144. Ten to Twelve

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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!

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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").

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2. This was slated to be Week 4 of 4 in July, but the testers are all converging around another Week 3, and I'm fine with that, haha. Thanks to Jangler, Lydia, and Peter for test-solving!

Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful!

Mikey G

The answer to the meta is a 10-letter phrase.