Pun of a Kind

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Well, I hope your team is winning at least, haha. --- 1.  Puzzle #146 answer: CHAMP Correct entries: 59 Shortest explanation: A little more niche than usual - apologies for the sportsball! The five surnames, while clued differently, all could be found as players on my beloved 2016 Chicago Cubbies. Take their uniform numbers (per clue to CUBS) and, in order of the names as they appear, the letters spell out CHAMP , the answer to the meta! (And what the Chicago Cubs might be again in my lifetime...maybe.) --- 2. We progress through August with a Level 3  - might hover a bit below or above that, so we'll see what happens. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a 6-letter word.  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Cubbies are in a brutal stretch right now - not really sure what's going on. One day at a time, of course! But we need to go on an extended winning streak and haven't done that in a good long while. Time will tell! --- 1.  Puzzle #144 answer:  AUGUST WILSON Correct entries:  78 Shortest explanation: Level 1 meta but the grid was a bear to get through! Find the "pens" of five like letters surrounding another letter, mostly on the left and right columns. The pens spell out FENCES, and the enclosed letters spell AUTHOR. You may already know it, or a quick search to Mr. Google shows us that the author of the Pulitzer-winning "Fences" is the timely AUGUST WILSON , our answer to the meta. --- 2.  This should be a Level 2  or maybe a Level 2.25  once you do what you have to do. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The 5-letter answer to the meta might be what you feel like if you're dressed for success.  ...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Cubbies got four players before the trade deadline - but not a starting pitcher! The market was tough, and it was probably better holding onto some of our stellar prospects. We'll see if our pitching can take us far enough into the postseason. Have to get through August and September first! --- 1.  Puzzle #144 answer:  DIME A DOZEN Correct entries: 55 Shortest explanation: Kind of a SAD one. The five extremely contrived clues to the 12-letter spanners (which took a while to write!) have exactly 10 of the 12 unique letters from the spanner within them. Thus, each spanner has two "leftover" letters; when spelled out in grid order, you get DIME A DOZEN , a nice connection to both the numbers 10 and 12, and the answer to the meta. --- 2. Welcome to the final month of the Summer of Solves! I planned to start with a Level 1, but this one got a bit away from me, perhaps, so Level 2  it is! Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey ...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! I'm not sure where in the world these White Sox came from after the All-Star Break, but I'm here for it, honestly! (Except after they trounced my Cubbies last night.) Trade deadline before the next puzzle releases, so hopefully we'll have some new players by then! --- 1.  Puzzle #143 answer: FRED ROGERS (MR. ROGERS) Correct entries:  72 Shortest explanation: The "X"-shapes in the grid spell out "THE OWL." The other numeric signposts lead us to the fact that the only other word in the fictional character is a...one letter long? Yes, simply "X." String together "X THE OWL" (in quotes!) and go to Mr. Google if you need to, and you'll see he was performed by (and likely created by) beloved MR. FRED ROGERS , the answer to our meta in honor of #143, one of his favorite numbers (for it enumerating "I love you"). --- 2.  This was slated to be Week 4 of 4 in July, but the testers are all converging around...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! An incredible All-Star weekend! National League won both  the Futures and All-Star games, Cal Raleigh had an incredible Home Run Derby, and the Cubs are back in fine form! Let's do this! --- 1.  Puzzle #142 answer:  MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP (or any ice cream with those initials, I guess, haha) Correct entries:  73 Shortest explanation: The four "meals" have initials that are roman numerals: C (100), CDL (450), CCL (250), CD (400). Add these numbers to get 1200, or MCC, in honor of MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP , my favorite. (There are probably others, though, as several have noted!). Note the Easter egg of the Mad Gab-esque MEANT CHALK LETS SHIP in the corners. --- 2. This is Week 3 of 4 in July, and I think this is a legitimate Week 3 , maybe a bit on either side of it. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G A fictional character is hiding in the grid! The answer to the meta is the well-known personality who brought him to life...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! My Cubbies have been a bit on a struggle bus this week against the Twins and the Yankees, so we'll try to right the ship soon. Looking forward to the All-Star game also, of course! --- 1.  Puzzle #141 answer:  LOLCAT Correct entries:  61 Shortest explanation: Per the entry for HAHA, find the six entries whose clues' initial letters spell HAHA. Those initial letters give us LOLCAT , the answer to the meta. --- 2. I planned this one as a Week 2 , and I think I have enough signposts along the way, but we'll put it in the 2.25/2.5  range as well if your mileage varies. We'll see what happens! (Check out Crosshare for early nudges!) Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is the generic, well-known  ice cream flavor (my favorite!) I'm having for dessert.  

  PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! My Cubbies set a franchise record yesterday with EIGHT home runs in a single game, including THREE back-to-back homers and three from our first baseman Michael Busch! The future is bright! (But it's also still hot, so I'm staying inside!) --- 1.  Puzzle #140 answer:  FORTY WINKS Correct entries:  60 Shortest explanation: "Index" each entry, and take the Zth letter of each themer, where "Z" is the number of, well, "Z"s in the entry! You'll spell FORTY and can probably inference the second word. Otherwise, go to the clues and repeat! You'll get  FORTY WINKS  (in honor of puzzle #140), the answer to the meta! --- 2.  June was a complete roulette wheel in terms of levels, but I think I have a rough sequence for July planned. We start off with a breezy  Level 1 . Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is something I find hilarious.