XWord Muggles Forum

MGWCC #812 -- “Corner the Market” by Nam Jin Yoon

GUEST CONSTRUCTOR PUZZLE:

Today’s meta is by Nam Jin Yoon, who is a law librarian living in New York. This is his second meta. He enjoys reading Asian-American and Latin American literature, and is a Canadian who’s originally from Toronto.



This puzzle's contest answer is a loanword for which the stress falls on the second syllable.

NOTE: We will be sending out three hints for this meta: one each at noon ET on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. You may use or ignore the hints as you prefer. Full meta-credit for using the hints or not.

Good luck!

--Matt

Going to be a lot of early guesses---correct or incorrect, we shall see!

I WAGged at 5 minutes before noon ET, then again at 12:00:01 PM, in case the form reset.

Awaiting beamage(?).

Incorrect WAG!

I had two others guesses. Will consider it a personal victory if either are correct.

BEST LUCK TO ALL & HAPPY NEW YEAR, MERRY CHRISTMAS, & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

One hour into the meta and no one is on the board. @Joe Ross my money is on it being something other than your three guesses.

Last week I was going to WAG Utica but I got to the meta too late to WAG.

This reminds me already of "Three-on-Three Matchup," what Matt later called his "white whale" (the one with all those 3-by-1 rectangles): 115 correct answers, 17 solo. The first responder was Jangler five hours after the puzzle posted, with only three correct answers that entire first day.

I have a WAG...oh wait, that's Ginger wagging her tail (she's not happy I'm paying more attention to this puzzle than to her).

As of this point, my only certain observation is that Will Shortz would have lost his mind if a certain clue/entry pair had been submitted to the NYT.

Pretty sure I've got it! Waiting for the beam...
Edit: Worst thing about no correct answers yet, is it doesn't show the time it was last updated.

Edit edit: Holy cow, I got the #1 badge? Never, and I do mean never, did I think I'd get that one!

Update shows 1 solver at 1:58

HoldThatThought wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 2:07 pm Update shows 1 solver at 1:58

And no incorrect answers

schmidzy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 1:46 pm Edit edit: Holy cow, I got the #1 badge? Never, and I do mean never, did I think I'd get that one!

You absolutely deserve it! You've been close before, I've seen! In your honor, I'll have a duck-related meta in 2024, haha.

schmidzy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 1:46 pm Pretty sure I've got it! Waiting for the beam...

Edit: Worst thing about no correct answers yet, is it doesn't show the time it was last updated.

Edit edit: Holy cow, I got the #1 badge? Never, and I do mean never, did I think I'd get that one!

ky-mike wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 2:09 pm

HoldThatThought wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 2:07 pm Update shows 1 solver at 1:58

And no incorrect answers

Trust me, there is one incorrect answer submitted.

Joe Ross wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 2:35 pm

ky-mike wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 2:09 pm

HoldThatThought wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 2:07 pm Update shows 1 solver at 1:58

And no incorrect answers

Trust me, there is one incorrect answer submitted.

➡️⬅️

I think it would be much less stressful to just follow Joe's example and shoot off a WAG and be done with it.

That ends this year, @boharr , unless I am at least 75% on a WAG prior to noon. With the extreme talent I'm up against, that'll never happen.

This year was in tatters early & often, so I felt I could gamble recklessly.

Joe Ross wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 12:07 pm I WAGged at 5 minutes before noon ET, then again at 12:00:01 PM, in case the form reset.

Awaiting beamage(?). 🤞🏼

Incorrect WAG!

I had two others guesses. Will consider it a personal victory if either are correct.

BEST LUCK TO ALL & HAPPY NEW YEAR, MERRY CHRISTMAS, & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Your name is not on the "overall" list, which implies that your entry didn't count. Still time to figure it out!

I guess I'll wait for the first hint lol

ky-mike wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 2:59 pm Your name is not on the "overall" list, which implies that your entry didn't count. Still time to figure it out!

I entered before noon & saw the pop-up that my entry was received.

Then I entered again immediately after noon & saw the pop-up saying I had already entered.

I emailed Matt with my entry and explaining the above. Matt confirmed my answer is incorrect.

It seems I befuddled the automation by entering early.

LESSON: Don't enter early.

Beamed after picking up some group solve breadcrumbs. Fun once you get going.

There is a GaffneyBadge for submitting on December 25...
For me, Step One was looking up "loanword."

Awaiting beam.

EDIT: boom! #12 - very apt for the season.
For any of you Cryptic fans out there, Maskarade has a challenging Christmas special in the Guardian.
Managed to complete that and this despite COVID brain fog. Being isolated all day certainly helps with the focus!
Merry Christmas all