Pun of a Kind

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! It's Olympics time! Super excited about this, which I feel will help hedge against some of the disappointment I'm feeling since the Cubs will likely have been sellers by the time the next meta releases. --- 1.  Puzzle #102 answer:  SHELF-CARE Correct entries:  69  (yay, a genuine Level 1 !) Shortest explanation: Nine entries have part of their pattern as IXI, where X is any letter and the two "I"s are serving as the lines. The title pretty much gives it to you! The in-between letters spell out SHELF-CARE (a bookworm's fitting pun on "self-care"!), the answer to the meta. I hope to read a lot on my vacay...and solve many puzzles, of course! --- 2.  We will crank this up a little bit, but I tend to suffer from a "Level 2 conundrum," haha. I do think this should play as a Level 2.5 , however. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is an Olympic event.  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! I'm down from cloud ten - more like cloud or four or five - since the Cubs didn't do anything of note on their first game back from the All-Star break. Trade deadline is coming up soon, so we'll have to see what happens! --- 1.  Puzzle #101 answer:  101 DALMATIANS Correct entries: 40  (more of a Level 3 or 4 than anticipated!) Shortest explanation: Precisely 13 black squares, playing the role of "spots," have a white space upon them. These, in order, spell out  101 DALMATIANS  (the "I" and the "O" playing numeric duty), the answer to our meta. No bones about it! This one played a lot harder than intended and was definitely SAD. Granted, it was a bit of a leap to make "spot" = "black square." I threw plenty of Easter eggs as well: ANITA is the mom, SMITH is the author, CLOSE played the villain once, and apparently there were also 101 white squares, along with the numeric tie-in. Mailbag: "Your ...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! I'm on cloud ten (even more excited than usual) because the Cubbies have been rocking it this past week! They've just won five in a row for only the second time all season and are playing like the team I always knew they could be! Let's keep it going! --- 1.  Puzzle #100 answer: ONE IN A PUNDRED (har har) Correct entries:  60 Shortest explanation: I can be serious...sometimes! There were only 13 entries in the puzzle that were actually clued as directly and as non-humorously as possible. Those entries' initial letters spell out ONE IN A PUNDRED , the answer to our meta! To quote a couple of solvers: "After solving that one, I think I need a meta physical." "Oh, my. That's just...I can't..." Sounds about right, hahaha. --- 2.  Well, we have our first hundred in the books and we're onto the next hundred! This one will likely be about Level 2 ...at least, that's the goal! Good luck, and may all your solves be bea...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! For you Cubbies fans (I'm not sure who actually reads this), Justin Steele got his first win of the season in incredible fashion yesterday by throwing his first-ever complete game! I still think the Cubs might be sellers at the deadline, but maybe they'll just stand pat? This July is already better by a mile, compared to both May and June combined. And, now, onto Mikey G's 100th meta puzzle! --- 1.  Puzzle #99 answer:  WAYNE GRETZKY Correct entries: 81 ! A true Level 1, we did it!! Shortest explanation: It's about as simple as it gets here: take MIKEY G'S LAST NAME - hey, that's mine! That's GRACZYK (it does indeed rhyme with "basic," though I believe the original was pronounced GRAH-chik), and following the straightforward directions after that gets us to #99 himself, WAYNE GRETZKY , our meta answer. (This puzzle is based on one of my all-time favorite Dell offerings, "How Well Do You Follow Directions?"). --- 2....