As its title suggested, this month’s puzzle had to do with stock tickers. Solving the 5 crossword-style clues leads to the names of 5 companies, with their stock tickers in parentheses:
- They cause auroras (5,5) = Solar Winds (SWI)
- Cross where it’s not too deep (4) = Ford (F)
- Cricket owner (2&1) = AT&T (T)
- Ancient box-opener? (7) = Pandora (P)
- Wheel part, to a shark? (3) = Ace (ACE)
That last one proved pretty tricky, but many of you were able to backsolve — the “shark” in question is a card shark, and a wheel is an A-2-3-4-5 straight.
Putting those stock tickers together reveals SWIFT PACE, a synonym for Sprint, whose stock ticker is S, the answer to this month’s puzzle.
Congratulations to those of you who submitted a correct response, especially Ricky O’Connor, this month’s randomly-chosen winner of a Jane Street t-shirt!