LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:

Title: “Wintry Mix”
Prompt: This week’s contest answer is something associated with Christmas.
Answer: THE NUTCRACKER SUITE found by 187 solvers, 81 of which were solo solves

A very SAD (simple and difficult) meta last week. We had four nonsensical theme entries:

20-A: [Person who moves from Prague to Arkhangelsk?] = WHITE SEA CZECH
25-A: [Gets comfy with one’s sorority-sister girlfriend?] = NUZZLES A THETA
42-A: [Admonishment to loud Circus Maximus vehicles?] = ZIP IT, CHARIOTS
47-A: [Point of interest to a dental school student?] = INTRICATE CUSP

What’s going on here? With a nudge from the title, anagram each of these nonsense entries into two words: one a kind of nut, one a brand of cracker:

WHITE SEA CZECH = CASHEW CHEEZ-IT
NUZZLES A THETA = HAZELNUT ZESTA
ZIP IT, CHARIOTS = PISTACHIO RITZ
INTRICATE CUSP = PECAN TRISCUIT

Indicating Tchaikovsky’s Christmas favorite, the Nutcracker Suite.

And here is another holiday crossword I wrote recently.

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This puzzle’s contest answer is what I hope you’d respond if I asked “Did you like this meta?”

Good luck, and I’ll see you in 2025!

–Matt