MGWCC #785 — “Tentative Meta”
- Joe Ross
- Moderator
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- Location: Cincinnati
MGWCC #785 — “Tentative Meta”
MGWCC #785
Friday, June 16th, 2023
GUEST CONSTRUCTOR MONTH, PUZZLE #3
“Tentative Meta” by Tom Burnakis
Our third Guest Constructor is Tom Burnakis - aka @DrTom. Tom is a retired health-care practitioner who used to avoid meta-puzzles like the plague until he finally solved a couple, and now he is totally smitten. If you are not an XWord Muggle you probably have never seen anything he has done unless you read medical journals. But he has had a number of puzzles on that site and says he could not be happier than to have a guest appearance on the MGWCC.
Great — let’s see what Tom has in store for Week 3 of 5…
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a number.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.
WANT TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY CROSSWORD CONTEST?:
MGWCC is available only to subscribers at my Patreon page.
A subscription costs $3/month.
Friday, June 16th, 2023
GUEST CONSTRUCTOR MONTH, PUZZLE #3
“Tentative Meta” by Tom Burnakis
Our third Guest Constructor is Tom Burnakis - aka @DrTom. Tom is a retired health-care practitioner who used to avoid meta-puzzles like the plague until he finally solved a couple, and now he is totally smitten. If you are not an XWord Muggle you probably have never seen anything he has done unless you read medical journals. But he has had a number of puzzles on that site and says he could not be happier than to have a guest appearance on the MGWCC.
Great — let’s see what Tom has in store for Week 3 of 5…
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a number.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.
WANT TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY CROSSWORD CONTEST?:
MGWCC is available only to subscribers at my Patreon page.
A subscription costs $3/month.
- MikeyG
- Posts: 1456
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- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
Aarrgh, Lily and Niko, haha! All in good fun, of course. Another bronze to add to my collection, I'll take it!
I want to use this time not only to say the meta was great but also to build up @DrTom for a moment. He has been such a kind, instrumental force in helping me with my craft - as well as being an equally jocular punster in rhyme (perhaps much to the chagrin of many). I have loved his dedication to this forum, and I leave all of our interactions feeling better about the world and a little bit happier as a result. So major props to his cruciverbal craft and also to how he brightens up the forum and this world.
Okay, that's enough maudlin pontificating for now, haha. Carry on with the puzzles!
Mikey G
I want to use this time not only to say the meta was great but also to build up @DrTom for a moment. He has been such a kind, instrumental force in helping me with my craft - as well as being an equally jocular punster in rhyme (perhaps much to the chagrin of many). I have loved his dedication to this forum, and I leave all of our interactions feeling better about the world and a little bit happier as a result. So major props to his cruciverbal craft and also to how he brightens up the forum and this world.
Okay, that's enough maudlin pontificating for now, haha. Carry on with the puzzles!
Mikey G
- Joe Ross
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- Location: Cincinnati
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I found this week three played much easier than last week's week two, but it can be hard for Matt to gauge. Nice one, Dr. Tom!
- boharr
- Moderator
- Posts: 3260
- Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:57 am
- Location: Westchester, NY
Well said!MikeyG wrote: ↑Fri Jun 16, 2023 12:16 pm
I want to use this time not only to say the meta was great but also to build up @DrTom for a moment. He has been such a kind, instrumental force in helping me with my craft - as well as being an equally jocular punster in rhyme (perhaps much to the chagrin of many). I have loved his dedication to this forum, and I leave all of our interactions feeling better about the world and a little bit happier as a result. So major props to his cruciverbal craft and also to how he brightens up the forum and this world.
Mikey G
- Joe
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- Location: New Hampshire
Yay, DrTom!
I'm pretty sure I've got it, but I'm not entirely sure why. I'm gonna sit on it a minute before I submit.
I'm pretty sure I've got it, but I'm not entirely sure why. I'm gonna sit on it a minute before I submit.
Happy to give nudges. If you notice I've solved, please tell me about avenues you've explored so I can nudge you in the right direction and not off a cliff.
- DrTom
- Posts: 3957
- Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:46 pm
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
Wow Mike, I am humbled and perhaps blushing a bit. It is very easy being a Muggle since beginning with my first time on the site (hard to believe that was four years ago) I have been treated with kindness, and support. I had never experienced (and certainly have not since) such a collection of camaraderie, humor and intelligence. There is no place of which I can conceive, outside of some professional forum, where the depth and breadth of knowledge exceeds that of this community, and certainly not one where it is all done with such a healthy dose of funny. I truly could not imagine a life without Muggles.MikeyG wrote: ↑Fri Jun 16, 2023 12:16 pm Aarrgh, Lily and Niko, haha! All in good fun, of course. Another bronze to add to my collection, I'll take it!
I want to use this time not only to say the meta was great but also to build up @DrTom for a moment. He has been such a kind, instrumental force in helping me with my craft - as well as being an equally jocular punster in rhyme (perhaps much to the chagrin of many). I have loved his dedication to this forum, and I leave all of our interactions feeling better about the world and a little bit happier as a result. So major props to his cruciverbal craft and also to how he brightens up the forum and this world.
Okay, that's enough maudlin pontificating for now, haha. Carry on with the puzzles!
Mikey G
That brings me to you sir. Your creativity in mechanisms and innate sense of humor in writing clues have brought me untold amusement. I always make sure that for the MikeyG puzzles I have enough time to solve and savor. I never rush through to make sure the fill is correct; I look for why the fill is funny and don’t want to miss a punchline. Working with you on our combined puzzle (and fair warning Muggledon, there is a DrTom/MikeyG coming soon so get your abdominal muscles ready for a workout) was like looking into a younger, probably more clever, mind of my own.
Speaking of looking into my own brain, for the records I have done that and do not recommend. Reviewing my results it looked like I was asleep because the brain kept playing REM, none of my neurons could control their impulses and the EEG tracing spelled out puns. To give my brain a break I sent it a nearby zoo where there are large collections of semiaquatic mammals, it is called Hippo Camp US (ouch)
I cannot tell you how delighted I am to have a puzzle in the MGWCC, and how hard it was to keep quiet about it! I have been counting the minutes until noon since about 0730 this morning.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
- ajk
- Posts: 1033
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:22 pm
- Location: Colorado
Congrats @DrTom!! Very cool indeed.
Plus which, the meta was fun. Stared for a brief period, then noticed something and hey presto. Awaiting beam, but confident.
ETA: and there I am at #40. Not bad for a late start.
Plus which, the meta was fun. Stared for a brief period, then noticed something and hey presto. Awaiting beam, but confident.
ETA: and there I am at #40. Not bad for a late start.
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
- boharr
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- ChrisKochmanski
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- ky-mike
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- DrTom
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NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
- DrTom
- Posts: 3957
- Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:46 pm
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Only if you are a fissure, or perhaps a hunter (but not an Ex hunter, and certainly NOT a Hunter-X)
But you missed my classic Maggot Therapy review...copies were flying off the shelves!
You also missed my Time Magazine comments about Viagra, about which comments did not flag for months.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
- HeadinHome
- Posts: 1149
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- Location: Charlotte, NC
^ and that right there ^ is why we love our Dr. Tom! Posted an answer and awaiting the beam! (update: beamed.)
Enjoyed this throroughly, as expected when I saw the constructor!
When you see it, you see it quickly … so if you don’t have it yet, keep poking at it! A classic, clever meta.
Enjoyed this throroughly, as expected when I saw the constructor!
When you see it, you see it quickly … so if you don’t have it yet, keep poking at it! A classic, clever meta.
Last edited by HeadinHome on Fri Jun 16, 2023 3:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
The other Wendy.
- ky-mike
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....and I just saw an elegance that I missed earlier. One of the good Dr's finest.
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Great puzzle, and congrats to Dr Tom!! Awaiting beamage. Still annoyed at myself for not getting last week's, sigh.
- oldjudge
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- Location: Pasadena, CA
Fun puzzle—thank you Dr Tom! Can’t wait to see what the Tommy and Mikey show will produce.
- HunterX
- Posts: 1200
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- Location: Philadelphia, PA
Thank you for making a point of exempting me from the category! I don't want to be the butt of jokes around here. And while I may be a hunter, I'm not a fissure man. (And didn't do my preparation...)
- TMart
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