Pun of a Kind

PDF / PUZ Hello hello! Pretty good news in Cubs world as of late, though we did split the homestand 3-3 (would've liked 4-2). Can't seem to catch up to those pesky Brewers, but we have over two months of baseball left to see what we can do! --- Puzzle #183 answer: CIRCLE Correct entries: 54 Shortest explanation: Six of the entries have alternate clues that can answered with characters' names from the 1990s show Friends : CLARA: Santa ___, Calif [Monica] IRMINGER: Sea with a giant ice shelf near by [Ross] ROO: Baby with a pouch [Joey] CARVER: Writer Raymond [Chandler] LEAH: Wife of Jacob in Genesis [Rachel] EDIE: Female name with two rhyming syllables [Phoebe] Put it together and you get CIRCLE , the answer to the meta and, if I took it one step further, could've gotten us a 1990s film called Circle of Friends - wasn't aware of that until now! --- We'll split the difference between Levels 3 and 4, which naturally gives us Level 3.5  for you mathematicians out t...

PDF / PUZ Hello hello! Loved seeing Jordan Walker win the Home Run Derby (rooting for Schwarber, but he was so calm, cool, and collected - and his family was great too!) but All-Star Game was kind of meh. Cubs already go back doing what they do best: giving up home runs and not scoring. WHOOPS. --- Puzzle #183 answer: SLURPEES Correct entries:  87 !! Shortest explanation: See the picture! Pretty by the book. (In honor of the 7-11 release date!) --- This is my entrant for the Crosshare I Love the '90s contest   (that's what I'm calling it, haha). We have a lot of '90s content in this, intentionally so, but don't get distracted by all of that in the meta. The meta is still '90s-related, of course! But don't think every '90s clue relates or anything. Because that increases the signal-to-noise ratio, I'll say Level 2.5  for this one. 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! Good news: The Cubs are 7th in the Power Rankings! Not as great of news: We don't have a bullpen. Wow! --- Puzzle #182 answer: ACCLAIM Correct entries: 76 Shortest explanation: No picture this time, so imagine it in your mind! We had seven entries whose clues began with letters in the C* C* L* format, in honor of our 250th. (Guest-starring was MIKE as "Chicago Cubs lover," unsurprisingly). The seven clues spell ACCLAIM , itself having a CCL trigram. --- Wow, this grid shape looks familiar! Taking things easier on you a bit this month for another Level 1 this time. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is an 8-letter plural.  

PDF / PUZ Hello hello! Good news: Cubs swept the Padres, beating them 23-3 on Wednesday. Bad news: They lost  17-1 against the Cards yesterday (fun fact: That -36 run differential between two consecutive days is the second-worst in the history of baseball, haha). --- Puzzle #181 answer: NULL (ISLAND) Correct entries:  69 Shortest explanation: Solid job, everybody! See picture above! --- Let's hope for a nice, solid easy start to celebrate America's 250th. Level 1 , almost certainly. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The 7-letter answer to the meta is what I'll give you if you solve it.  

PDF / PUZ Hello hello! Good news: Cubs just swept a team! Bad news: It was the Mets, who are having a horrendous season and just fired their manager. (I actually like the Mets and hope they have a better second half, for sure.) We have a collab today with Phil, a definite Week 4  meta - but we're posting early to avoid a MGWCC double-post, so no answer to the previous puzzle just yet! --- There will be nudges posted on the Crosshare link for sure, but I believe you can do this! Hopefully we put enough signposts along the way for your success. Here we go! Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a mysterious island.  

PDF / PUZ Hello hello! I state with some trepidation that the Cubs might be back? What a sinusoidal season. We've won five or our last seven and are on track for our third series win in a row, but yikes on bikes, we've got catching up to do! --- Puzzle #179 answer: OBTUSE Correct entries: 65 Shortest explanation: We pretty much have our 60-70 regulars, haha. Note the grid above and what happens when you let the "O" and "B" be quiet ("Oh Be Quiet," har har). The remaining letters in each row concatenate to form ANGLE LARGER THAN RIGHT, giving us the apropos OBTUSE  as our meta answer! --- I think this should be a solid Level 3  that may trend a skosh upward. Kind of SAD - you just need to see what you need to see! Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a geographic region illustrated in the grid.  

  PDF / PUZ Hello hello! The Cubs have been on the struggle bus lately to say the least (but kudos to the White Sox, who have been rocking it!). They have won their last two in a row, so let's see if they can get something going! --- Puzzle #178 answer: GIBBOUS MORE (har har) Correct entries: 65 Shortest explanation: Eleven entries in the grid rhyme with "moon," and the initial letters of their clues spell out GIBBOUS MORE , another hilarious pun from yours truly. --- And you want more? Okay! When making this, I planned for Level 2, but it might tick up to 2.5? I think that's solid. We'll say Level 2.5 for this one. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta, which begins with a vowel, is what I hope you don't find this puzzle.