Explanation: I hope you're okay after all those puns! Almost all clues in this puzzle involve a pun, a question-marked misdirect (indicated by 15A as quasi-humorous), and other attempts at humor by yours truly. Exactly 13 entries are clued in the most dictionary-definition based way with nary a pun in sight. The initial letters of those 13 entries, in standard grid order, spell out ONE IN A PUNDRED, the answer to the meta. I could've done PUN IN A HUNDRED but didn't realize that until...oh, about 10 minutes ago or so. A huge thanks to all of you joining me on this journey! Here's to more puzzling days ahead!
oldjudge 4s · 2024-07-06T17:03:33.439Z
Congratulations, Mikey, on reaching this milestone. It's not just reaching 100, but reaching it with really high quality puzzles.
Thank you! You've been there right there from the beginning!
Laura M 🤓9:07 · 2024-07-06T21:06:52.876Z
Loved it! Thank you so much for 100 great puzzles, hoping for many more!
Bird Lives 4s · 2024-07-06T22:07:27.705Z
Cent' Anni (or in thi case Cent' Metas). In any case, Centennial Congratulations.
From the title and the tennis reference in the intro, I thought John McEnroe ("You cannot be serious") might be part of it. But no. Instead, 53 MikeyG clues and 12 boring ones, but a great payoff at the end. (I might not have gotten it so quickly had not DrTom done something similar a while back.)
Hah. Beautiful. At first, I was like... jeez, he's REALLY laying the puns on thick this week... I thought it was JUST a celebratory 100th puzzle thing. Fortunately it didn't take me too long to realize that it wasn't simply you flexing for flexing's sake!
Very nice! I got carried away and tried to infer (infernal inferring!) the H I could not find so I got it wrong the first submission. I should have KNOWN it would not be a straight answer. Celebrate your achievement Mikey, perhaps you can place a football on a cracker and then kick it away - I believe that is called PUNTING ON THE RITZ?
We may have to rename you Frank Castle though, cause you ARE the Punisher!!!
I'll need to have a "Solver's Mailbag" on the website - I'd put that comment on there.
HeadinHome 🤓1:00 · 2024-07-09T11:40:23.667Z
Missed the P when I rounded up the boring ones… so kept looking for that H! Is he saying it with a cockney accent? Do I have an entry wrong?? Ohhhhh…. PUNdred. Heh heh heh. Okay here’s my favorite groaner: BEE. (Grade on apiary exam). I would think that whole field would be rich with pun opportunities (almost attempted one, but I hive never been that great at punning).
FINALLY!!! Ugh, I was highlighting all the punny words, then just where the non-punny entries crossed, and then finally saw I needed a few more letters! (I had a WAG with One in a Hundred just before I found the solution lol)
HoldThatThought 🤓11:37 · 2024-07-11T22:09:11.251Z
After solving that one, I think I need a meta physical.
Thanks for Nudge #2! I was down a bunny hole ADDing Roman numerals from the grid, trying to get some numerical ratio!
A big CONGRATULATIONS and many thanks for all the fun!
Qmark 3s · 2024-07-13T01:18:25.385Z
Let the filled in grid sit for a few days...came back to it today and noticed the wording at 15 across...did some counting and found the 13 "serious" clues. No hints needed. Thanks for this and the previous 99 puzzles! Congrats, Mikey!
Meta World Peace 5s · 2024-07-13T03:26:21.859Z
The weather forecast for today's solve says: 100% chance of pun! Happy century, Mikey!
insanitygenius with the world