Downtimes
- BrianMac
- Site Admin
- Posts: 787
- Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2019 11:45 pm
- Location: Connecticut
Downtimes
For those of you, like me, who have more downtime than usual on their hands these days, here is a new puzzle to help spend the time and tide you over until the WSJ tomorrow and Week 4 MGWCC on Friday.
This puzzle is called Downtimes and the solution is a question you might ask during downtime.
I will post the solution Sunday sometime Sunday evening. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks!
Downtimes.puz
Downtimes.pdf
This puzzle is called Downtimes and the solution is a question you might ask during downtime.
I will post the solution Sunday sometime Sunday evening. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks!
Downtimes.puz
Downtimes.pdf
- Hector
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- Contact:
- BarbaraK
- Posts: 2642
- Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:37 pm
- Location: Virginia
For those of us who like you? That's me! In fact, I expect that's all of us. Oh, I should read more carefully?
Looking forward to this! And good timing as I just finished Burak's Slurred Lines meta.
Looking forward to this! And good timing as I just finished Burak's Slurred Lines meta.
- Al Sisti
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- MajordomoTom
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29A - never heard of those until I googled it. Still working on meta, nice grid.
took a while to finish the SE corner. Once I got the correct 60D and 69A, the rest came together.
EDIT: printed w/ my solution so I can stare at it a bit.
took a while to finish the SE corner. Once I got the correct 60D and 69A, the rest came together.
EDIT: printed w/ my solution so I can stare at it a bit.
"Lots of planets have a North", the Ninth Doctor.
- MajordomoTom
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- Location: St. Louis, MO
drink up!
"Lots of planets have a North", the Ninth Doctor.
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- ChrisKochmanski
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I too flailed some after getting the first step. Then woke up from a nap thinking, “Hey, maybe it’s ...” — and came very satisfyingly to the solution. Loved it. Good one, Brian!
- MajordomoTom
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- Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2019 12:09 am
- Location: St. Louis, MO
I'm still flailing. No nudges, I'm enjoying the flailing.
"Lots of planets have a North", the Ninth Doctor.
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I also have (I think) the first step. Maybe the second step will come to me after another night's sleep. Hmmm
- BarbaraK
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- Location: Virginia
Got it! And love it! Great one, Brian!
And that cleared my meta queue. Ready for MGWCC.
And that cleared my meta queue. Ready for MGWCC.
- Meg
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- Beth Tyrpin
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- Abide
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very nice Bmac!
The site is just a web page, a meeting place, a clubhouse - it's the group that's special.
—Brian MacDonald
—Brian MacDonald
- FrankieHeck
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- Joe Ross
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Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024
PLATELET 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 ENORMOUS 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
𝟰𝟬% 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰,
𝟯𝟬% 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰,
𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮. 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘!
PLATELET 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 ENORMOUS 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
𝟰𝟬% 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰,
𝟯𝟬% 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰,
𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮. 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘!
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Maybe a Mac-Meta “winner” can have their avatar posted in the site header for a week (opposite Isaac).
- BrianMac
- Site Admin
- Posts: 787
- Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2019 11:45 pm
- Location: Connecticut
Thanks everyone for solving and providing feedback. The solution to the meta, a question you might ask during downtime, is NOW WHAT? The solution is derived as follows:
1. Notice that there are seven "down" entries that are homophones of numbers:
1-Down: NEIN - 9
4-Down: ATE - 8
5-Down: TENN - 10
10-Down: SICS - 6
13-Down: FOR - 4
27-Down: TOO - 2
41-Down: WON - 1
2. Apply the title "Downtimes" to these numbers by multiplying them by the numbers of the squares they appear in:
9 x 1 = 9
8 x 4 = 32
10 x 5 = 50
6 x 10 = 60
4 x 13 = 52
2 x 27 = 54
1 x 41 = 41
3. Looking at the letters in the grid appearing in the resulting numbers, in grid order, yields NOW WHAT.
This one came about by wanting to create a meta (a) where the answer points to certain letters in the grid, and (b) which incorporates the numbers of the grid entries. I've seen both of those techniques used before by Mike Shenk, Matt Gaffney and PGW, and I always enjoy those metas, so I wanted to give it a try. I have to give a HUGE thanks to Al Sisti, who solved an early version of the puzzle and really saved by skin by pointing out that 8 x 4 = 32, and not 24, thus saving me the embarrassment of the meta answer NLW WHAT? Also, apologies for the SOLO / SOLI dupe entries. I noticed that at the time, and didn't it love it, but I have to thank Abide for pointing out that it could (and should) have been easily fixed by replacing SOLO / OTS with SILO / ITS.
Thanks again for solving. I hope to have another puzzle for you later in the week.
1. Notice that there are seven "down" entries that are homophones of numbers:
1-Down: NEIN - 9
4-Down: ATE - 8
5-Down: TENN - 10
10-Down: SICS - 6
13-Down: FOR - 4
27-Down: TOO - 2
41-Down: WON - 1
2. Apply the title "Downtimes" to these numbers by multiplying them by the numbers of the squares they appear in:
9 x 1 = 9
8 x 4 = 32
10 x 5 = 50
6 x 10 = 60
4 x 13 = 52
2 x 27 = 54
1 x 41 = 41
3. Looking at the letters in the grid appearing in the resulting numbers, in grid order, yields NOW WHAT.
This one came about by wanting to create a meta (a) where the answer points to certain letters in the grid, and (b) which incorporates the numbers of the grid entries. I've seen both of those techniques used before by Mike Shenk, Matt Gaffney and PGW, and I always enjoy those metas, so I wanted to give it a try. I have to give a HUGE thanks to Al Sisti, who solved an early version of the puzzle and really saved by skin by pointing out that 8 x 4 = 32, and not 24, thus saving me the embarrassment of the meta answer NLW WHAT? Also, apologies for the SOLO / SOLI dupe entries. I noticed that at the time, and didn't it love it, but I have to thank Abide for pointing out that it could (and should) have been easily fixed by replacing SOLO / OTS with SILO / ITS.
Thanks again for solving. I hope to have another puzzle for you later in the week.
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- Posts: 688
- Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 4:21 pm
Great puzzle, Brian! I had the mechanism and NOWAWTH written on the page, but in a personal first I “had” the meta but didn’t “get” the meta. When I started counting letter frequency in the grid I should have known to quit.
Agree with the homages - it felt like a mashup of Gaffney and pgw. Please keep ‘em coming!
Agree with the homages - it felt like a mashup of Gaffney and pgw. Please keep ‘em coming!