Grid: untimed; Meta: 20 minutes
Paul Coulter’s contest, “Halftime” — Conrad’s writeup
This month we are asked, What eight-letter term is hinted at by this puzzle? There were four ten-letter theme entries, each comprised of two five-letter words:
- (ALLOT)(ROPES): [Graphite and diamond, to carbon]
- (ASSES)(SABLE): [Subject to valuation for the purpose of taxation]
- (DETER)(GENTS): [All et al.]
- (GLOSS)(ARIES): [Book addenda]
The grid fill was tough took me a long time to complete, but hey: that’s a Fireball trademark. Each five-letter word mapped to another grid entry. Here they are in mapped entry order:
FB Contest Solution – 10.13.2024
- 14 SIRS -> Men: [GENTS]
- 16 ELAN -> Sparkle: [GLOSS]
- 22 MORONS -> Dolts: [ASSES]
- 24 EBON -> Black: [SABLE]
- 26 STOP -> Check: [DETER]
- 34 TETHERS -> Confining cords: [ROPES]
- 51 EARMARK -> Set aside: [ALLOT]
- 72 RAM -> Zodiac constellation [ARIES]
The first letter of the mapped entries spell our contest solution SEMESTER. This is the type of puzzle I’d use to introduce folks to meta crossword solving: approachable, well-constructed, and fun. Solvers: please share your thoughts.