Prompt: This week’s contest answer is an animal.
Answer: OX
Correct entries: 745

What beast do we seek? Could it be an aardvark or an eel? A Zebu or a zebra? Let’s take a look at our theme entries:

17-A: [Southern Missourians’ love of other cultures?] = OZARK XENOPHILIA
26-A: [Anti-panic pill made with no artificial ingredients?] = ORGANIC XANAX
43-A: [Does exactly as a major Internet provider demands?] = OBEYS XFINITY
56-A: [Percussion instrument you just can’t get to sound right?] = ORNERY XYLOPHONE

And then at the last across: [Country whose traditional calendar assigns an animal to each year, including 2021 (or actually 4719)] = CHINA

The initials of all four theme entries are O.X., and 2021 corresponds roughly with the incoming Chinese Year of the OX, making that oft-yoked beast our contest answer. True, year 4719 won’t start until February 12th, but we officially go Gregorian here at MGWCC so January 1st it was.

Megan Amram writes:

Happy new year! OXOX

Thanks, and to you and everyone else reading this as well!

Quizquest says:

I gnu it.

SarAndDrew are 1-for-1 lifetime:

First mgwcc puz for us! Excited for the year

Same with FaltLaw:

First puzzle I’ve solved as a new subscriber! Thanks!

And raceyamatt, too:

First entry! Let’s hope I got it…

You did! And apharmakidis did, too:

Am I doing this right? It’s my first time. Ozark Xenophilia Organic Xanax Obeys Xfinity Ornery Xylophone

MikeW returns after a break:

Glad to be back. As a Christmas gift, my son and daughter-in-law made a puzzle whose solution was Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest (and a year subscription).

Trout Almondine says:

It feels really weird submitting a two-letter answer. If feels like it should be short for something. Like “Oxtholamew”

Dredshlaks writes:

Now I’m worried that the year we’ve all been wanting to end still has six weeks to go.

Hopefully, that’s not how it works…

And now, two embarrassing errors in the puzzle. Tyler Hinman asks:

1A: I assume the uncapitalized “city” is a mistake?

Yes. Egad.

And Gwinns writes, re 11-A:

As a big fan of The Cars, I feel compelled to inform you that it is Benjamin Orr and not Ric Ocasek who sings “Drive.” Happy new year!

Double-egad. How did this happen? Well, on the evening before the puzzle ran, my wife asked me what the next day’s theme was (the puzzle I originally planned to run last week is the one that’s running today). She was surprised that it wasn’t New Year’s-themed and said “People will really be expecting a 2021 puzzle.” So I stayed up late writing our OX puz and it didn’t get the same editorial fine-toothed-combing that my puzzles usually do.

TL;DR — those errors are Kristin’s fault; I remain blameless!!

And finally, marpocky writes from Suzhou, China:

Happy 牛 year!

Yes, that middle word is “ox”. On to Week 2!

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is one of the seven continents.