MGWCC #734 - “Three-on-Three Matchup"

[Joe Ross]

MGWCC #734 — Friday, June 24th, 2022 — “Three-on-Three Matchup”

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is one of the entries in this grid.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON MGWCC #734
Dear Solver,

7-Down in this puzzle is a nonsensical entry as you'd see in an "Anything Goes" or "Something Different" crossword.

This is not meta-related; I just needed to use this one strange entry to make the meta work. Please excuse the inelegance.

--Matt

Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.


SOLO SOLVES VS. GROUP:

I’ve been asked to clarify what constitutes a Solo Solve vs. A Group Solve. My position is that receiving even the slightest bit of outside help classifies a solve as a Group Solve. I call this my “raised eyebrow” rule, where even a co-solver raising an eyebrow at a suggestion means you’re on a group solve. Obviously I lack the ability to police this and I think the vast majority of solvers are clicking the correct button, but that’s the official view of Group vs. Solo from the MGWCC home office.



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[Bird Lives]

ICYMI
Matt posted this on his site:

7-Down in this puzzle is a nonsensical entry ...
This is not meta-related; I just needed to use this one strange entry to make the meta work.

[woozy]

It's not meta related but it's required for the meta to work.... um..... okay.

My position is that receiving even the slightest bit of outside help classifies a solve as a Group Solve

I don't want to open that can up but I thought that was universally understood and not the issue. If you get any nudge no matter how slight it's a group solve. So far as I know everyone has been abiding by that.

[MikeyG]

I just needed to use this one strange entry to make the meta work.

Stay tuned for my future Meta of Madness series, where every entry will need to be strange for the meta to work.

[MMe]

I bet a ton of solvers missed that warning note. I sure did.

[docison]

I bet a ton of solvers missed that warning note. I sure did.

Well, so far there haven't quite been a "ton" of solvers! Zero correct submissions after 3+ hours!

[Andrew Bradburn]

Is this one really a week 5 (or 6? 7?), 3+ hours in and NO solvers yet.

[dlonoff]

After last week's meta haunted me all weekend, I decided to make a somewhat random guess this week. I figured I'd get the glory of number 1 if I was right, or the freedom of not having the meta rattling around in my head all weekend. Win-win. DM me if you want to know what my wrong guess was .

[woozy]

After last week's meta haunted me all weekend, I decided to make a somewhat random guess this week. I figured I'd get the glory of number 1 if I was right, or the freedom of not having the meta rattling around in my head all weekend. Win-win. DM me if you want to know what my wrong guess was .

If I did, that'd count as a group solve. I'll wait.... but I *am* curious.

[Jeremy Smith]

Zero solvers and three incorrect submissions after 4.5 hours. Oh, goodie! Another Week 7!

[Bob cruise director]

I bet a ton of solvers missed that warning note. I sure did.

Well, so far there haven't quite been a "ton" of solvers! Zero correct submissions after 3+ hours!

And still zero after 4 1/2 hours

[KayW]

ICYMI
Matt posted this on his site:

7-Down in this puzzle is a nonsensical entry ...
This is not meta-related; I just needed to use this one strange entry to make the meta work.

Well, dang. There goes my one lead so far (where's that tongue half-in-cheek emoji?)

[MikeyG]

If someone asks me how this meta is going:

[Bird Lives]

If someone asks me how this meta is going:

Is that a raised eyebrow?

[Jacksull]

To paraphrase one of our great thinkers:


I have lots of theories but no evidence.

[boharr]

Jangler got it.

[BarbaraK]

What if Matt can write a puzzle so difficult that no one can solve it solo. ((OK, no one except Jangler - I see he's still missing his group solve achievement.)

[ChrisKochmanski]

Like all here, I got nothin’ yet — but I’m having great fun distracting myself with Patrick Berry’s “Double or Nothing” at WSJ, and Will Shortz’s “Just Saying” at NYT!

[HeadinHome]

My theory is that Jangler is a test solver so when the puzzle comes out he just posts the answer within a few minutes.. waited this time because it was a harder one so didn’t want to look suspicious. He didn’t get it this week — Matt had to super-nudge him. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Whichever muggle solves it first will spend the weekend fielding nudge dm’s.

[woozy]

Hmmph.... I have something that's a guess but.... I have my reasons... and I thought "Maybe it's be zen for my ego to just guess (and if my reasons are right I'd be 2nd*) and if I'm wrong, it'll be good for me" but then I saw my current streak was 24 and I'm one from 25 so... that's not going to happen.

* Not that there's any bragging rights when you don't know why your guess worked.