Pun of a Kind

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Hope your October is nice and puzzly. For baseball fans, the journey of Adolis Garcia continues! What an incredible Game 1 against the Rangers and the Diamondbacks last night. I tend to root for NL always (because of the Cubs!), but the Rangers are proving to any of the naysayers that they absolutely deserve to be there. May the best team win! --- 1.  Puzzle #72 answer: JUST GOING FOR A DRIVE Correct entries:  51 , of which 35  or so were solo. Shortest explanation: Based on the golf hints (18-letter phrase, "course," AUGUSTA in the middle), 18 entries' start with PAR. Extract the n th letter from that word, where n  is the par of that respective hole on the Augusta course. The letters spell JUST GOING FOR A DRIVE , a fittingly putting answer for meta #72, total par on a standard golf course. For more minute-by-minute fun on how this was created (in an absolute blitz), see here . --- 2. This meta was not  written in 12 hours, h...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! On fall break now, despite it being blustery in the region. Have a lot to do even after posting this puzzle, so let me post and continue tackling (some of) my adult responsibilities. --- 1.  Puzzle #71 answer:  JIMMY BUFFETT Correct entries:  56 Shortest explanation: Each of the four restaurant themers contain the double letters MM, FF, and TT; these, always in this order, along with the "anchor" entries of MARG + HUH + RITA ("margarita") suggest the meta answer of  JIMMY BUFFETT . --- 2.  This entire meta, from incipiency to grid to clues, took about 4.5 to 5 hours, all in a less than within a 16-hour period that included some semblance of sleep. I'll explain later, haha. This might be as low as a Level 2 or 2.5 for some and might crank up to close to a Level 4, I presume. I'll put it, perhaps a trickle high, at Level 3.5 . Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is an 18-letter phr...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Ironically, the last puzzle "We're Coming Apart!" could have referred to my beloved Chicago Cubs, who came apart at the seams over the last couple of weeks. Granted, they only had a slim chance to make the playoffs earlier in the summer, but these chances increased to 75% or so by early September. Now, they will likely miss them. In that case, all aboard the Orioles train! (Win it for Brooks.) But you're here for the metas! (And maybe also the baseball...a little bit?). --- 1.  Puzzle #70 answer:  SEVEN-TEN SPLIT Correct entries:  54 Shortest explanation: Seven  of the entries in the grid have the word TEN  " split " across them (such as TE*N or T*EN). This, along with the anchor entries of BOLE and LING ("bowling") suggest SEVEN-TEN SPLIT , the answer to the meta. (I have more bowling puns, but I'll spare you.) --- 2. As of this writing, I've spent about 7 hours on the WSJ to no avail, and the new Level 5 MGWCC jus...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! We're almost to fall (looking forward to those crunchy leaves), and I'll be decorating my office after I post this puzzle! We're also into meaningful baseball for my Cubbies, but they're in a bit of a slump right now (not the best time for it!). --- 1.  Puzzle #69 answer: LABORED Correct entries: 66 Shortest explanation: Easy-peasy! Seven entries can be preceded by the word "WORK," and those entries spell out LABORED , the meta answer in honor of Labor Day. --- 2.  Leaderboard (last two puzzles almost completely logged!) --- 3. We are back to an every other week schedule, which means difficulty is a little more transient. This one should log in, ideally, at no more than a Level 2 . Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful! Mikey G The answer to the meta is a numerical sports term.

PDF  /  PUZ September is here! It does mean that summer is unofficially ending, so this is the last puzzle in the Summer of Solves . We will still go back to puzzles on a bimonthly basis, and the next one will go live Saturday, September 16 at 1 pm ET . --- 1.  Puzzle #68 answer:  ABIDE Correct entries:  49  (tying last week, with about  20  or so likely solo solves). Shortest explanation, which is still a bit involved: The five longest across entries, with one letter changed, would contain within them five consecutive letters of the alphabet. (For instance, SUPERSTAR would have PQRST if the E were changed to a Q).  All changes (with new/old letter) SU PQRST AR (QE) DEFGH TON (FI) T HIJKL IKEACAT (JN) FI RSTUV E (UA) BCDEF AULT (CY) The new letter and replaced letter start and end five other 5-letter words in the grid. Their order, from top to bottom, JOANN, UMBRA, QUITE, CADDY, FIERI. We already have "used" the start and end letters of these...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! Where has August gone? We had a triple-digit heat index this past week for a couple of days, so I'm ready for cooler fall temperatures (sure, I say that now). My Cubbies are also in the wild card race, but those pesky Brewers are preventing us from taking the division. We're still going to try! --- 1.  Puzzle #67 answer: CUTTING-EDGE Correct entries:  49  (a Week 3 or Week 3.5; I'd estimate about 25  of these were solo solves.) Explanation, a little longer than usual this time: My intent when you solved this was that there'd be a lot of odd stuff going on, especially for a smaller grid: 1. We've broken some cardinal rules of standard crosswords: a bunch of two 2-letter words appear... 2. ...and we have repeated entries (OLE) at 9-Down and 13-Across (1-Across and 6-Down also rival that). 3. Though symmetrical, the grid is an odd 12-by-12 and, perhaps most notably, 4. Some of the fill is atrocious, especially for a grid that looks ...

PDF  /  PUZ Hello hello! August continues barreling forward, rather quickly in fast! Soon, it'll be time for my PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES (I already used that as a meta answer last year, so I doubt I'll repeat it!). Cubs continue to make a playoff push, my students are doing well to start off the year, and I get to spend the day with coffee, cats, and crosswords. What could be better! --- 1.  Puzzle #66 answer:  WAY TO GO Correct entries:  48  (a solid Week 2, maybe a bit more like 2.25) Shortest explanation: As hinted at by the explanation of ABBR, there are seven thoroughfare abbreviations hidden in across entries in the grid (LN, CIR, DR, RTE, ST, AVE, CT). These are the only instances of these seven, and I tried to limit myself to the most common ones, though things like BR, IS, UN, and TER crept in (hence the qualifier). If we head (first letter) out on (above) each of these seven entries, we spell out WAY TO GO , the meta answer, fitting since roads are de...