Pun of a Kind

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! I'm savoring this time off and having a blast as a Cubs fan: we've just won 8 in a row, which is our biggest winning streak since 2016! (I wonder what else happened then.) Also a shout-out to the Orioles, who have been so fun to watch and a great story this year. Again, I've already used my one baseball meta limit this summer, haha. Onward! --- 1.  Puzzle #63 answer:  SINGULAR Correct entries: 47 (this also has the all-time record for correct answers, including multiple guesses, at 68% !) Shortest explanation: There are 26 columns in the puzzle, which correspond to the letters A through Z. In 18 of these columns, the corresponding column's letter appears twice (and is double trouble, since we don't want those!). The remaining 8 columns only have one instance of their key letter: these 8 letters anagram to SINGULAR , the only single word that can be anagrammed from these and the answer to the meta. --- 2.  Leaderboard: --- 3. This is the fift

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! I'm on vacation now, decluttering my house (or trying to), rooting on the Cubs (please keep Cody Bellinger!), and listening to the music of the late, great Tony Bennett. A great way to rest and recharge. --- 1.  Puzzle #62 answer:  HALLELUJAH Correct entries: 51 Shortest explanation: As hinted by the short central across entry MOS and the title, all the asterisked entries have the three-letter month abbreviation in reverse (JAN in INAJAM and so forth). The only one that is missing is JUL's, which becomes LUJ when reversed. This can be found in the middle of the common 10-letter exclamation HALLELUJAH  (and I don't see many other words at all with that trigram!), our meta answer. --- 2.  Leaderboard (still from last week, will have to update this later): --- 3. So, we have a technical note first. Due to the unusual size of this grid, Crosshare cannot accommodate it. So note that the online grid is on Amuse Labs, which can be seen below. However, beca

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Hope we're all having a great July. I'm in my decluttering mode, but I'm definitely not throwing out all my books of logic problems that still await me! (They're the kind of puzzle I most reach for when not doing metas.) Another puzzle is what the Cubs will do at the deadline. But, never fear, this meta has nothing to do with sports! I might have used up my maximum one allowed per summer last week, haha. Let's go to it! --- 1.  Puzzle #61 answer:  (ROGER) MARIS Correct entries:  46  (Solid Week 2.5 or Week 3.) Shortest explanation: There is only one J, U, D, G, and E in the grid (the only singletons). If we don't "judge" and eliminate those letters from the across entries, we get five new entries. Play "alternate clues" with those and get the initials of MARIS (the answer to the meta), the Yankee who famously hit 61 in '61, a record that would stand in the AL until...61 years later, fittingly enough, when Aaron Ju

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Hope all of us are having a great start to July and that you (and your pets) survived the fireworks.  In baseball news, will my Cubbies be buyers or sellers?? Stay tuned! --- 1.  Puzzle #60 answer:  60 MINUTES Correct entries:  66 (perfect for a Week 1!) Shortest explanation: Starting at high noon, the outer perimeter of the grid, like that of a clock, spells out VEGA RATHER SAWYER STAHL WALLACE , all five of whom (and Vega currently!) have been hosts of the popular CBS newsmagazine 60 MINUTES , the meta answer. --- 2.  Leaderboard is also pending; here is the current one from last week (without #60): --- 3.  This is Week 2  in July, and this could bump up to Week 2.5  perhaps, but I can't see it being any more than that. Keep on puzzling, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a 20th-century American.

PDF  /  PUZ Happy July! I hope you have better luck with this month of metas than my sunflowers have been doing! (But I planted some new ones - wish me luck!!) Pretty easy one to kick things off. --- 1.  Puzzle #59 answer:  23-SKIDOO Correct entries: 55 (Maybe a bit too easy for a Week 4, although maybe it just means more of you are falling in love with my puzzles! Or doing them anyway, haha.) Thanks to Gridmaster T, as always. Shortest explanation: The squares with prime numbers spell out the string THEBIGLEBOWYABBADABBA, which suggests "SKI" and "DOO" at the end of each of them. This concatenates to "SKIDOO," which is perhaps nonsensical in itself, but a quick Google search (or knowledge of early 20th century slang!) gives us 23-SKIDOO , the meta answer. Note the reference to a prime number, the current year, and  the fact that BEAT IT at 23-Across suggests something similar. Now get out of here! (But do this puzzle first.) --- 2.  Leaderboard: --- 3. Le