Pun of a Kind

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! A scorcher this past week in my region (see, I can talk about other things here than baseball), so it's a good time to go inside, stay cool, and do some puzzles! --- 1.  Puzzle #139 answer: TAN GENT Correct entries: 75! Shortest explanation: Per UNDER THE SUN, take the four trigrams under the SUN squares in the grid. You'll spell TINSOHCAHTOA, which may look like gibberish! But per Mr. Google and the nudges, you can reparse that into "T," in SOH-CAH-TOA, and our trigonometry classes (and who said they wouldn't come in handy???) gives us that that's TANGENT (or TAN GENT , har har), the meta answer. --- 2.  Wheel! Of! Levels! I'm guessing about a Level 3  for this, but it depends on if you're on my wavelength. Let's see! Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a 2-word phrase in the form (5, 5).  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Two losses in a row for my beloved Cubbies, so we'll see if we get back on track soon! --- 1a.  Puzzle #137 answer:  MIKEY G (hey, I know him) Correct entries:  61 Shortest explanation: The five asterisked entries form new entries by appending the "GEE" sound to the end of each of them. Find new entries in the grid whose clues fit these. Those spell MIKEY, and we append a "G" for MIKEY G , concluding the most self-indulgent meta ever, haha. --- 1b. Puzzle #138 answer: DRAB Correct entries: 60 Shortest explanation: The four countries' flags have a series of colors within them. Find an entry in the grid that uses the colors' initials with one additional letter (i.e. Vietnam's is red and yellow, and DRY is D + R and Y). The extra letters spell out DRAB , which flying colors are certainly not! --- 2. The last two puzzles were easier than I thought, and I think this one is genuinely a Level 2 , so we'll see what that means, ha...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Tough road stretch overall, only taking one from the Phillies and watching the offense taper off some as of late. We'll see what we can do this week! Also, Aaron Judge is batting .392. It's mid-June. How. Delaying the reveal for 137, since I need to post this one a bit earlier again, so here's the reveal for 136 anyway, haha. I will catch up! (Maybe.) --- 1.  Puzzle #136 answer: HOT HOT HOT Correct entries: 61 Shortest explanation: Four rows all contain a triplet of words that can be preceded by "HOT," signaling HOT HOT HOT , specifically Buster Poindexter (really David Johansen)'s 1987 cover (that he later lamented since he became inextricably linked to it). --- 2.  My roulette wheel of ratings overestimated last week's, and I'll put down Level 3  for this one. Maybe 2.75? Maybe 3.25? You be the judge! Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is what flying colors are not.  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Cubs-Tigers had such a playoff atmosphere last night. We were on the losing end but will still try to win 2-out-of-3! Also, Pete Crow-Armstrong is amazing. That is all. Delaying the reveal for 136, since I need to post this one a bit earlier again, so here's the reveal for 135 anyway, haha. I will catch up! --- 1.  Puzzle #135 answer:  FINAL EXAM Correct entries:  56 Shortest explanation: Take the last letters of each of the four themed entries to get EAT, ORSE, URE, and IVE. Looks slightly promising: now add "END" before each of these! You'll get four words, each of which having an alternate somewhere in the grid. These alternates are, in top-down order, ABIDE, COAX, ARUGULA, and CONFIRM. Note their  last letters spell EXAM, pointing us to FINAL EXAM , the answer to the meta. Whew! --- 2. I have to play this one safe, so this one will get a Level 4  rating. As always, your mileage may vary. Check out Crosshare/Muggles for nudg...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Cubs' offense is in a slight slump lately, so let's try to break out of it before June! Delaying the reveal slightly, since I need to post this one a bit earlier today. --- 1.  Puzzle #135 answer:  TBR (to be revealed) Correct entries: TBR TBR Shortest explanation: TBR --- 2. Last week's was a toughie, so I have what I think will be a Level 1.5  at most today. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a 3-word 1980s song title represented repeatedly in the grid.  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! In recent Cubs news, Pete-Crow Armstrong is a superstar. I also welcome the resurgence of Javier Báez for the Tigers! This begins our 4th annual Summer of Solves , so here's the same graphic I haul out each year: Looks beautiful. Now let me explain the annual Summer of Solves. Basically, we have a puzzle each weekend from now until Labor Day! This concludes my detailed conclusion of the annual Summer of Solves. --- 1.  Puzzle #134 answer:  BONO Correct entries:  68 Shortest explanation: Pretty straightforward! The series of phrases with two Us were meant to evoke U2 (note the bonuses), and the lead vocalist is BONO , whose birthday was on this puzzle's release day! --- 2.  This one just happens to be a Level 4  to start things off; I actually might be overestimating here by a hair for a change, but I'd say 3.5 or so is a good floor. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a 2-word phr...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! The Cubs are in our "May malaise" part of the year, so I'm hoping they can rebound during the second half of the month. May and June have been difficult the past couple of years - let's turn it around! --- 1.  Puzzle #133 answer: WORD GAMES Correct entries:  65 Shortest explanation: In lieu of the grid, the nine starred entries were isograms - but they are still  isograms (and the clues still make sense!) when we place a new word in front. Their initial letters spell WORD GAMES , another isogram that is the answer to our meta! Perhaps a slight issue in the sense that I have never heard of a hip flask, but that's on me, haha. I also tried to have some sense of parallelism in having all the entries be nine letters long. --- 2. We will have our fourth Summer of Solves soon, but let's have a quick Level 1  before then! Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a well-known lead vocalist.