Grid: played fair for me; Meta: nope. all around but not in. rate it
Fireball Contest: “Please Take Your Positions” by Mike Graczyk – Jeffmiz’s write-up
It’s that time again, crossworld. Your monthly Fireball crossword contest: this one a pleasurable outing designed by Mike Graczyk called, “Please Take Your Positions.” (Is it bad that the title immediately evoked Kevin Bacon in Animal House?!) Anyhoo…
Given the answer is a four-letter word, I immediately looked at the four 15-letter themers. Answer has to be in there somewhere, right? Looked for similarities in the clues and answers, looked for cardinal directions given the title, even looked for patterns amongst the words (e.g. took the number of letters in each word – in the first themer its TWO FOUR THREE SIX and tried to apply TFTS to other places in the grid and clues). None of this led anywhere.
Then, I thought genius struck: what about that fifth – maybe themer? – in the middle of the grid with the prolonged clue/explanation. It also used the word “quintessential,” which might be a more literal reference to a fifth themer, one that could be applied to the others. Starting with PLAY CAT AND MOUSE, I looked for more simple, inelegant as it were, ways to answer the clue. For that one I found IDIOM…and then the only additional thing I found was a dead-end. Oh well.
It’s nice out, so honestly didn’t spent too long trying after I had failed a few times. It turns out, each of the four long answers is made of four words. Take the first letter of the first word, the second letter of the second word, the third letter of the third word, and the fourth letter of the fourth word:
SO MUCH THE BETTER ➔ SUET
GET TO FIRST BASE ➔ GORE
CAN YOU BEAT THAT ➔ COAT
PLAY CAT AND MOUSE ➔ PADS
Now find an alternate entry in the grid whose clue works for that entry:
SUET ➔ Cooking fat ➔ OLEO
GORE ➔ Name in a famous 2000 Supreme Court case ➔ BUSH
COAT ➔ Anorak, e.g. ➔ JACKET
PADS ➔ Brake components ➔ SHOES
The initial letters of these new words, from top to bottom in the grid, spell the answer to the puzzle: JOBS.
Thanks for tuning in! See you next month.