A place to discuss the weekly Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle Contest, starting every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Please do not post any answers or hints before the contest deadline which is midnight Sunday Eastern time.
kurtalert wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2024 12:37 pm
Hah, sorry - usually I'm a total dunce with the WSJ metas, so I was quite surprised that I hit page 1 here. Although, it might just be Mike Shenk's puzzles- I'm much more on Gaffney's wavelength, apparently, as nearly all of the WSJ ones that I manage to solve are his, and I rarely get Shenk's.
I was curious, so I looked at my data since I started doing the WSJ in late '22 and early '23. I average about 20 minutes on a Gaffney (average level: 2.1) and 25 on a Shenk (average level: 2.4), indicating that I might speak Gaffney's language a bit more! (I've had more time speaking it with MGWCC!).
Good luck to all those still working on cracking this conundrum, and congrats to those who have already!
Less cross words, more crosswords.
Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 97. Drab Bag
PHOFER wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2024 9:26 am
On the shore, and it looks like it will be crowded. After Sunday midnight I’d be interested in seeing proposals for the best clue for the contest answer words (that is, a clue like the clues for the other theme answers).
Well, just concatenating the given clues for the entries (with a little allowance for grammar/syntax tweaking) is an acceptable clue.
But we're a creative bunch. We can do better.
I love this bunch of folks. I have learned, yet another new word. When I saw "concatenating" I thought surely it was a typo, but looked it up and Lo and Behold, it was a real word that I had never heard of.
Whoa.... just as Charles Schulz once assumed everyone knew what a ZAMBONI was (Snoopy as the WWI flying ace accidentally shot one and all the readers in the SF Bay area went "?????"), I assumed everyone knew what concatenate meant.
CON=with or together
CATENA= chain
concatenate= to chain together.
So I just plain couldn't get my meta based on "Up the Down Staircase" to work.
My challenge it to constructors is to make a meta where the meta, theme or metanism is "Up the Down Staircase".
FWIW I didn't think this grid was particularly difficult (certainly within one degree of standard deviation) but I didn't think the meta was particularly easy either. Not a natural thing that leaps visually out at you. It took me well-past the time when I start to sink and figure that means I will never get it without a nudge. But, unusually, this is one that *can* be solved by chewing and tying all possibilitys the the hints could possibly mean. I wouldn't say it was a tough one but, for me, it seemed more comfortable hanging out with the tough kids and being a poseur.
So I just plain couldn't get my meta based on "Up the Down Staircase" to work.
My challenge it to constructors is to make a meta where the meta, theme or metanism is "Up the Down Staircase".
Holy s***!!! People who said this was easy just have warped brains!!!
Having said that, I am VERY pleased with myself for my second pure solo solve in a row. I feel my brain warping. It must be the mid-day single-malt. (I don’t believe in the term “too early”). Ashore!!!
Well, just concatenating the given clues for the entries (with a little allowance for grammar/syntax tweaking) is an acceptable clue.
But we're a creative bunch. We can do better.
I love this bunch of folks. I have learned, yet another new word. When I saw "concatenating" I thought surely it was a typo, but looked it up and Lo and Behold, it was a real word that I had never heard of.
Whoa.... just as Charles Schulz once assumed everyone knew what a ZAMBONI was (Snoopy as the WWI flying ace accidentally shot one and all the readers in the SF Bay area went "?????"), I assumed everyone knew what concatenate meant.
CON=with or together
CATENA= chain
concatenate= to chain together.
I haven't followed hockey in years. As a kid, I thought driving the zamboni would be so much fun!
PHOFER wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2024 9:26 am
On the shore, and it looks like it will be crowded. After Sunday midnight I’d be interested in seeing proposals for the best clue for the contest answer words (that is, a clue like the clues for the other theme answers).
Well, just concatenating the given clues for the entries (with a little allowance for grammar/syntax tweaking) is an acceptable clue.
But we're a creative bunch. We can do better.
I love this bunch of folks. I have learned, yet another new word. When I saw "concatenating" I thought surely it was a typo, but looked it up and Lo and Behold, it was a real word that I had never heard of.
I think that was (and may still be) a function you could select on a copy machine.
Well, just concatenating the given clues for the entries (with a little allowance for grammar/syntax tweaking) is an acceptable clue.
But we're a creative bunch. We can do better.
I love this bunch of folks. I have learned, yet another new word. When I saw "concatenating" I thought surely it was a typo, but looked it up and Lo and Behold, it was a real word that I had never heard of.
I think that was (and may still be) a function you could select on a copy machine.
CONCATENATE is also a function in Excel for putting text strings together (of course).
Ashore!
Jane, my puzzle buddy, had it solved within 90 minutes of yesterday's release. I had to set it aside to attend other matters and couldn't solve until this morning. Sigh. Then 9 holes of golf and home to post. I think a pale ale is on the menu this afternoon.
What a fun ZOOM today! Great to see everyone! Have a wonderful weekend.
Don & Cynthia
We are always happy to get to know other muggles and help in any way! PM's are always welcome. The next best thing to winning a mug is helping a fellow muggle win a mug!