, of which 572 were solo solves

This was a week 1.5 or 1.75. Certainly missable, especially if you didn’t notice the big hint, TIPS, unusually but thematically placed not at the Omega Across but rather at its intersecting down.

Seven wacky theme entries, all vertically situated:

3-D: [“You can create practically anything with our contest answer! If you’re into violet-shaded postage, for example, you could make a ___”] = LILAC STAMP

5-D: [“Ever wonder what the Dalai Lama would look like if he joined the Blue Man Group? Just create a ___ and see!”] = TEAL TIBETAN

8-D: [“Or maybe light-green luxury cars are your thing? Then go ahead a make a ___”] = PISTACHIO CADILLAC. Would drive.

12-D: [“You know what’d be funny? How about an English nobleman covered in grape jelly? I’d love for you to make me a ___”] = PURPLE EARL

40-D: [“Although those animals are usually brown and white, I see no reason why you couldn’t create a ___”] = SILVER OKAPI

42-D: [“If you’ve always wanted to see a shimmering blue body of water in the forest, how about depicting an ___?”] = INDIGO LAKE

45-D: [“If you’re tired of seeing 19th-century overcoats always depicted in drab hues, why not create your own ___?”] RED ULSTERS

And then the Big Hint:

76-D: [Most important parts of our contest answer…and of the words in the theme entries] = TIPS. You write with the tip of a pencil, colored or not, and the “tip” (i.e., last letter) of each of the words in our seven theme entries spell contest answer COLORED PENCILS. See graphic at right.

Raygirl says:

I do love shopping for school supplies

With you on that. I can’t stand 99% of all shopping but can easily spend an hour in Staples.

MamaEllen says:

I loved the shout out to my alma mater at 34A!

And bodhipepper writes:

Inspired me to check if Trapper Keepers still exist. Turns out yes!

Glad to hear it. I certainly rocked some Trapper Keepers back in the day.

GUEST CONSTRUCTOR PUZZLE:

Today’s meta is by Alex Boisvert. Alex has been the webmaster here at MGWCC since January 2020, when he took over from the great Dave Sullivan. Like Dave, Alex has added many improvements to the MGWCC site that make the experience more fun for solvers (and make my life much easier as well). For instance, Alex added the newish “Badges” solvers can attain (see “Achievements” at the top of this page), spruced up the puzzle PDFs, and further automated the entry verification system (which, among other things, has reduced the number of incorrectly marked submissions). He also handles the many tech issues and last-minute crises that I can’t solve myself.

That’s Alex above with his two kids, Charlotte and Leo, and the Millennium Falcon in the background. May the force be with you while solving today’s meta (which is not “Star Wars”-related, so don’t worry).

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is something architects need to be good at.

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