119. I'm Putting You On

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Hello hello! Cody Bellinger goes to the Yankees since we last met, and I think it was more of a cost-effective trade for us. Once a Cub, always a Cub! He had a solid two years for us, and I wish him well!

A far easier puzzle today, as you'll soon see.

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1. Puzzle #118a answer: END TABLES

Correct entries: 31...our lowest total since October '22! Eep! We need an easier conundrum, for sure!

Shortest explanation: Tough to have a "short explanation" for this one, but I will redirect you to the image above. It was a three-step process (maybe four): 1. note the ridiculous start to all the clues, most of which start with the corresponding element's symbol from the table, 2. there are eight that don't: take these in numeric order, 3. find the directive "FIND NINE C-SYMBOLS," which then leads to you 4. go to the periodic table and find the first nine C-symbols that also have grid number representation. Then, 5. go to the grid and extract those letters, giving us END TABLES, the final answer in honor of #118, the ending element on the periodic table.

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2. Puzzle #118b answer: SOFA

Correct entries: 29...we're going in the wrong direction!

Shortest explanation: The irony is that I put this one together quickly as an antidote to the likely Level 5. The seven musical notes all appear in the grid - all seven appear twice, but only two appear once: those are FA and SO, and a map of Burkina Faso might be in your home, yes! But the likelier answer is SOFA, the answer to our meta.

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3. I would love to put this at a Level 1 and will it into existence, but on a slight off-chance, I'll put it at Level 1.5. The goal is more correct answers in 24 hours than we had in the entire duration of last week's puzzle, haha.

Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful!

Mikey G

The answer to the meta is a 2-word phrase.