Busy lately with non puzzles and then with MUMS, but here is last week’s MGWCC.   The two weeks I skipped blogging had pretty trivial metas, so you didn’t miss much.

I enjoyed the meta this week, and I did my normal mediocre job on the grid. Finishing both in about 27 minutes.  

The puzzle is at http://crosswordcontest.blogspot.com/2011/04/mgwcc-150-friday-april-15th-2011-form.html and my solving log follows after the cut.

Log:

0:00:00

Solving the .puz, but reading blog first.

0:00:21

Ok, pop song. got it. starting solve.

0:00:47

OBO, OXFAM, XERS?

0:01:09

BEIGE, AGAR, FIVE, SERVERS

0:01:34

23A now looks like MELVILLE

0:02:14

is 18A BARACK OBAMA? doesn’t fit… hmmm

0:03:08

40A ACC? 33 COCK? makes 31A SUCRE

0:03:42

stuck a bunch of places, roaming now

0:04:11

34A may be SPURS…I should know 8D but I don’t. hmm

0:05:11

48D PLAME is a gimme.

0:06:03

31D should not have been that hard. ACAD 31A is ACCRA. then COOS COCA DOKATAS

0:06:49

ORACLE, RAS, STASI out of there…

0:07:29

52 D/A PITA/PLEASE?

0:08:08

no, no crosses work and 63A looks like ERIE

0:08:40

and 57A AFICIONADO. then AFAR VIII

0:09:26

duh, I had 52A/D mixed up. wouldn’t happen if I were solving on paper. I hope.

0:10:20

now stuck there.

0:10:58

48A is PROXIMAL? and DEX down

0:11:41

49D MEDAL and 59A EDIT? 56A XENA?

0:12:20

62A SAME… and LAX for 65A… hmmm, 3 X’s on main diagonal there.

0:13:46

can’t get out with 39D… I guess 64A is EYETO

0:14:17

27D is QUIVERED AT maybe…

0:14:38

and with LEX and XOXOXO we’re loaded with X’s.

0:15:12

REMAX and SEASHORE and SEETV and SHEIK

0:15:52

8D is MATTTURK, 27A QUITS ON. 30D NONO..

0:16:48

29D is maybe OH OK?, that K finall gets me DARKO, then SOUR & MUON?

0:17:42

39D, MA?IXES, maybe… I have no idea.

0:18:03

heh, 19D THAIS, then 22A THANKS, 9D TRUANT

0:18:56

HORN, ROMA, AMOK, THAN, NEWS (ROMA is ROME)

0:19:38

18A is SCOTTTUROW (another triple T answer. ooh, and it makes a T with the other… those Xs in the corner make an X too, if that dance is MAXIXES whatever that is.

0:20:45

15A MARLA, ALT, ERODE, BACKLASHES (I guessed LASHES earlier, but had no aha for this. wow what is wrong with me?)

0:21:39

IMSOLD, but not on OKD

0:21:56

IDA/EDDA to finish? I guess….

0:22:04

ok, now are there more formed letters like the 5-T T and 5-X X ?

0:22:36

yes, ACCRA/COOS/ACC make a C

0:22:50

QUITSON/OHO/MUON make an O (ignoring the O in DARKO that makes it a Q made out of Os)

0:23:44

the S’s in SPURS/SHEIK/SEETV/DAKOTA/RAS/LAVASH? maybe.

0:24:03

Anyway, that’s TCOX(S?)

0:24:36

hmmm, a pop song with 5 letters…oh, maybe that III in henry VIII counts…

0:25:07

so, TCOXI… XOTIC? google doesn’t seem to think so…

0:27:13

omg, TOXIC. how… I don’t even know how that took so long. I even typed it into http://oneacross.com/anagrams/ just as a keep-my-fingers-busy-while-I-think move and it gave nothing. how is TOXIC not in their dictionary?