1977 PBS sensation / SAT 10-25-14 / Trumpeter Jones / Musical partner of DJ Spinderella Salt / Singer Aguilera's nickname / Mysore Palace resident / Sci-fi disturbances / Sassiness slangily

Constructor: Patrick Blindauer

Relative difficulty: Medium

[In lieu of a finished grid, please accept this picture of my dog balancing a cupcake on her head.]

THEME: none, except, you know, the META

Word of the Day: "PIE JESU" (42A: Requiem Mass part) —

Pie Jesu (original Latin: Pie Iesu) is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. // The settings of the Requiem Mass by Luigi Cherubini, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins and Fredrik Sixten include a Pie Jesu as an independent movement. Of all these, by far the best known is the Pie Jesu from Fauré's Requiem. Camille Saint-Saëns said of Fauré's Pie Jesu that "[J]ust as Mozart's is the only Ave verum corpus, this is the only Pie Jesu".

Andrew Lloyd Webber's setting of Pie Jesu in his Requiem (1985) has also become well known. It has been recorded by Sarah Brightman, Jackie Evancho, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Marie Osmond, Anna Netrebko, and others. Performed by Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston, it was a certified Silver hit in the UK in 1985. (wikipedia)

• • •

So I'm playing along with Management (NYT Management) and not posting the grid. Because Contest. Even though most people don't give a rap about the contest and would just as soon know what the meta is right now. I know, man. Believe me. I hear you. But since you don't even have to fully solve today's puzzle to get the meta-puzzle clues, I'm not sure how necessary a grid reveal is. If you were able to unveil the meta clues in today's puzzle *and* you have experience solving metas, then getting the answer should be a cinch. But don't feel bad if you're stumped. Many people's initial forays into meta-puzzling are fruitless and frustrating. But I love a good meta, and this one is at least good. My only problem is … I was right. About earlier grids—they were made weaker, fill-wise, because they were meta-weight-bearing, i.e. if there'd been no meta, Every Single One of the themed puzzles this week would've been better. But … on the whole, the puzzles weren't what I'd call "bad," and the meta is really quite nice.


I knew what the meta was before I solved this puzzle. I got an email from a well-known constructor telling me she was able to grok the meta early based on comments I'd made on my blog. This was surprising to me, as I had not solved the meta yet, and so anything I revealed via my blog was entirely accidental. So I made her tell me what it was I said that tipped her, and I was able to figure out the theme from there. My initial hunches were all good—there was just one little connection that I, a reasonably seasoned meta-solver, should've made, but didn't (a connection laid out pretty explicitly in today's grid). When she told me (or hinted at it, anyway), I did a sincere and hearty "D'oh!" The trick is something out of Meta-Solving 101, Rexy! Maybe 102. Anyway, many top meta-solvers were able to smoke out the meta answer early. I wasn't really trying very hard, but still, I think I should've seen what was up, considering I was sniffing around the right places.


OK, so … yeah. See you tomorrow, maybe. I forget what the prize is for this contest, but I hope you win it.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Iberian wine city / SUN 9-22-13 / Spiderwick Chronicles co-author DiTerlizzi / my destiny be Fustian Dickinson poem / Old PC monitor feature / Satirical 1974 espionage film / Material beyond terrestrial plane in medieval science / English landscapist famous for burning of houses of lords commons / Classic sci-fi film billed as horror horde of crawl crush giants / 1960s-70s series starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr

Constructor: Mike Selinker

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: "Letterboxes" — "Crosswords Contest! In this special contest crossword, the completed grid conceals a familiar three-word phrase related to the puzzle's theme. 70-Across provides a hint as to where to find it, and you will need to print out the PDF to see some heavy lines that cannot be reproduced here (http://select.nytimes.com/premium/xword/2013/09/22/Sep2213.pdf). When you have the answer, e-mail it to crossword@nytimes.com. Twenty-five correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, Sept. 24, will receive copies of The New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzles 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar, courtesy of Andrews McMeel. Only one entry per person, please. The answer will appear here on Wednesday, Sept. 25. The winners' names will be announced on Friday, Sept. 27."

[UPDATE: ANSWERS HERE]

• • •

I'm going to respect the contest. That is, I'm not going to reveal any information here. I don't know why, really. I mean, the stakes are soooooo low that I have a hard time imagining anyone even taking the time to enter. A day-to-day calendar?!? Really?

But I'm going to respect the contest anyway. Call it professional courtesy. Call it laziness. Call it whatever. You're gonna have to come up with your own answers today.


I will say one thing: the reveal, i.e. the meta-puzzle, i.e. the "three-word phrase" mentioned in the contest description (above), is Great. A genuinely fantastic punch line. The fill in this puzzle is not great. Painful and cringe-worthy at times. But there's a reason. Is it a good reason? Well ... I've probably already said too much. Just know that the phrase at the end of the rainbow is not a dud. It may not excuse all the ouchy stuff you had to fill in to get there, but it's not a dud.


OK, that's all. Good night. I would say "don't spoil the puzzle in the comments," but you're grown people (mostly) and you can do whatever the hell you want.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[UPDATE: ANSWERS HERE]

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Elephantine walker in Empire Strikes Back / SUN 10-21-12 / Fictional Miss Jane / Warner who played Charlie Chan / Bambi villain / University in Center Valley Pa / Cash back from online purchase / Persuasive Dr Seuss character / Port from which Amelia Earhart left on her last flight

Constructor: Caleb Rasmussen

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: Bypassing Security — puzzle note:

This puzzle's grid represents a sealed vault and its well-guarded surroundings. After completing the crossword, start in the upper-left corner and find a safe path to an important item. Then determine where to use this item to access the vault and its contents.  

To enter the contest, identify the following 10 things: a) the name of the "important item," b) where to use it, c) seven hazards to avoid, and d) the contents of the vault. Each of these things is named by a single word.

When you have found the 10 words, send them in an e-mail to: crossword@nytimes.com. Twenty-five correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, Oct. 23, will receive copies of "The New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzles 2013 Weekly Planner Calendar" (Andrews McMeel). Only one entry per person, please. The answer grid will appear next week. The winners' names will appear in the issue of Nov. 4. 

Word of the Day: W. AVERELL Harriman (11D: Diplomat W. ___ Harriman) —

William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891 – July 26, 1986) was an AmericanDemocratic Party politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baronE. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Trumanand later as the 48th Governor of New York. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952, and again in 1956 when he was endorsed by President Truman but lost to Adlai Stevenson both times. Harriman served President Franklin D. Roosevelt as special envoy to Europe and served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union and U.S. Ambassador to Britain. He served in numerous U.S. diplomatic assignments in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He was a core member of the group of foreign policy elders known as "The Wise Men." (wikipedia)

• • •

So, a contest.

Will requested that I not give away any contest-related information about the puzzle, which essentially means not showing the grid or talking about the theme ... so ... how 'bout them Tigers?!

I will publish the completed grid on the website's Facebook page on Tuesday after 6pm—good for the nearly 2000 of you who have LIKED that page (19A: Gave props on Facebook). Also, I will probably go back in and add the completed grid to this write-up, I guess.

Here's what I can say:

I found this much harder than your typical Sunday. Total Hail Mary at TAL / AVERELL (10A: Chess champion Mikhail / 11D: Diplomat W. ___ Harriman) and [that European capital] and AT-AT (100A: Elephantine walker in "The Empire Strikes Back"). Plus, the segment just south of the the NW, with its multiple ... tricky spots ... was virtually impossible for me to get. I had to wait on about four different squares in there for a good long time. Stumped on:

• 4D: Concludes
• 35A: Soft scent
• 35D: Crop holder
• 51A: BlackBerry features

Can't give you any of those answers, 'cause ... 'cause.

Also, I misspelled AVON LEA (88D: Setting of "Anne of Green Gables") as AVON LEE and was stuck wondering how HES could be the answer to [Boasts]. No idea how I remembered OLAND, but I did (39A: Warner who played Charlie Chan). Well, sort of. Needed a few crosses to jog my memory.

Never heard of ANEROID (75A: Kind of barometer) or the answer to 121A: Predatory insect, but that may be the only complete stumper of the day. The other stuff that "stumped" me, I at least recognized once I got it. Yes, even LAE (60D: Port from which Amelia left on her last flight). Even, very vaguely, ESSIE (38A: Actress Davis of "The Matrix Reloaded").


Overall, I thought the puzzle ... interesting. Clever. Mildly tough / annoying to solve, but conceptually bold. Seems like a very tough puzzle to construct (surely someone will call it "a tour de force!"). As stunt puzzles go, it's alright. Aiight. This is essentially how I felt about this constructor's last puzzle (also a stunt puzzle), and how I will likely feel about his next puzzle (also a stunt puzzle), which comes out Thursday, which I know only because its theme was (stupidly) leaked and published on a website last week. It's a theme that a friend of mine claims to have done already, but I've never seen it done, so it'll be new to me, which is (mostly) all that matters.

I can't give you the correct answers to the contest, but I assume I can give you the wrong answers. So here's one: SLOT. Seems a very, very good answer to me, but I'm 99.99999% sure it is Not Correct.

And now...

Bullets:

• 13A: Highland fling participants (LASSES) — I assumed this had something to do with stump-throwing or whatever happens at the Highland Games. Caber-toss? Yep, that's what I was thinking of:

• 53A: Secretary of labor who became a Supreme Court Justice — Oh, didn't know this one either. Infer infer infer.
• 74A: Gabrielle of volleyball and modeling (REECE) — if I hadn't known her, center would've been Way harder than it already was.
• 102A: Historical figure in Isabel Allende's novel "Inés of My Soul" (PIZARRO) — at one point I had EL ZORRO. True story.
• 116A: Persuasive Dr. Seuss character (SAM I AM) — nice clue.
• 107A: Like a winning X Games trick, maybe (INSANEST) — here's the results of a losing X Games trick. Actually, it's just my nephew's mouth after a nasty skatepark accident. 

• 44D: New World monkey (MARMOSET) — the hippest, most modern of monkeys.
• 55D: Cash back from an online purchase (E-BATE) — Hey, look, another E-word to E-hate.
• 89D: University in Center Valley, Pa. (DESALES) — uh ... really? Wow. Seems obscure. I can name hundreds of universities. This is not one of them. And I live next door to Pa.
• 80D: Fictional Miss Jane — wanted EYRE or MARPLE or, less explicably, BRODIE.
• 114D: "Bambi" villain (ENA) — that's right, turns out Bambi's aunt was the killer all along. Also, Bruce Willis is dead and Soylent Green is people. 

Happy ... navigation. 

If you don't want any spoilers ... well, then, really, why are you here? I was gonna say "don't read the Comments section," but anyone who goes that deep has no business complaining about spoilage. Would be sporting of you to keep solution to yourself, but I'm not the boss of you, sadly, so ... do what you will. 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Campaign election analyst Silver / 10-22-11 / Strip since 1961 that's printed in black white / Narrative set in Bronze Age / Role for Young

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: The solution of the week-long metapuzzle 

Word of the Day: GUYS (40A: Insults playfully) —

tr.v., guyed, guy·ing, guys.
To hold up to ridicule; mock.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/guy-1#ixzz1bTWq51FL

• • •

"CROSS" WORDS CONTEST week! All the puzzles this week, from Monday to Saturday, have been created by one person, Patrick Berry. Have your solutions handy, because the Saturday puzzle conceals a meta-challenge involving the solution grids of all six. When you have the answer to the meta-challenge, mail it to: crossword@nytimes.com. Please do not post your answers here on the blog and please do not mail them to me! Only answers e-mailed to the above address will be considered. Twenty-five correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6:00 p.m. E.T. Sunday, Oct. 23, will receive copies of “Will Shortz Picks His Favorite Puzzles: 101 of the Top Crosswords From The New York Times.” Only one entry per person, please. The answer and winners’ names will appear on Friday, Oct. 28, at http://www.nytimes.com/wordplay.

• • •

Hard to evaluate a puzzle like this, which is essentially a decoder ring. Never did like instructions in my answer grid, but at least today there's a reasonable-sized payoff.

In the interest of ... I don't know what ... the integrity of the contest? Whatever the reason, I think I won't reveal the solution to the metapuzzle. I will, however, reveal the instructions provided in this puzzle, as they are the only thing that could pass for a "theme" today:

Theme answers:

• 23A: Find contest's meta-answer by reading THE FIRST LETTERS of these clues.
• 42A: Solvers must FILL EVERY CIRCLE in the grids to determine the grids' proper order.

If you are really trying to avoid spoilers, I would suggest you stay away from the comments section today. But then, if you were avoiding spoilers, you probably wouldn't be reading this sentence right now. At any rate, I'll reveal the meta-answer on Monday, after the contest entry window has closed.

About the grid: Biggest surprise was finding out that NATE Silver is crossworthy (13A: Campaign/election analyst ___ Silver). Good for him. I follow him on Twitter and find his statistical analyses of politics fascinating. I was surprised to find that A-ROD has only been A-ROD since '99 (16A: Nickname since 1999), even though he broke into the league (first full season) in '96. Slapped my head when I *finally* figured out what 12D: Second or sixth in a series was (ADAMS). I was thinking "ALEPH ... is first in a series ... so ... what?" Toughest part for me by far was everything around GUYS (new meaning of the word, for me) and esp. "SPY VS. SPY" (35D: Strip since 1961 that's printed in black and white) which looks *insane* in the grid. I worked and reworked that area a bunch because I was convinced that the letter sequences I was getting for that answer must be wrong. Just now noticing that that elusive [Kite part] was a BEAK. So, you know, *that* kind of "kite." I had TAIL there, at first, of course ... hmm, *that* kind of "kite" also has a tail. Couldn't process what was meant by [Astronomical appearance]—so much so that the "P" in PHASE ended up being the very last thing I put in the grid. Seven PINES???? (29A: Seven ___ (Civil War battle site)) Could've been VINES or TINES or MINES, as far as I was concerned.




Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Poisonous gilled mushrooms / FRI 10-21-11 / What Surgeon's Photo supposedly depicts / Prelapsarian home / 1976 Broadway musical based on Henry VIII's life

Warning—If you get your puzzle online, make sure you download the .pdf format (directly from the NYT's "Crosswords & Games" page). The *real* Friday puzzle (by Patrick Berry) is available online *exclusively* as a .pdf file. The AcrossLite and applet files are a different puzzle entirely.

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: Crossing over —some Down and Across answers wrap around, or "cross over" to the other side of the grid; three grid-spanning answers have two clues each—one for the strange phrases that start on the far left of the grid, and another for familiar phrases that start somewhere in the middle of the grid and make sense only if you read them as wrapping around, or "crossing over"

Word of the Day: "REX" (37D: 1976 Broadway musical based on Henry VIII's life) —

Rex is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and libretto by Sherman Yellen, based on the life of King Henry VIII. [...] Following tryout engagements in Delaware, Washington and Boston, it opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 25, 1976 and closed June 5, 1976, after 14 previews and 49 regular performances. (wikipedia)

• • •

I've done a wrap-around puzzle before (I think Tyler Hinman had one in a Lollapuzzoola tournament a couple years back) and earlier this evening I did Patrick Berry's mind-blowing Fireball puzzle for this week, so this wasn't nearly as strange to me as it might have been. I saw the gimmick right away, though the puzzle still had enough bite to make it a solid Friday affair. Weirdly, I never saw the second "crossing over" clues on the long answers. Instead, when I finished, I noticed the author LESLIE CHARTERIS's name inside CHARTER ISLES LIE. Then I went and found DESTROYING ANGEL and WINCHESTER RIFLE. Only then did I notice that these phrases were clued via Across numbers that were positioned mid-answer. If I didn't know this was part of a week-long meta puzzle, I'd say that I didn't care for this one much. Seems slightly pointless, and since the gimmick wasn't new to me, the whole thing was more chore than joy. But it's still an impressive construction—not as impressive as that damned Fireball puzzle (you really should see that thing), but impressive nonetheless.

Theme answers:

• 6A: Country singer Gibbs glided a short distance? (TERRI FLEW INCHES) / 9A: Old West gun, crossing over? (WINCHESTER RIFLE)
• 35A: Cowboy Rogers as part of a posse afger some younger namesakes joined up? (ELDEST ROY IN GANG) / 36A: Poisonous gilled mushrooms, crossing over? (DESTROYING ANGEL) — why is clue plural and answer singular?
• 60A: Leasable tropical locales aren't truthful? (CHARTER ISLES LIE) / 64A: Simon Templar's creator, crossing over? (LESLIE CHARTERIS)

I had no idea there were Billboard charts in 1914. I also had no idea that a song named "The ABA Daba Honeymoon" existed (14D: "The ___ Daba Honeymoon" (1914 #1 song)). I suppose I can be forgiven that ignorance, as well as my ignorance of the extremely short-lived 1976 musical "REX!" (if it doesn't have an exclamation point in the title, it should). Took me far, far too long to get CAMBODIAN (15D: Language in which "yes" and "no" are "baat" and "te," respectively), partially because "te" is Maori, and partially because I was half-expecting an invented language like KLINGON. Never heard of the "Surgeon's Photo" (29D: What the "Surgeon's Photo" supposedly depicts => NESSIE) and can't picture or place MEL Allen at all, though somehow his name came to me fairly readily (22D: "The Week in Baseball" host Allen). Had no idea Natalie Portman's birthplace was ISRAEL. I kept wanting something "Star Wars"-y like NABOO. I love the word "pre- (and post-) lapsarian" (mmmm, Miltonesque), so EDEN was a cinch (45A: Prelapsarian home). Lastly, I made a huge crossword nerd error when I wrote in IN STIR for 11A: Doing time (INSIDE). "In stir" survives only (so far as I can tell) in crossword clues and answers. I was so bummed to be wrong.

See you tomorrow for the grand meta-finale.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Malevolent Hindu goddess / TUE 10-18-11 / Swinger who loved Jane / Les Nessman's station 1978-82 sitcom / 1998 animated film based on Brave New World

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: Hybrids — Clues are common words followed by a colon and "a cross between ___" — answers are common phrases following a ___ AND ___ pattern where first letters of first word and last letters of last word make up the clue word

Word of the Day: Charles DARNAY (28D: Charles ___, hero of "A Tale of Two Cities") —

Charles Darnay, or Charles St. Evrémonde, is a fictional character in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. // A French aristocrat by birth, Darnay chooses to live in England because he cannot bear to be associated with the cruel injustices of the French social system. Darnay displays great virtue in his rejection of the snobbish and cruel values of his uncle, the Marquis Evrémonde. He exhibits an admirable honesty in his decision to reveal to Dr. Alexandre Manette his true identity as a member of the infamous Evrémonde family. So, too, does he prove his courage in his decision to return to Paris at great personal risk to save the imprisoned Gabelle. When the revolutionaries are trying to find and kill the Marquis, Darnay realizes that his uncle has been murdered, making him the new Marquis. // Darnay is put on trial for treason against the Kingdom of Great Britain, but he is acquitted on a point noticed by Sydney Carton. Carton also falls in love with Darnay's wife Lucie during the trial. At the end of the final book, Darnay is supposed to be executed, but Carton nobly chooses to take Darnay's place. (wikipedia)

• • •

"CROSS" WORDS CONTEST week! All the puzzles this week, from Monday to Saturday, have been created by one person, Patrick Berry. Have your solutions handy, because the Saturday puzzle conceals a meta-challenge involving the solution grids of all six. When you have the answer to the meta-challenge, mail it to: crossword@nytimes.com. Please do not post your answers here on the blog and please do not mail them to me! Only answers e-mailed to the above address will be considered. Twenty-five correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6:00 p.m. E.T. Sunday, Oct. 23, will receive copies of “Will Shortz Picks His Favorite Puzzles: 101 of the Top Crosswords From The New York Times.” Only one entry per person, please. The answer and winners’ names will appear on Friday, Oct. 28, at http://www.nytimes.com/wordplay.

• • •

This one is much less lovable than yesterday's, but still solid. It's hard to evaluate these because some part of me is thinking about the week-long meta puzzle (which will be revealed on Saturday) and wondering what part of the puzzle is involved in the meta. Today, I think it's the letters dropped when the words are crossed to make a new word, e.g. the "UREANDS" part of PURE AND SIMPLE (the non-pimple part). But I could be, and probably am, wrong. Today, I think I saw one theme clue. After that, I just figured out phrases from crosses and didn't even bother to look at the theme clues. Worked just fine. Get one word and you can pretty well work out the ___AND or the AND___ part. Only real problem today was spelling Sammy CAHN's name right (I didn't) (13D: "Come Fly With Me" lyricist), and then getting DARNAY at all. I have no recollection of that name. Needed every cross.  Not much else that's interesting about this solve.

[Come Fly with KANYE — 42A: "Love Lockdown" singer West]

Theme answers:

• 17A: Starch: a cross between ___? (STARSKY AND HUTCH)
• 25A: Pimple: a cross between ___? (PURE AND SIMPLE)
• 44A: Hisses: a cross between ___? (HUGS AND KISSES)
• 57A: Beetles: a cross between ___? (BEER AND SKITTLES)

Some clever and enjoyable clues today, including 22A: Swinger who loves Jane (TARZAN). Also several pop culture trivia clues that made me smile, including 53D: Les Nessman's station in a 1978-82 sitcom (WKRP), 47A: Word before "Boy," "Love" and "Come Back" in titles to #1 songs (BABY), and 11D: 1998 animated film loosely based on "Brave New World" ("ANTZ"). I never noticed the "Brave New World" connection when I saw the film 12+ years ago. I loved "WKRP" when I was a kid. And I've been listening to a lot of late '70s pop music lately. A lot. Hence the smile for "BABY Come Back"



I forgot about KALI and tried KALA at first (46D: Malevolent Hindu goddess). I watched "Star Wars" this weekend with my daughter, and kept shouting "added!" every time some CGI nonsense popped up on the screen. JABBA was among such nonsense (1A: ___ the Hutt ("Return of the Jedi" villain)). Eventually I shut up and let my daughter just enjoy the movie. I got the "Star Wars" trilogy on Blu-Ray, even though they've been annoyingly tampered with, because she needs access to the classics. She knows that if she wants to see Episodes I-III, she's on her own.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Teen girl's close chum for short / MON 10-17-11 / Upscale marque owned by Toyota / Catch Groucho while fishing / Creator of game Missile Command

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: -KS to -X — sound / spelling changes result in wackiness

Word of the Day: Marque (46D: Upscale marque owned by Toyota) —

n.
A model or brand of a manufactured product, especially an automobile.

[French, from Old French. See marquetry.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/marque#ixzz1azZQxGZI

• • •

"CROSS" WORDS CONTEST week! All the puzzles this week, from Monday to Saturday, have been created by one person, Patrick Berry. Have your solutions handy, because the Saturday puzzle conceals a meta-challenge involving the solution grids of all six. When you have the answer to the meta-challenge, mail it to: crossword@nytimes.com. Please do not post your answers here on the blog and please do not mail them to me! Only answers e-mailed to the above address will be considered. Twenty-five correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6:00 p.m. E.T. Sunday, Oct. 23, will receive copies of “Will Shortz Picks His Favorite Puzzles: 101 of the Top Crosswords From The New York Times.” Only one entry per person, please. The answer and winners’ names will appear on Friday, Oct. 28, at http://www.nytimes.com/wordplay.

. . .

An entire week devoted to a meta-challenge contest and the big prize is ... a book of crosswords??? Come On. That is some seriously weak sauce right there. I'm already drowning in puzzles—there are like 20+ / week coming at me every week. Also, I subscribe to the NYT, so why do I want a book of old NYT puzzles that I probably already did? Sweeten the *$!&ing pot, people.

[Cross words]

That said, this puzzle ruled, and the rest of the week is bound to be pure awesome, as Patrick Berry can do no wrong. How this puzzle can have "?" theme clues, be chock full of fantabulous fill, and still clock in at a regular Monday time is beyond me. I've run out of superlatives for this guy. His name is now synonymous with all that is awesome about crosswords. So I'm likely to enjoy the hell out of this week even if I have no intention of even entering the contest.

Theme answers:

• 20A: Catch Groucho while fishing? (LAND MARX)
• 22A: Blues player's instrument? (SAD SAX)
• 29A: Cereal that doesn't really taste like anything? (BLANK CHEX)
• 42A: Wildcat that can't sit still (HYPER LYNX) — the amount that I like this theme answer cannot be adequately measured. You'd need an instrument that goes beyond 11.
  
• 51A: Levy paid by white-collar workers? (TIE TAX)
• 52A: Formal wear for one's belly? (TUMMY TUX) 

I love puzzles with sassy, colloquial phrases, such as BFF (29D: Teen girl's close chum, for short) and "WHAT SAY..." (40D: "How about it?") So much fun. This puzzle had a lot of small plurals, which is close as I can come to levying criticism. Oh, and I really hate that spelling of AMUCK (5D: Rampaged => RAN AMUCK). I run AMOK or I don't run at all.

My only trouble spot was in the SAD SAX region. I read the clue and wrote in SAX as the *first* word. This made REDDEST stay hidden for a while (9D: Most sunburned). Otherwise, this was smooth. Smooth like good bourbon, not smooth like the abomination that is non-chunky peanut butter.

Good (Mon) day.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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