X Marks the Spot

[bhamren]

Spreadsheet is wrong. The 6 black spaces between 8 and 9 should be shifted left one. Tried to figure out why it says 8 across when 9 is the number on the spreadsheet

[Thurman8er]

I'm having trouble with my Messages right now...thanks for y'all's patience. I'm working on seeing all of the incoming posts and getting my own posts out of my outbox!

[Dave C]

Confirmed that I got it. It was fun.

[michaelm]

Off the couch, but then right back on the couch to watch the Phillies tonight.

[Ergcat]

Off the couch…and confirmed!
Took a little while because I was looking at something the wrong way! But, finally, I saw it clearly! Enjoyed the puzzle!

[Joe Ross]

Spreadsheet is wrong. The 6 black spaces between 8 and 9 should be shifted left one. Tried to figure out why it says 8 across when 9 is the number on the spreadsheet

Spreadsheet has been corrected. My apologies. Download, again, using the same link.

As stated in all spreadsheets with this same link, PM Joe Ross w/questions & comments. Click on that in the spreadsheet and a PM will open here.

[bhamren]

Spreadsheet is wrong. The 6 black spaces between 8 and 9 should be shifted left one. Tried to figure out why it says 8 across when 9 is the number on the spreadsheet

Spreadsheet has been corrected. My apologies. Download, again, using the same link.

As stated in all spreadsheets with this same link, PM Joe Ross w/questions & comments. Click on that in the spreadsheet and a PM will open here.

Thanks!. I got it anyway (I think) by just doing that part based on the pdf version in the right side of the spreadsheet.

[cbarbee002]

Submitted answer yesterday and awaiting to hear, but feeling confident.

[TeamDoubleTow]

Submitted an answer. We feel fairly confident since it seems to coincide with some of the commentary. Challenging and fun puzzle.

[JeanneC]

Really interesting mechanism this week. Wasn’t sure if I was on or off the couch for a few reasons. But I am confirmed off! Grid was also very well done. Learned some interesting things from it as well.

[Richard]

Need a nudge. Fun and tough grid.

[Richard]

Got it without a nudge.

Tough grid for me.

[Thurman8er]

Apologies again for the relative lack of interaction this week, Muggles. It just turned out to be a very busy week for me. I am verifying all answers by DM though!

[Abide]

@Thurman8er ... maybe toss out a nudge or two between innings...

[BethA]

Sent Monday at 1:20pm. I think I’m off the couch. Unconfirmed though.

[Thurman8er]

We're back! The Angels won one and lost one, but the family had an awesome time. I want to thank everyone for your forbearance this week. I didn't have time for a lot of interaction...leaderboards...or even nudges. I promise that if I get another puzzle out here there will be some changes.

First of all, I'll make sure I'm present for everyone.

Secondly, I'll write a better puzzle! You were all very kind, but there were some major flaws with this one, not least of which was that horrible SW corner. EW!

Thirdly, I'll do everything on the same laptop so I can actually publish the answer on Sunday. This was all done on my work laptop and I can't even put the completed grid out there today. If anyone has it, please feel free to put it up!

Fourthly...AND MOST IMPORTANT: I hated this meta answer! Let's get into it.

This puzzle made me aware of a glaring personal blind spot. The offensive misnomer "Indians" in reference to Native Americans worked its way out of my vocabulary long ago. So why it's presence in this puzzle? Because I thought of the Agatha Christie classic, "Ten Little Indians," only in terms of my love for the book when I first read it long ago. I knew nothing about its particular history, nor even its new name, "And Then There Were None." I simply remembered how it was one of the first books to steer me towards mystery novels when I was young.

That said, it was valuable to learn the necessity of actually thinking about things I took from my childhood in the context in which they are viewed today. Words and terms have found their way out of common use because a kind society has, at large, finally learned how they are perceived by others. If anyone took offence, you have my sincerest apologies and my commitment to think about these things more than I already do.

Which finally brings us to those meta-answers. I accepted "Ten Little Indians," its successor, "And Then There Were None," or Hemingways' "Ten Indians."

Thank you all again for your kind criticism and your appreciation of a below-average effort. Back to the ol' drawing board!

[CPJohnson]

I'd suspect that all of us that are a certain age have been in the same boat (personal blind spot). Thanks for the puzzle!