Puzzle Notes

Hi friends: 

Enjoy Francis Heaney's "Sibilants Shepherded," a 4.5/5 difficulty puzzle with a meta solution (though you can plenty well enjoy it without worrying about the meta). Here's some flavortext for ya:

"This puzzle conceals two bonus theme answers, both derived from movie titles (one is also a TV show while the other is also a Broadway show). One can be found by combining a pair of non-theme answers, while the other appears as a two-word phrase within a clue. Can you find them? Send your answer to sibilants@avxword.com no later than midnight on Sunday, October 25, for a chance to win a wonderful prize. And there may be even more non-theme entries that can combine to form new theme answers--you never know. The first person to find each legitimate one will also receive a prize."

Francis has a bonus puzzle, too, a Some Assembly Required, coming later this very week.

Finally, a plug for an exciting new puzzle feature from our friend Kameron Austin Collins, who's constructed for the AVCX, among others. His new feature is called HIGH:low, a new, wide-ranging, occasionally weird themeless puzzle that will try to be as smooth and contemporary, highbrow, and sometimes even low in humor as possible, delivered straight to your inbox on the 1st and 15th of every month. Subscriptions happen here.

Yrs,

Ben and the AVCX crew [avxwords.com, @AVCXWord]