From Jay to Joon

[Bird Lives]

Another itty-bitty (i.e., 13 x 13) puzzle. My apologies if you were expecting War and Peace. This one is more challenging than my “Capital Losses” of two weeks ago. If that one was a 1.5, this is more like a 3.

Some information that is totally irrelevant to solving the meta:
1. Jay is the first name of the constructor whose byline appears on this puzzle.
2. Joon is the first name of Joon Pahk, whose puzzles you can find here http://www.joonpahk.com/blog/
3. To say that he and I are both puzzle constructors is a bit like saying that Oscar Peterson and I both play piano.

The answer is a special trip.

Here are the links.

From Jay to Joon - PUZ

From Jay to Joon - PDF

From Jay to Joon - PDF original

From Jay to Joon - Excel

PM me with your answer or get instant feedback at Crosshare (https://crosshare.org/crosswords/2YD5SY6nI4NMFbkF5Czm)

[Meg]

Lovely Aha moment! Thanks, Jay.

[dudeski]

Great puzzle. Thanks Jay.

[Schmeel]

Off the couch!
Good puzzle - thanks Jay.

[Dplass]

I much prefer 13x13 for non-WSJ puzzles, FWIW. Thanks for the puzzle.

[rjy]

Off the couch, and a nice click with the answer. Enjoyed it, Jay!

[ChrisKochmanski]

Off the couch!

Terrific puzzle, Jay! Two nice aha moments for me. I might rate this one as WSJCC or MGWCC worthy. I also liked the 13 x 13 format.

[Dannyvee]

🛋
Great meta, Jay!

[Cindy]

Nicely done.

[DrTom]

3. To say that he and I are both puzzle constructors is a bit like saying that Oscar Peterson and I both play piano.

PM me with your answer or get instant feedback at Crosshare (https://crosshare.org/crosswords/2YD5SY6nI4NMFbkF5Czm)

Well I know the guy up on the stage with the crossword and the piano, but who is Oscar Peterson?

[boharr]

Off the couch. Confirmed on Crosshare. A clever and fun puzzle. Thank you, Jay.
I totally agree with 31D. Great book.

[Abide]

I much prefer 13x13 for non-WSJ puzzles, FWIW. Thanks for the puzzle.

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[Bird Lives]

3. To say that he and I are both puzzle constructors is a bit like saying that Oscar Peterson and I both play piano.

Well I know the guy up on the stage with the crossword and the piano, but who is Oscar Peterson?

Old joke (I heard it with the Pope, who AFAIK does not play piano) but I'll take it. Thanks.

[RPardoe]

Solved and submitted (confirmed on Crosshare)

[MamaE]

Solved, submitted, confirmed! Here’s hoping my luck carries over to tomorrow’s MMMM

[whimsy]

Off the -- uh -- bench --

Thanks, Bird!

[hoover]

I have collected the underpants in phase 1, and I am pretty sure I see what the phase 3 "profit" is, but like the gnomes, I'm missing phase 2.

[hoover]

Some observations that occurred to me while working on this puzzle:

• A jay is a type of bird, and Charlie == Bird, but Jay != Charlie (ok ok so I have been attempting Bird Lives' puzzles for weeks and I just now caught on that BL's name is Jay)
• 1A have had some renewed interest in the past 10 years or so
• "BUG" does not fit into 5A
• 3D was a spoiler for me (in that I didn't know that fact about that person)

I will sit on the couch and ruminate. Or ruinate.

[Dplass]

I have collected the underpants in phase 1, and I am pretty sure I see what the phase 3 "profit" is, but like the gnomes, I'm missing phase 2.

LOL I'm still in the "this is a meta?" phase.

[oldjudge]

Fun puzzle by Jay—very creative!