Aries Cryptic #23 - "Treasure Hunt"

This month's Cryptic is another meta contest! It's titled "Treasure Hunt," and the meta answer is a seven-letter proper noun. There's a slightly shorter window to enter the meta contest this time - email your answer by 7 PM PST on Monday, March 2nd. As was the case with the January meta crossword, one randomly-selected entrant with a correct answer will receive a two-month Aries subscription of their choice.

The meta answer isn't super challenging to get in this case, however, cryptics are a different beast altogether than standard crosswords, so finishing the puzzle itself may be more of a challenge depending on your cryptic skills. But I expect cryptic experts will have no problem with the meta here. Whatever your solving level, I hope you enjoy this one!

Aries Cryptic #23 - "Treasure Hunt" - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Intro to Cryptics Guide (PDF) | Solution

Aries Meta - "First-Class"

For the fifth Thursday this month, I've got a meta crossword! Puzzle lovers undoubtedly are familiar with meta crosswords, whose rise to mainstream popularity over the last decade must be primarily attributed to Matt Gaffney, who writes metas for his Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest as well as the Wall Street Journal.

This meta, titled "First-Class," is a toughie - let's figure a solid Week 4 on the Gaffney scale. Consider yourself forewarned! The meta answer is a five-letter article of clothing that's missing from the grid. Submit your answer via email by 7 PM on Wednesday, February 12th. One randomly-chosen correct entry will receive a free 2-month Aries Puzzles subscription of their choice! If the winner already is a subscriber, they would receive a 2-month extension to their subscription.

I'm considering adding meta puzzles as a regular feature of the site, so if you enjoyed this puzzle, let me know in the comments or your submission email! I've got ideas for metas involving non-standard crossword formats such as cryptics and Rows Gardens as well, so if this sounds like something you'd like to see more of around here, do let me know!

Happy solving!

Aries Meta "First Class" - PUZ | PDF | Grayscale PDF | Solution (PDF)