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:
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
We were looking for a noted 20th-century American, and our theme entries, starred for clarity, were seven in number:
17-A [*It awarded prizes of $516.32] = THE GONG SHOW
32-A [*Retirement party gift, sometimes] = GOLD WATCH
38-A [*More students took it than the SAT last year] = ACT TEST
47-A [*Matthew, recently] = HURRICANE
60-A [*Important aspect of making shampoo, per some ads] = PH BALANCING
11-D [*Prairie blasts] = WINDSTORMS
31-D [*Midwest movie maven] = ROGER EBERT
As hinted at by the title, each of these seven suggests a certain scale, whose maximum number leads to the meta:
Contestants on “The Gong Show” were given a maximum score of 30 by three judges
Gold is measured on the karat scale of purity, where 24 is the maximum
The highest possible score on the ACT is 36
The Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricanes tops out at Category 5
The PH scale goes from 0 to 14
Wind is measure on the Beaufort scale, whose highest level is 12
And Roger Ebert gave movies a star rating of 1 to 4.
Take those numbered grid boxes in order and they spell out RICHTER, as in seismologist Charles Richter of the Richter scale for earthquakes. I would’ve guessed he was a 19th-century German, but no, 20th-century American as it turns out.
el cyd writes:
So this puzzle must be 10X harder than last week’s.
Golem says:
This puzzle takes the quake!
Norm Hurlbut quips:
Can’t find any fault with this one.
And Eduardo writes:
This puzzle really moved me. I’d give it a 9.5.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from among the 220 correct entries received, is Jason Juang of Mountain View, Calif. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil, and notepad set, Jason will also receive a 1-year subscription to Matt Gaffney’s Daily Crossword.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a familiar acronym.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.