Pun of a Kind

Hello hello! No, this meta was not planned, and yes, it's being randomly posted. Explanation here . So, contrasting with what I said before, this really   will be the final puzzle before Christmas (no, really, this time). No PDF/PUZ, just Crosshare below. --- Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The 2-word answer to the meta in the form (6, 6) is why this meta exists.  

  Hello hello! It's the 15th, so you know what that means! (As of September, haha.) I've been posting a themeless on the 1st  and 15th  of the month, available on Crosshare below. Meta posted this past Saturday is still live. Happy puzzling, and may all your solves be beautiful! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! Mikey G  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Pete Alonso to the Os for five years (sorry, Mets fans). Meanwhile, the Cubs still exist, I guess. (Do something, front office!) This will be the final puzzle before Christmas and wishing you a happy holiday season! I'll see you again on 12/27  to start the Winter Solvestice! --- 1.  Puzzle #158 answer: ICY ("I SEE") Correct entries:  62 Shortest explanation: Somewhat SAD, since it wasn't too much to do, but it was well-hidden! Replace NOVEMBER with DECEMBER, and you'll form three new words going down. Find their alternates to give us ICY/"I SEE. " --- 2. Because this is a tough Level 4  (though I don't think it's quite that high, but I have a feeling it might trend there), I'll be placing a bonus Level 1  below it later today, time pending. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G 159a ("Trained Ear Games") The 8-letter answer to the meta is what I hope I won't be after you've solved...

Hello hello! No meta this time around, but I started a journey in September to post a themeless of some varying size (maybe leaning a bit midi) on the 1st and 15th of every month. This is my 7th in the sequence, and you can find the rest combing through my Crosshare page. I will label these with "TL" preceded by the number, so separate them from the metas, which shall still continue to be the main attraction. May all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! While I wait for baseball to return, my Broncos and Bears (two of my favorite teams!) are doing really well, so I'll take it! --- 1.  Puzzle #157 answer:  PUMPKIN PIE Correct entries:  63 Shortest explanation: Reparse FEAST as F, EAST and take the 10 squares in the grid exactly one square east of each "F" (the ten across entries with "F"s are symmetrically positioned). You'll get PUMPKIN PIE , our yummy apropos answer to the meta! --- 2.  A bit of a mini-meta for you this time! Thanks to Jangler for a last-minute test. Should clock in around a Level 2.5/3 . Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta sounds like what you might say when you solve it.  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Four of the toughest things for a baseball fan are November, December, January, and February. I'm at least glad that Shota will be back for us Cubbies on a one-year deal! Hope we can make some other great signings as well! --- 1.  Puzzle #156 answer:  NOVICES Correct entries:  52  - this one was a toughie and had a lot of incorrect submissions, so let's reveal! Shortest explanation: The four numbered entries can each be made into new entries by prefacing them by the month's abbreviation, corresponding to that clue's number. These four new entries have alternates in the grid, giving us ICES - appending this month's abbreviation helps the prompt make sense, giving us NOVICES as the final answer. --- 2. I do have a bonus puzzle planned for next week, so here's our first in a back-to-back set of what I hope are medium puzzles. Even though I couldn't think of a better title than that silly pun, I think this one will clock in at Level 2....

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! The Dodgers won back-to-back World Series in an incredible Game 7 for the ages, the best Game 7 since 2016 (trying to think what happened then). Now I have to figure out what in the world to post here for the next several months. In other sports news, my Broncos are rocking it! --- 1.  Puzzle #155 answer:  YOU'RE MY HERO Correct entries:  58  - a bit of consistency as of late! Shortest explanation: Some brutal fill made this one a bit less palatable, but I hope you still enjoyed the meal! Look for the letter pattern ABA, found 11 times in the grid in symmetric entries. The outer "breads" spell out ITALIAN ROLL, and the inside "meat" gives us YOU'RE MY HERO , the punny answer to the meta. --- 2. So, this was the actual inaugural November puzzle originally, but we did have last week's as a bonus. We will have a themeless on Crosshare next week and then be back here on 11/22 for another meta then! Thanks to JanglerNPL for the test-s...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! The World Series has been the best since 2016, and it all comes down to Game 7 tonight! May the best team win! (And then I'll start rooting for a Cubs-Mariners match-up in 2026). --- 1.  Puzzle #154 answer: 100 GRAND/$100,000 BAR Correct entries:  58 Shortest explanation: There is only one iteration of the letters C, A, N, D, and Y in the grid (the only singletons there are!). Per the title, we will have a product...mathematically speaking! Those letters are in squares 4, 5, 10, 20, and 25; their product is 100,000, signaling 100 GRAND (or its previous form, the $100,000 BAR ) as our meta answer. Sweet! --- 2. So, we have a bonus puzzle this week after last week's, since I overestimated the difficulty a bit. This meta is absolutely a Level 2 , but some of the fill got constrained as a result, so I tried to make cluing as simple as possible. We all deserve a break now and again! Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The 3-wo...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! The World Series is set, and since I last posted this, Shohei Ohtani had a game where he struck out 10...and hit 3 home runs. No big deal, of course! Winner of the World Series will be determined by the time of the next puzzle, most likely. May the best team win! --- 1.  Puzzle #153 answer:  STAKES Correct entries:  52 Shortest explanation: No picture - but it's also tough to get the shortest explanation! Check out the Muggles explanation here ! --- 2.  We need a bit of a respite, but this one might go either way! Depends on if you see what you need to see, of course! We'll put it at Level 3 . Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is the name of a candy bar.  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! I'm awake, though barely, after watching the incredible Mariners-Tigers 15-inning masterpiece last night. My heart still breaking for the Phillies also, but - somehow - my Cubs are still in it, and it all comes down to one game at "Wrigley North" tonight. How can you not be romantic about baseball? --- 1.  Puzzle #152 answer:  PUNT Correct entries: 55 Shortest explanation: Each of the four 9-letter football-themed words contains within it, from left to right, the letters of a 6-letter word, a synonym of which ends each contorted clue. Once these letters are removed from each entry, a 3-letter word remains. Find a clue elsewhere that starts with that same word. Those entries' initial letters spell, in standard grid order, PUNT , the answer to the meta. --- 2. Here for puzzle #153 is the first-ever POAK collaboration, this one between myself and Phil Chow, whose great creations can be seen here  (he also got an Orca nod last year for one o...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Cubs pretty much have the wild card locked - by the time I see you in October, their season might be over (eep!) or they might be making a run. Wish us luck! --- 1.  Puzzle #151 answer: CIAO Correct entries:  72 Shortest explanation: Remove "-YA" from each appropriate word in each themer, giving you a new word. Find an alternate for each word in the grid. The initial letters of the alternates spell CIAO , the answer to the meta! --- 2. The verdict is that this is a very solid Level 3  - thanks to Jangler, Kay, and Peter for test-solving and helpful comments! Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is what I hope you don't have to do on when solving it.  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Anthony Rizzo will retire as a Cub today at Wrigley Field, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone more universally beloved within our franchise. What an honor for him! Today concludes the 4th annual Summer of Solves . Many thanks to all who participated! I appreciate all of you so much. --- 1.  Puzzle #150 answer:  CLASS CLOWN Correct entries: 89  - can't get much more Level 1 than that! Shortest explanation: The four silly themers have words that rhyme with, well, CLASS CLOWN , about as Level 1 of a meta as you could get. I still  had confirmation with STALE (clued as "word before 'mates'," which also satisfies CLASS) and DRIVE ("word after 'rodeo'," which also satisfies CLOWN). Note also the CL- Roman numeral connection for puzzle 150! --- 2.  It can always be a tough level to construct, but this is a legitimate Level 2 to close out the season. I'll see you every other week until winter, in which I hope inspi...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! After all the ups and downs this season, it's nice that the Cubs are still playing relevant baseball in September. We'd play the Padres if the season ended today in a wild card matchup at Wrigley. Wish us luck! --- 1.  Puzzle #149 answer:  2025 Correct entries:  55 - that's a  Level 3.5/4  indeed! Shortest explanation: Take the nine entries with perfect squares 1 to 81. Square root these numbers, and index the entries' letters (so first letter from the clue with a "1," second letter from the clue with a "4," and so forth). You'll spell out FORTY-FIVE, which is not  a number less than 100, so per the title, square that to get 2025 , our current year and the apropos answer to the meta! --- 2. This was meant to be the last puzzle of the Summer of Solves, but I do have a bonus one next week before we go every other week until winter. This one is a Level 1  (really). Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! The Cubs got swept in San Francisco - the last team to be swept in a three-game series this year! I'll take this year, and the park is gorgeous, but the Giants are a .500 team. Oh well, onward! --- 1. Puzzle #148 is still live upon publication of this - so the reveal will come in due time! --- 2. Posting early to avoid MGWCC conflict. I had an idea for this puzzle earlier this week and went with it! Thanks to Alan and Kay for test-solving and giving invaluable feedback on such short notice. We'll say Level 3/3.5 to close out the month. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a number greater than 100.  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Somehow, the Cubs won the series against the Brewers, which righted the ship a bit. We're on a road series now against sub-par teams...hope this helps! --- 1.  Puzzle #146 answer:  CIPHER Correct entries:  68 Shortest explanation: You need to enter into the land of binary conversion for this one! Treat the six 8-letter entries as strings of binary, with "I"s being "1"s and other letters being "0"s. Each of these strings converts to a letter, per an online binary-to-text converter (or ASCII chart, as some have told me!). You'll get CIPHER , the answer to the meta. --- 2.  My planned Level 4 today is apparently a Level 44, so I need to go and figure out if that one's salvageable. Meanwhile, we have a Level 3.33  I've had on the backburner for a bit - Mr. Gaffney just had a puzzle with this title, so no time like the present! Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is an 8-letter...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Well, I hope your team is winning at least, haha. --- 1.  Puzzle #146 answer: CHAMP Correct entries: 59 Shortest explanation: A little more niche than usual - apologies for the sportsball! The five surnames, while clued differently, all could be found as players on my beloved 2016 Chicago Cubbies. Take their uniform numbers (per clue to CUBS) and, in order of the names as they appear, the letters spell out CHAMP , the answer to the meta! (And what the Chicago Cubs might be again in my lifetime...maybe.) --- 2. We progress through August with a Level 3  - might hover a bit below or above that, so we'll see what happens. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a 6-letter word.  

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Cubbies are in a brutal stretch right now - not really sure what's going on. One day at a time, of course! But we need to go on an extended winning streak and haven't done that in a good long while. Time will tell! --- 1.  Puzzle #144 answer:  AUGUST WILSON Correct entries:  78 Shortest explanation: Level 1 meta but the grid was a bear to get through! Find the "pens" of five like letters surrounding another letter, mostly on the left and right columns. The pens spell out FENCES, and the enclosed letters spell AUTHOR. You may already know it, or a quick search to Mr. Google shows us that the author of the Pulitzer-winning "Fences" is the timely AUGUST WILSON , our answer to the meta. --- 2.  This should be a Level 2  or maybe a Level 2.25  once you do what you have to do. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The 5-letter answer to the meta might be what you feel like if you're dressed for success.  ...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Cubbies got four players before the trade deadline - but not a starting pitcher! The market was tough, and it was probably better holding onto some of our stellar prospects. We'll see if our pitching can take us far enough into the postseason. Have to get through August and September first! --- 1.  Puzzle #144 answer:  DIME A DOZEN Correct entries: 55 Shortest explanation: Kind of a SAD one. The five extremely contrived clues to the 12-letter spanners (which took a while to write!) have exactly 10 of the 12 unique letters from the spanner within them. Thus, each spanner has two "leftover" letters; when spelled out in grid order, you get DIME A DOZEN , a nice connection to both the numbers 10 and 12, and the answer to the meta. --- 2. Welcome to the final month of the Summer of Solves! I planned to start with a Level 1, but this one got a bit away from me, perhaps, so Level 2  it is! Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey ...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! I'm not sure where in the world these White Sox came from after the All-Star Break, but I'm here for it, honestly! (Except after they trounced my Cubbies last night.) Trade deadline before the next puzzle releases, so hopefully we'll have some new players by then! --- 1.  Puzzle #143 answer: FRED ROGERS (MR. ROGERS) Correct entries:  72 Shortest explanation: The "X"-shapes in the grid spell out "THE OWL." The other numeric signposts lead us to the fact that the only other word in the fictional character is a...one letter long? Yes, simply "X." String together "X THE OWL" (in quotes!) and go to Mr. Google if you need to, and you'll see he was performed by (and likely created by) beloved MR. FRED ROGERS , the answer to our meta in honor of #143, one of his favorite numbers (for it enumerating "I love you"). --- 2.  This was slated to be Week 4 of 4 in July, but the testers are all converging around...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! An incredible All-Star weekend! National League won both  the Futures and All-Star games, Cal Raleigh had an incredible Home Run Derby, and the Cubs are back in fine form! Let's do this! --- 1.  Puzzle #142 answer:  MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP (or any ice cream with those initials, I guess, haha) Correct entries:  73 Shortest explanation: The four "meals" have initials that are roman numerals: C (100), CDL (450), CCL (250), CD (400). Add these numbers to get 1200, or MCC, in honor of MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP , my favorite. (There are probably others, though, as several have noted!). Note the Easter egg of the Mad Gab-esque MEANT CHALK LETS SHIP in the corners. --- 2. This is Week 3 of 4 in July, and I think this is a legitimate Week 3 , maybe a bit on either side of it. Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G A fictional character is hiding in the grid! The answer to the meta is the well-known personality who brought him to life...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! My Cubbies have been a bit on a struggle bus this week against the Twins and the Yankees, so we'll try to right the ship soon. Looking forward to the All-Star game also, of course! --- 1.  Puzzle #141 answer:  LOLCAT Correct entries:  61 Shortest explanation: Per the entry for HAHA, find the six entries whose clues' initial letters spell HAHA. Those initial letters give us LOLCAT , the answer to the meta. --- 2. I planned this one as a Week 2 , and I think I have enough signposts along the way, but we'll put it in the 2.25/2.5  range as well if your mileage varies. We'll see what happens! (Check out Crosshare for early nudges!) Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is the generic, well-known  ice cream flavor (my favorite!) I'm having for dessert.  

  PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! My Cubbies set a franchise record yesterday with EIGHT home runs in a single game, including THREE back-to-back homers and three from our first baseman Michael Busch! The future is bright! (But it's also still hot, so I'm staying inside!) --- 1.  Puzzle #140 answer:  FORTY WINKS Correct entries:  60 Shortest explanation: "Index" each entry, and take the Zth letter of each themer, where "Z" is the number of, well, "Z"s in the entry! You'll spell FORTY and can probably inference the second word. Otherwise, go to the clues and repeat! You'll get  FORTY WINKS  (in honor of puzzle #140), the answer to the meta! --- 2.  June was a complete roulette wheel in terms of levels, but I think I have a rough sequence for July planned. We start off with a breezy  Level 1 . Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is something I find hilarious.