Pun of a Kind

PDF  /  PUZ Just call me Mr. Meta (three in a row!). I have become enamored with the meta, including Gaffney's epic weekly challenge (that I began about one year ago), so that might be slowly what this blog becomes. Additionally, thanks to the persistence of many steadfast muggles, we hit the quarter-century mark last week! 1.  August #2 recap August #1 answer: (CHICAGO) CUBS Correct entries: 25 Winners: Darth  and dudeski  - congrats!! In honor of the Gaffney meta whose answer was  COMEDY CENTRAL, here was a meta with four of the five NL Central used in hilariously  punny themers (my favorite). The missing one was my beloved CUBS, the answer to the meta. Says ky-mike: The CUBS are missing. Kinda describes this season, doesn't it? Bahahaha, yes. But, indeed, I've worn Cubbie blue since '92 - and that will never change. 💙 2.  Today's puzzle has a Level of  2  or 2.5  of 5 and is a tribute to my favorite beverage. Good luck!! Mi...

PDF  /  PUZ This is turning into a meta-fest pretty quickly, haha - but since there's becoming a greater overlap between this blog and the Muggles forum, I don't think you guys will mind! Here's a bonus meta before I go TEACH  again, which was our meta answer for the past puzzle! (Note we're still on track to have one at the end of August also!)   1. August #1 recap June answer: TEACH Correct entries:  13 Winner: hoover  - congrats!! We literally went back to school on this one, as each longer entry had five schools scattered throughout the entries, written backward. DRAWFORTH = HOWARD CITYBLOCK = COLBY INAROUNDABOUTWAY = AUBURN NOVELIDEA = ELON HELPMEOUT = TEMPLE The first letters of the theme entries are HCAET, which - of course - spelled backward is TEACH , which is what I will once again do beginning this upcoming week! Hoover , the winner, mused on why I included those five schools. The short answer: They were the only ones that worked, hahaha. ...

PDF  /  PUZ Well, I'm trying not too cry too loudly after my beloved Cubbies had a fire sale to close out the trade deadline - so don't be surprised if that shows up in the puzzles, haha. And it's the end of the month, so you know what that means: meta time! First, a recap on the previous one:   1.  July recap June answer:  1776 Correct entries: 17 Winner:  Laura M and oldjudge  - congrats!! It's hard to tell what's going on with just those two entries, but those happened to be entries clued at #37 and #48. (Note plenty of red herrings - include one very literal!) The title of the puzzle, "Use the Fourth," hints that we are to do something with "fourth," and in this case, it's the letter in the fourth position of every  clue (this took a while, haha). Taking the fourth letter of every clue, in fact, spells out the directive: FIND THE PRODUCT OF THE CLUE NUMBERS OF THE GRID ENTRIES TO START AND END WITH THE SAME LETTER. And the only two  are ...

PDF  /  PUZ Puzzlers of the world, welcome! I hope we're having a wonderful summer - mine has been extremely busy, and I'm on vacation now, so I'm already working on my to-do list: Do crosswords Write crosswords Play with my GINGER CAT BEST CAT EVER And that pretty much sums it up, haha. Here's a puzzle from my end to celebrate...well, I think you'll see. Another meta drops next Friday, which reminds me, I need to get cluing on that! Keep on puzzling! Mikey G

  PDF  /  PUZ Another meta hot off the presses - though last month's was the one that was truly all about that Hot Stuff! More on that in a bit. If I had the bandwidth to make a meta a week, I definitely would - but I'm busy with all of my other pursuits, including work, so a monthly meta will have to suffice! (There's plenty of other metas out there to keep you busy, for sure!!)   1.  June recap May answer:  JUNE CARTER (CASH) (to celebrate June, of course!) Correct entries:  8 , haha - maybe a little trickier this time! Winner: LesY   One of my favorites to this day! I wouldn't likely use the word SHEW  unless I absolutely 100% couldn't find a better crossing (or felt like referencing Ed Sullivan!). The five entries highlighted above have clues that end with something that could be considered "hot," hence the title! (The longer theme entries are meant to nudge you into looking at the last words of five of the clues - I might not always be t...

PDF  /  PUZ My Cubbies had an excellent May - so you know I'm on cloud nine! (The Giants were playing World Series level baseball this past weekend - what a series.) I'm teaching summer school but also hope to post some more non-meta puzzles here, though I'm very aware the metas get the most traffic! As always, wait for the last weekend in the month for those. 😀 I was honored to be part of Rachel and Claire's first crowd-sourced puzzle here , which you should solve first if you haven't already before you tackle the one below! I also solved it again because I can't remember anything. This grid was made several months back (like a handful on my end!) but haven't had time to clue it until now. A big shout-out to Will for test-solving and to Ricky for seed inspiration! Stay cool out there! Mikey G Editor's note: Don't eat the aux cord.

PDF  /  PUZ Meta solvers of the world, unite! I've been trying to average three puzzles a month, but I've had a very busy May, so I was only able to do a couple this time. I love this newfound craft and have a lot to learn, so thank you for coming alongside me on this journey!   1.  April recap: April answer:  BASEBALL DIAMOND Correct entries: 10 Winners:  boharr  and  DannyVee  - congrats!! It was only a matter of time before the first baseball crossword (and maybe not the last!). There is a quite literal BASEBALL DIAMOND  in the middle of the grid, with various clues circling the grid (much in a similar fashion to a baseball diamond, though I wish I could've fit in a HOME RUN along the way).   2.  Today's puzzle has a Level of 2.5  of 5, according to world-renowned meta test-solver Paolo Pasco. See if you can unravel the hints and find our mystery person this time around!   The answer to the meta is a 20th-cent...