Glutton for Pun #187 by Erik Agard

“M IS FOR…“

It’s time to crank the Aww Factor up to 187 for this tribute meta. Solve it here, then read on.

There have been many tribute puzzles recently, following the passing of crossword greats Merl Reagle and Henry Hook. Erik created a puzzle this week to honor someone still with us who has played a major role in his crosswording career: Matt Gaffney. Erik’s post says it all, really. The part most relevant to this puzzle, though, is that the grid is identical to the one Matt used in MGWCC #187, “The Edge of Darkness.” The original can be solved here, and the solution is discussed here.  The tl;dr version is that Matt’s grid was designed to have eight squares which could be replaced with black squares while keeping the new words consistent with their original clues. The letters that could be removed spelled the answer to the meta.

For Glutton #187, we are asked to find a six-letter figure from Greek mythology. The grid was a tough solve, complicated by the need to discover the eight two-letter rebus squares around the edge of the grid. Other than this, the only other entries that seem related are the crossing of MATCHES / TEACHER at the center of the puzzle. We were already told that the grid was identical to Matt’s; further examination reveals that the presence of the rebus squares matches the added black squares in Matt’s grid. The second letter of each rebus square, when read clockwise from the bottom, spell DARKNESS. A quick Google search of “Greek mythology darkness” leads to EREBUS, a primordial deity and the personification of darkness, and our meta answer. The presence of DARKNESS around the border alludes to the title of Matt’s original puzzle.

I figured this had to be the answer, but there wasn’t that extra confirmation expected from a meta, and for this to be a tribute to “Mr. Meta” himself, I was sure there was a layer I was missing. Most of my solving is on my phone thanks to a two year old who loves to mash on laptop keyboards and tear up paper. While transcribing the grid to Across Lite, I noticed that each rebus square started with the letter E. An E-REBUS. Much better than an E-MAG, and the aha moment I was missing.

I don’t have much to say about the fill. Nothing made me cringe. Favorite clues were [Brevity is the s- wait, can I start over? Humor] for WIT, [Bars for people wearing stars] for TAPS, and [How much a set of screwdrivers costs?] for TAB. I didn’t know EEYORISH was an actual word, but I got it pretty quickly (maybe because I’ve been compared to Eeyore more than once in my life).

Overall, a satisfying meta and an adorable tribute.

• Erik Agard