31. Almost Famous

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1. Puzzle #30 recap

Puzzle #30 answer: TRADE RUMORS

Correct entries: 49 - I think this also might be a record! So close to the half-century mark!

You know I love my baseball - but it wouldn't be fair to use prior knowledge of Mikey G to solve this one. Given the title, as well as some bizarre entries such as LIGERS, MAILINS, and TRIOLES, we might think that baseball is in play (especially since those entries look suspiciously like TIGERS, MARLINS, and ORIOLES, three MLB teams). Other longer examples, such as PILATES and DANGERS, turn into PIRATES and RANGERS with a letter swap, and we should be off to the races.

There are 11 of these swaps, which also matches with the 11-letter prompt. When all the "trades" are made, the correct letters of the baseball teams (highlighted in yellow above) spell TRADE RUMORS, the answer to the meta. (And I have heard so many about the Cubs' beloved catcher Willson Contreras, it's not even funny.)

2. It's the fourth week, so that means it's time for a challenging Week 4 meta! Super shout-out to KayW with amazing wisdom in the test-solving process! Seeing that epiphany was an extra bonus, so I hope you have an epiphany at some point as well! And if you like 21-by-21 puzzles, you're in luck! (If you're not, you'll be suffering for a puzzle that's 96% larger. I did the math, per usual.)

Good luck!

Mikey G

The answer to the meta is how you might feel when you get it.