Pun of a Kind

  PDF  /  PUZ 1.  Puzzle #26 recap Puzzle #26 answer: DAD BOD Correct entries: 33 You did need some outside knowledge for this one! Only six of the entries in the grid were clued as people, be they real or fictional. Those are highlighted above in yellow. If we take their fathers' first names in order, as seen in the blue, we get DAD BOD , definitely a father figure! (I've got the dad bod with the dad jokes, so this meta answer was fair, haha.) 2. This finishes the month and is most certainly at least a Level 4 , if not a 4.5.  I'm not sure what categorizes a Level 5  over a Level 4 , but this one will require some thought. A special shout-out to Abide for test-solving and for some very solid editing suggestions. Good luck! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a 7-letter word.

PDF  /  PUZ 1.  Puzzle #25 recap Puzzle #25 answer:  FAIR Correct entries:  22 (maybe not as FAIR as I would have liked!) A lot of these puzzles for the Summer of Solves were written for the summer, but some I just had the backburner and wanted to try to clean up and use. I also typically like to have one "mini-meta" a month, where the grid is less than 15-by-15. My suspected logic was to note the central spanner with the simple clue of "Four" (matching the title), which would allude to the fact that we're looking for two-by-two squares (whose area is also four). And these squares can't just be random, of course; there has to be rhyme and reason to them. And what better rhyme or reason (so I thought) to have the two-by-two squares spell out words that complete the phrase "SQUARE ___." Yes, SQUARE AWAY is a bit of a stretch, but I had to for the meta and  this wasn't random. Our family says that a lot, especially in regard to IOUs, haha. (Also, ...

  PDF  /  PUZ 1.  Puzzle #24 recap Puzzle #24 answer:  WHEEL OF FORTUNE Correct entries:  47 (new record!) About as Level 1 as it gets, at least in terms of the meta, though I'm still told my clues were maybe too clever by half, haha. We see the three main options, and the two main hosts, of Wheel of Fortune , the answer to our meta. 2. This is June's mini-meta as part of the "Summer of Solves," which I'll still try to do, though we'll see what happens! This could go either way, but I'm thinking this will be a Level 2 , per chance a Level 2.5 . Good luck! Mikey G The one-word answer to the meta is what I hope you find this puzzle.

  PDF  /  PUZ 1.  Puzzle #23 recap Puzzle #23 answer:  BACK TO BED Correct entries:  43 (tied for all-time!) I like my cryptic indicators sometimes, and the "west" indicates going backwards. There are five instances of the seemingly random string DEBOT, which is a reversal of TO BED (that is, "TO BED" going back wards). Thus, for this vacation, I'm going BACK TO BED . Everyone who gets it gets one shiny point! If you get this on the second try, you get 99% of a shiny point, just to break any ties at the end, haha. 2. It is hard for me to make an easy puzzle - and this one probably isn't any easier, haha, but I did my best. The meta, however, is about as Level 1 as it gets, I would think. Good luck! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a television show.