crossword 2:46
meta 1:30 

hey and welcome to episode #750 of matt gaffney’s weekly crossword contest, “Monster Match”. initially, because of matt for filling in for me final week whereas i used to be not, actually, waterskiing on lake manitoba—i simply spaced out and forgot to weblog the puzzle. my apologies! anyway, i’m again for this halloween-appropriate week 2 puzzle, by which matt challenges us to call a sound heard in horror motion pictures. okay, what are the theme solutions? the 4 longest throughout solutions solutions every evoke (and share a part of the identify of) a well-known monster:

• {Video recreation created by Shigeru Miyamoto} DONKEY KONG. he’s an enormous ape, like KING KONG.
• {Food solely offered in September and October} COUNT CHOCULA. i had no thought! i keep in mind seeing commercials for this as a baby and that i assumed that every one of those common mills monster cereals had been out there year-round. apparently they grew to become seasonal in 2010. anyway, he’s vampirish, like COUNT DRACULA.
• {Genetically modified organisms, casually} FRANKENFOODS. these are named after senator AL FRANKEN.
• {Wedding planner’s nightmare} BRIDEZILLA, an (it have to be stated) unkind comparability of a bride to the kaiju GODZILLA.

i’d as nicely say up entrance that based mostly on simply the directions and the variety of theme solutions (4), MOAN is already a really sturdy candidate. however let’s proceed. the title means that we match up the monsters. it seems that the a part of the unique monster’s identify that does not seem in every theme reply does present up elsewhere within the grid, besides with one letter (the primary letter, in every case) modified:

• KING KONG is lacking his KING, however {Dynasty from 1368-1644} MING is there at 41-across.
• COUNT DRACULA is lacking his DRA, however {Rita who sings “I Will Never Let You Down”} ORA is there at 20-across.
• FRANKENSTEIN (okay, yeah, i used to be kidding about al franken) is lacking his STEIN, however {Didn’t exit for dinner} ATE IN is there at 66-across. don’t @ me in regards to the monster really being FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER.
• GODZILLA is GODless, however {Say “yes” with out saying something} NOD is there at 42-across.

taking these modified letters so as spells out MOAN, so sure, that’s the reply.

i assumed this puzzle was nice. it felt straightforward sufficient for per week 1; i suppose there may be yet another step than final week’s precise week 1 meta, within the sense that you simply needed to search the fill for the additional phrases steered by the meta mechanism, whereas for final week’s puzzle you merely needed to learn off the primary letters of the additional phrases themselves. at any price, the mechanism nonetheless felt contemporary, unique, and entertaining regardless of being each straightforward and seasonally applicable. two thumbs up from me.

clues and fill that caught my eye:

• {Gmail immediate choice} NOT SPAM. this entry is dancing on the road that divides “fresh new entry” from “wait, is that a thing”. ultimately, i feel i prefer it.
• {Business finish of a woodpecker} BEAK. this can be a fantastic clue. straightforward, certain, however it evokes a really putting picture of an individual moving into it with a woodpecker (and dropping).
• {The Phils are in it} NL EAST. the phils are additionally within the NLCS (which begins tonight), not like their division rivals the braves and mets, who each received 101 video games and have been eradicated from the playoffs. baseball will be merciless.
• {Ryan and Damon, for 2} MATTS, plus {___ Club} SAM’S and {Wilson and Curry, for 2} ANNS felt like too many plural/possessive names for one grid.

that’s all i’ve obtained this week. how’d you all like this one?