MGWCC #825 — Saturday, March 23rd, 2024 — “Take a Little Off the Sides”
Dear Solver,
258 of you found the answer to last week's challenge. Read about it here.
Today's puzzle is Week 4 of 5 in March.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This puzzle's contest answer is a Top 10 hit of the early 1990s.
NOTE: Due to the late post, the entry deadline for this week's puzzle is Wednesday, March 27th at Noon ET.
This week’s contest answer a Top 10 hit of the early 1990s.
2023 MGWCC MEDALISTS:
The following solvers puzzled out the answer to between 47 and 51 of 2023’s MGWCC Metas. Each will receive a MGWCC pen and notepad set.
2023 GOLD MEDALISTS:
The following two solvers were unstumpable in 2023, going 51-for-51 on MGWCC’s. Wow!
Jeffrey Harris — Nashville, Tenn.
Bennett Washburn — Aurora, Colo.
2023 SILVER MEDALISTS:
The following sixteen solvers got 49 or 50 of 2023’s 51 metas. Not easy to pull off, but they did it!
Rich Bragg — Los Altos, Calif.
Ameet Brahmavar — Vancouver, Wash.
Neville Fogarty — Newport News, Va.
Mike Graczyk — Chicago, Ill.
Hector — San Francisco, Calif.
Travis Hime — New York City, N.Y.
Brent Holman — San Francisco, Calif.
Jeremy Horwitz — San Francisco, Calif.
Jasters — Seattle, Wash.
B.K.
J.M.
A.M.
A.S.
J.S.
Vraal
P.Y.
2023 BRONZE MEDALISTS:
The following solvers found 47 or 48 of last year’s meta answers. Much respect!
David Bael — Minneapolis, Minn.
Andy Nelson — Baton Rouge, La.
DJB — Sydney, Australia
Rich Pardoe — Houston, Tex.
Jason Rau — Campbell, Calif.
David Squire — Flagstaff, Ariz.
Maggie Wittlin — New York City, N.Y.
Congrats to all our winners! Your prizes are on their way.
NEGRONI’S COCKTAILS:
Bumping this from last week since I posted it late *and* because it’s getting rave reviews from solvers:
Attention cryptic crossword fans: Martin Reinfried has a new Patreon up called “Negroni’s Cocktails.” It’s a series of six variety cryptic crosswords in 2024, one every two months, each with a meta. There is also a final meta for the entire year. Check it out!
--Matt
MGWCC #825 — “Take a Little Off the Sides”
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Joe Ross
- Moderator
- Posts: 5082
- Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
- Location: Cincinnati
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MikeyG
- Posts: 1397
- Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:52 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
This was a fun one...savoring the bronze medal! Now...back to the brackets!
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markhr
- Posts: 350
- Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2019 7:56 pm
On board at number 11. Seems to be playing rather difficult.
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ajk
- Posts: 965
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:22 pm
- Location: Colorado
Got there with help of the Discord crew. Would have been tough solo.
ETA: amazing puzzle
ETA: amazing puzzle
Last edited by ajk on Sat Mar 23, 2024 2:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
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Abide
- Moderator
- Posts: 1307
- Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:16 pm
- Location: Biloxi
- Contact:
One of Matt's best!
The site is just a web page, a meeting place, a clubhouse - it's the group that's special.
—Brian MacDonald
—Brian MacDonald
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Meg
- Posts: 2165
- Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:41 pm
- Location: St. Petersburg, FL
Congrats to all the supersolvers! I'm on at #17, just in time for Mikey's and some spring training baseball.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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HeadinHome
- Posts: 1090
- Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:06 am
- Location: Charlotte, NC
With a little help from my friends (not the meta answer) on Disqus… but still a ton of work. Probably would have gotten there on my own, but there would have been zero time left this weekend for much else! ( : Awaiting beam.
The other Wendy. 
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MikeyG
- Posts: 1397
- Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:52 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
I didn't know you were a baseball fan! What's your team??
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schmidzy
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:56 am
- Contact:
Waiting for the beam!
Does anyone know a way to see how many puzzles you solved in 2023? I'm honestly surprised mine was evidently less than 47, I only remember whiffing one week. But I trust Matt's stats more than my colander of a brain!
Does anyone know a way to see how many puzzles you solved in 2023? I'm honestly surprised mine was evidently less than 47, I only remember whiffing one week. But I trust Matt's stats more than my colander of a brain!
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MMe
- Posts: 293
- Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2021 11:27 am
Were yours all "solo" solves? Maybe he filters for that. Actually I think he must, because there are folks with longer than 51-week streaks who are not on the lists.
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SamKat9
- Posts: 270
- Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2023 7:45 pm
- Location: Southeast Florida
Awaiting beam! Got initial 59-Across from the discord crew and finally figured out what I needed to do, though it still took me a while to find everything.
Great puzzle!
ETA: Beamed at #28
Great puzzle!
ETA: Beamed at #28
Last edited by SamKat9 on Sat Mar 23, 2024 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Shannon 
PS: If you want help with a meta, PM what you have so I can help without spoiling too much. I've received lots of help in the beginning and I love to pay it forward!
PS: If you want help with a meta, PM what you have so I can help without spoiling too much. I've received lots of help in the beginning and I love to pay it forward!
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schmidzy
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:56 am
- Contact:
Entirely possible! I don't recall how many weeks I took a nudge last year. Now I know there's notepads on the line, maybe I'll be more strict this year...
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minimuggle
- Posts: 564
- Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2020 7:33 am
Awaiting beam but it must be..... Loved this puzzle. happy weekend all
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DCBilly
- Posts: 261
- Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:40 pm
- Location: Washington DC
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Bird Lives
- Posts: 2693
- Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 6:43 pm
- Location: NYC
- Contact:
I was in the right church but the wrong pew. I needed direction from a couple of Discord ushers. That plus help from Google. Probably not too many others around here are similarly unfamiliar with the song.
And once again, I marvel at the congruence of mechanism and answer, week after week.
And once again, I marvel at the congruence of mechanism and answer, week after week.
Jay
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dudeski
- Posts: 374
- Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:56 pm
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benchen71
- Posts: 2448
- Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:50 pm
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Contact:
Awaiting the beam... [Not wanting to spend ages on this puzzle, I peeked at Discord just long enough to get a nudge in the right direction!]
... and I'm beamed at #56.
... and I'm beamed at #56.
Last edited by benchen71 on Sat Mar 23, 2024 7:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! 
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ship4u
- Posts: 935
- Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2021 7:00 am
- Location: At Wit's End, Shaker Heights, Ohio
- Contact:
There is nothing worse than seeing the mechanism and still being unable to make it come together. Of course my total lack of knowledge concerning pop hits of the 90's doesn't help. Plod on......
Don & Cynthia
We are always happy to get to know other muggles and help in any way! PM's are always welcome. The next best thing to winning a mug is helping a fellow muggle win a mug!
We are always happy to get to know other muggles and help in any way! PM's are always welcome. The next best thing to winning a mug is helping a fellow muggle win a mug!
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KayW
- Moderator
- Posts: 3273
- Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 12:10 am
- Location: Chicago
Submitted... 
EDIT: ...and
beamed
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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Joe
- Posts: 559
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 12:45 pm
- Location: New Hampshire
*sigh*
I just can't anymore with his late-month ones.
I just can't anymore with his late-month ones.
Happy to give nudges. If you notice I've solved, please tell me about avenues you've explored so I can nudge you in the right direction and not off a cliff.