Alex Eaton-Salners’s contest, “Come From Behind” — Conrad’s writeup
This month we’re asked, What five-letter word is hinted at by this puzzle? There were five long two-word theme entries:
- MORNING RUSH: Stressful time for commuters
- SPICED RUM: Captain Morgan offering
- STAND TALL: Be proud and confident
- TOTAL BUST: Megaflop
- COWBOY BOOTS: Woody wear
Lots of ways to interpret “behind.” I went the mathematical way first (I suspect I’m not alone in that camp), and got stuck for a long time. Step one involved (rear) ends. Change one letter of the second theme word to match a synonym for behind. (R)UM -> (B)UM, etc. Two letters changed in that case (R and B).
FB Contest Solution – 07.21.2025
Step two: find a three-letter entry that ends (there’s the theme again) with a different letter. BR(R) matches the theme. Four other three-letter entries did as well:
- BR[R] -> (R)UM: (B)UM
- TS[A] -> BU(S)T: BU(T)T
- YS[L] -> BOOT(S): BOOT(Y)
- TR[Y] -> (R)USH: (T)USH
- IL[L] -> TA(L)L: TA(I)L
The letter behind the two mapped entries spell out contest solution RALLY, as in coming from behind (theme x3). Wow! What a meta! “Behind” is applied three ways thematically: butts, the last letter behind the mapped three-letter entries, and rallying to come from behind and win a game. Totally amazing. Solvers: please share your thoughts.
I’ve been wondering why the excellent Fireball metas don’t attract more contest entrants. Peter reported only 41 submissions for this particular puzzle.
There’s no way of knowing how many subscribers Fireball has these days – I imagine that the $40 basic rate is a deterrent for some solvers, but the forty bucks does buy 45 puzzles, at a rate of about 89¢ a puzzle.
I’m currently working my way through an out of print (?) collection of Fireballs that I picked up at the local bookstore for less than $5. The front matter page of the book acknowledges that these are all reprints from – not just the original publication – but, also the previous series of compilations, including Sizzlingly Hard, Infernally Hard, Hellaciously Hard, etc.
So, yeah, I’ve probably done them all at least once before, but 122 challenging quality crosswords – can’t beat that in my book.
Anyway, this is an absolutely uncompensated pitch for Peter Gordon’s Fireball series. The occasional meta versions, thereof, certainly deserve more than 41 solvers. No excuse if you’re not a fan of metas – most of the Fireballs are themeless.
As for this particular puzzle – let’s call it a 4 star construction.
I’m a Fireball subscriber, and I’ve given up on the metas. They used to be easier, but have now gone ‘way beyond my skill level.