36. Top of the Class
- MikeyG
- Posts: 1443
- Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:52 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
36. Top of the Class
PDF and PUZ
Crosshare
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This is the penultimate puzzle for the Summer of Solves! It will also probably be the last one that I willingly make above Week 3 for a bit since I put you all through the ringer this August and want to make for some smoother sailing as we close out '22! (I say that now.)
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1. Puzzle #35 recap
Puzzle #35 answer: IMPOSTOR
Correct entries: 20, of which about 10 were likely solo solves
I'm not sure how much credit I can take for a mere 15-by-9, but I'd love to see if this could've been done as a 15-by-15 (I think I tried for like 10 minutes, if that, and kept whittling it down, haha). There was certainly a lot of trial-and-error to make this one, and I figured what seemed obvious to me was probably only because I spent so long making it that the constraint loomed large in my mind.
The left and right portions of the grid, not connected, and the "Left and Right" in the title referred to your hands, which may have even used to solve a bunch of the puzzle if you did it online! The left grid comprised, mostly, of letters that are typed using the left hand in a standard QWERTY keyboard; the right grid was, well, the right! Thank goodness I was able to at least squeeze a T in the right and a good 'ole OREO in the left, but I'm curious now how possible this would be to make a non-meta in a 15-by-15 setup that has this going for it! A cruciverbalist's imponderables.
We got 20 entries of those who realized that those letters on the wrong side of the grid were the eight IMPOSTOR letters that you seek. Hopefully, you're yelling that at those letters and not yours truly!
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2. Leaderboard of Destiny
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3. The planned Week 2 for August never materialized, leading me to a cobble together the less-than-ideal one two weeks ago. Last week's Week 3, really a Week 4 or 5, was written about three months ago or so: I still like it! This Week 4 came together nicely, and I thank @oldjudge for test solving and feedback!
36. Top of the Class
The answer to the meta is a school supply of more than 7 letters.
Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful!
Mikey G
Crosshare
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This is the penultimate puzzle for the Summer of Solves! It will also probably be the last one that I willingly make above Week 3 for a bit since I put you all through the ringer this August and want to make for some smoother sailing as we close out '22! (I say that now.)
---
1. Puzzle #35 recap
Puzzle #35 answer: IMPOSTOR
Correct entries: 20, of which about 10 were likely solo solves
I'm not sure how much credit I can take for a mere 15-by-9, but I'd love to see if this could've been done as a 15-by-15 (I think I tried for like 10 minutes, if that, and kept whittling it down, haha). There was certainly a lot of trial-and-error to make this one, and I figured what seemed obvious to me was probably only because I spent so long making it that the constraint loomed large in my mind.
The left and right portions of the grid, not connected, and the "Left and Right" in the title referred to your hands, which may have even used to solve a bunch of the puzzle if you did it online! The left grid comprised, mostly, of letters that are typed using the left hand in a standard QWERTY keyboard; the right grid was, well, the right! Thank goodness I was able to at least squeeze a T in the right and a good 'ole OREO in the left, but I'm curious now how possible this would be to make a non-meta in a 15-by-15 setup that has this going for it! A cruciverbalist's imponderables.
We got 20 entries of those who realized that those letters on the wrong side of the grid were the eight IMPOSTOR letters that you seek. Hopefully, you're yelling that at those letters and not yours truly!
---
2. Leaderboard of Destiny
---
3. The planned Week 2 for August never materialized, leading me to a cobble together the less-than-ideal one two weeks ago. Last week's Week 3, really a Week 4 or 5, was written about three months ago or so: I still like it! This Week 4 came together nicely, and I thank @oldjudge for test solving and feedback!
36. Top of the Class
The answer to the meta is a school supply of more than 7 letters.
Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful!
Mikey G
- oldjudge
- Posts: 1648
- Joined: Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:16 am
- Location: Pasadena, CA
- boharr
- Moderator
- Posts: 3249
- Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:57 am
- Location: Westchester, NY
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- Posts: 1411
- Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:49 am
For anyone going through Saturday withdrawal pains from the MGWCC, this is a worthy substitute!
- Cindy
- Posts: 1260
- Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:39 pm
- Location: Matthews
- Cinny
- Posts: 836
- Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2020 2:53 pm
- Location: Minoa, NY
- Contact:
Correct answer confirmed on Crosshare. So nice to solve without needing a nudge. As always, another fun one. Thanks, Mikey!
Cindy Heisler
- ChrisKochmanski
- Posts: 2253
- Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:51 pm
- Location: Saline, Michigan
Koo-bah and too-too!
That’s something my brother used to say. It means … VERY NICE!
I’ve solved. Thanks, Mikey!
That’s something my brother used to say. It means … VERY NICE!
I’ve solved. Thanks, Mikey!
- benchen71
- Posts: 2538
- Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:50 pm
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Contact:
Solved! Great puzzle, as usual. Initially, I was thinking you hadn't provided quite enough in the way of signposts. But I was wrong, since I got there in the end, and before the nudges, too!
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta!
- Darth
- Posts: 777
- Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:51 pm
- Location: Champaign, IL
I still have my tab open for last week's puzzle...sadly, I missed it. But this time I got it done!
Busy week with semester startup, but I'm getting my priorities back in order! Thanks, Mikey.
Busy week with semester startup, but I'm getting my priorities back in order! Thanks, Mikey.
- MikeyG
- Posts: 1443
- Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:52 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
Hahaha, same here! I can only do "Summer of Solves" because even though I'm busier with summer courses, I have a bit more down-time, if that makes sense? Kudos to all constructors (and solvers!!) who can maintain a regular schedule!
Mikey G
- MikeyG
- Posts: 1443
- Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:52 pm
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
It's Nudge Wednesday time!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
See if that helps! Smoother sailing for the final four months of the year, I promise! Great job to all those who have cracked this so far, and let's see if this can get a few more over the finish line!
Mikey G
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
See if that helps! Smoother sailing for the final four months of the year, I promise! Great job to all those who have cracked this so far, and let's see if this can get a few more over the finish line!
Mikey G
- KayW
- Moderator
- Posts: 3474
- Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 12:10 am
- Location: Chicago
doh! I needed the nudges. But a fantastic meta. Thanks Mikey
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
- whimsy
- Posts: 2857
- Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2020 9:51 am
- Location: Hopkinton MA
Four out of five nudges did the trick!
Very crafty!
Thanks for this and the whole summer of solves, Mikey!
Very crafty!
Thanks for this and the whole summer of solves, Mikey!
- jhseeman
- Posts: 499
- Joined: Sun Dec 13, 2020 3:33 pm
- Location: Charleston, SC
nudge number three, opened my eyes.
Cool Meta and as usual great clues for the grid.
Thanks
Cool Meta and as usual great clues for the grid.
Thanks
- woozy
- Posts: 2282
- Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2020 12:40 am
Nudges
1) Yeah, I know
2) Yeah, I know
3) I assumed so but I couldn't get anything. I'll look again. No... too cold and I'm too impatient.
4) Yeah, maybe and oh, you I see something. Struggle okay
5) Yeah, I got that from nudge 4 but ...
Still stumped. But, very very clever so far.
EDIT: Oh! What a twist!
1) Yeah, I know
2) Yeah, I know
3) I assumed so but I couldn't get anything. I'll look again. No... too cold and I'm too impatient.
4) Yeah, maybe and oh, you I see something. Struggle okay
5) Yeah, I got that from nudge 4 but ...
Still stumped. But, very very clever so far.
EDIT: Oh! What a twist!
Stinky Pinkies!
My Entry to the May 2024 CrossHare Midi Contest
Not a meta, but, yeesh!, that was tough to create.
My Entry to the May 2024 CrossHare Midi Contest
Not a meta, but, yeesh!, that was tough to create.
- edestlin
- Posts: 244
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2022 9:22 am
- Location: Michigan
- Contact:
I needed the nudges as well but it was worth coming back and staring at it all week, because it certainly paid off. Fun puzzle, Mikey!
- Abide
- Moderator
- Posts: 1331
- Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:16 pm
- Location: Biloxi
- Contact:
Exactly same experience here!
The site is just a web page, a meeting place, a clubhouse - it's the group that's special.
—Brian MacDonald
—Brian MacDonald
- rjy
- Posts: 1070
- Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:52 pm
- Location: Gaithersburg, MD
Got it, thanks Mikey! Could not gain a toehold whatsoever without every last nudge, kudos to those who got it nudgelessly! Curious to hear post-reveal what led you to the answer…
Ray
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- Posts: 1739
- Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:09 am
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- Posts: 1566
- Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2021 7:26 pm
I had already figured out nudges 1-3, but I needed nudge 4 to push me in the right direction. Another amazingly constructed meta!