Grid: untimed; Meta: got a nudge
Paul Colter’s contest, “Taking Hold” — Conrad’s writeup
This month we’re asked, What four-letter word is hinted at by this puzzle? My friend Gideon hauled me across the finish line on this one, so I did not submit an answer. There were four theme entries:
FB Contest – 03.04.2026
- ELLENWHITE: Record goalscorer for England’s national team
- BEADYEYES: Ratlike feature
- ARTYFARTY: Aesthetically pretentious, informally
- ACEYDEUCEY: Variety of backgammon
Here’s the pattern: ELLEN (LN), BEADY (BD), ARTY (RT), and ACEY (AC). Two letters with one separating them. That leaves: MCSB. Back to the grid. There are four two-letter entries with a soundalike second word:
- 16d: CUANDO ES -> C
- 27a: AUNT EM -> A
- 44a: SUE BEE -> S
- 52a: EAST SEA -> E
That provided our contest solution CASE. Solvers: please share your thoughts.
Cute idea for a meta, though I could see the step after getting MCSB as a snarling point for folks.
Also, I need to remember to actually submit my damn solves. Otherwise they are useless…