Title: Go By
Prompt: The meta answer is a science fiction author.
Answer: N. K. JEMISIN
Explanation: four long across answers are authors who often go by their first initials: G. K. CHESTERTON, P. G. WODEHOUSE, H. P. LOVECRAFT, AND L. M. MONTGOMERY. Four two-word clues in the puzzle match these sets of initials:
3D [Good kick?] for TANG
10D [Pretty grubby] for WORN
41A [Half price] for ONSALE
71A [Loved mightily] for DEAR
The first letters of the answers to those clues spell TWOD, aka 2D, aka 2-Down. The clue for MEAN at 2-Down is [Not kind], and playing the same game in reverse gets us to N. K. JEMISIN.
I did not take off for spelling – the author’s last name is JEMISIN, but submissions of Jemisen and Jemison were also counted as correct. Spelling aside, quite a few experienced solvers were stumped by this one! Many people got to TWOD, but not everyone made the leap that this was a hint to look at the clue for 2-Down.
There were 53 correct answers and a record high 29 incorrect submissions this month. The vast majority of those incorrect submissions were for either D. D. BARANT (taking the TWOD hint in a different direction) or EDWIN A. ABBOTT (author of the 2D as in two-dimensional themed book Flatland), but H. G. WELLS also got a fair showing. It’s worth noting that D. D. Barant is Canadian, and several solvers commented that my acknowledgement of Canada Day in the post on July 1 felt like a nudge in that direction. Now seems like a good time to mention: I always want these puzzles to stand on their own, as in, if you removed them from this blog and solved them devoid of context, they would still be enjoyable, solvable meta puzzles, hopefully with a good *click* when you got to the answer. So be led not astray by any incidental comments made in these posts!
Congratulations to this month’s randomly chosen winner: Utsav Bhargava of New York, New York! The prize this month (as it is every month) is a copy of a thematically apt novel embossed with FROM THE LIBRARY OF ARIADNE. This month I’m going with the book that steered many solvers in the wrong direction: Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott. Congratulations, Utsav!
You can read Ben Chenoweth’s blog post about this month’s contest over at Crossword Fiend, where you can also leave a comment and rate the puzzle.
Missed Opportunities
Lydia R. suggests cluing 28D OCEAN as [“On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” poet Vuong] and 38A LEAVES as [“___ of Grass” (Walt Whitman collection)].
Please send along any missed opportunities for literary cluing you notice in future contests!
Dubious Honors
This month’s Tick-Tock Award, which is awarded to the solver whose submission I received first, goes to Leslie S., whose answer came in at 10:05 AM EDT on July 1. The White Rabbit Award, which is awarded to the solver whose submission I received last, goes to Matthew M., whose answer came in at 4:52 PM EDT on July 8. I have no actual prizes to hand out to these solvers, they just get the satisfaction of BOOKending this month’s contest. Well done!
Can you beat their times next month??
More to Explore
Some other meta crosswords by women you might want to check out if you haven’t already:
“Split Seconds” by Barbara Koehler – Crosshare link, puz, and pdf all available here
“At First Bite” by whimsy aka Claudia Totino – Crosshare link, puz, and pdf all available here
And keep an eye out for a meta puzzle by Wendy Walker in the “Smooth Sailing Sundays” subforum on July 27!
Thank you to everyone who submitted an answer to this month’s contest! See you in August!
Ex libris Ariadne
Ariadne's Crossword Library 