"Two's Company" June 19, 2020
- Deb F
- Posts: 405
- Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:02 pm
- Location: Hilton Head Island
I was sure it was I.E. thinking, added note, that is, P.S., physician, that is M.D., etc. But I really couldn't make a case for it and then went back to why there were 7 theme answers when I was sure there were 6. After I thought about it, I saw the 3 letter answers and arrived at SOLIER and knew that something was missing. So I listed all the other 3 letter answers in the grid until I found EDT and, voila--SOLDIER. Then backed into ET for Alien. Phew. At least I got it. It will most likely be another mug-less week but happy to have re-started what I hope is a solving streak (hey, I'm happy these days with 2 in a row!!!). Have a good week, Muggles.
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- Posts: 503
- Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2020 3:21 pm
I love the post-mortems every week whether or not I felt the AHA before Sunday night.
Some are frighteningly familiar and some I never would have dreamed.
All contribute to a unique knowledge base for sure.
Maybe the constructors note the rabbit holes presented in this forum for future reference?
Have a nice week everyone!
Some are frighteningly familiar and some I never would have dreamed.
All contribute to a unique knowledge base for sure.
Maybe the constructors note the rabbit holes presented in this forum for future reference?
Have a nice week everyone!
- Bob cruise director
- Cruise Director
- Posts: 4604
- Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
- Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA
I always wonder if on Monday, Mike and Matt are sitting back with a tall cold one, laughing about the intentional and unintentional red herrings and rabbit holes that we follow week in and week out.michaelm wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 2:51 pm I love the post-mortems every week whether or not I felt the AHA before Sunday night.
Some are frighteningly familiar and some I never would have dreamed.
All contribute to a unique knowledge base for sure.
Maybe the constructors note the rabbit holes presented in this forum for future reference?
Have a nice week everyone!
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
Cruise Director
- Thurman8er
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:05 pm
- Location: Fresno, CA
Before I had the letters in the right order, I noticed that SOLID was in the grid, meaning the leftovers were E and R.
Yep...I almost submitted ER before I remembered that Matt would never be that inelegant.
Yep...I almost submitted ER before I remembered that Matt would never be that inelegant.
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- Posts: 737
- Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:25 pm
- Location: Meridian, MS
That's exactly what I did. Was disappointed that it didn't lead to the beach.HeadinHome wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 9:28 am Found this one very frustrating because of what seemed a fairly straightforward trail plus the fact that SO many muggles were reporting that this was an easy meta. My trail was that seven of the clues offer TWO people/items (using “and” or “or”), so that felt like an easy start to an “easy” meta. I then was looking for a way to use those clues’ or answers’ initials. Spent way too much time trying to get something from DASIACO (Detective, Alien, Solid, Iveys, Alis, Citta, Oona). At sea all weekend, feeling like a complete dolt missing a good party. : (
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- Posts: 481
- Joined: Thu May 09, 2019 11:02 pm
- Location: Yakima, WA
Of course !
- DrTom
- Posts: 3957
- Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:46 pm
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
Oh my, then you obviously did not have Mr. Evans for English Composition....ky-mike wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 11:08 amI don't recall punctuation ever being a determining factor between right and wrong. I also submitted GI.JRS51 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 11:04 amI was doing the same thing on Friday. Fortunately the correct mechanism occurred to me Saturday night and i found the answer.LittleGood wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:54 am I was preoccupied until Friday afternoon with 5 answers that each appeared phonetically identical to a 2-word initialism (IVEYS = I.V., ACEY = A.C., EMMY = M.E., OPIE = O.P., IDI = E.D.). I was trying coax 2 more answers to fit this pattern and lead me to an answer.
Kas-2 for me; I just overlooked the obvious because ALIEN didn't look like a theme answer until I got the mechanism from the other six. DOH!
I'm also relieved to see the solution is "G.I." (with periods) rather than "GI".
However, i did submit as “GI” not “G.I.” Hope that doesn’t keep me from a chance at the mug!
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
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
Well it is an ID of course and the "E" (the third and crowd making member), well that obviously stands for E E E the phonetic equivalent of what Matt/Mike do when they toss in one of those improvised editorial devices.
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
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
Stop giving them ideas!!! There are already enough ways to break your solving legs without them knowing where to put more holes!michaelm wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 2:51 pm I love the post-mortems every week whether or not I felt the AHA before Sunday night.
Some are frighteningly familiar and some I never would have dreamed.
All contribute to a unique knowledge base for sure.
Maybe the constructors note the rabbit holes presented in this forum for future reference?
Have a nice week everyone!
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
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
As I read through everyone's post and think, "gosh this was so easy", I think back to when I started META madness and there was absolutely no WAY I'd have gotten this. It is only because I recognized this as a rather common technique (and I'd bet I can say that for a lot of the people on this thread) that the answer came rather quickly.
I mean I should certainly have gotten the Matt Gaffney one rather easily but it threw me for a loop until someone dope slapped me into the right path. For all who feel frustrated by the answer or the mechanism SOLDIER on and remember "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!"
I mean I should certainly have gotten the Matt Gaffney one rather easily but it threw me for a loop until someone dope slapped me into the right path. For all who feel frustrated by the answer or the mechanism SOLDIER on and remember "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!"
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!
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- Posts: 301
- Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:46 pm
Apologies for the delay and the brief report, puzzlers--we are on the road this week.
A classic multi-step Gaffney challenge drew 1981 entries, with 75% correct. For some reason, of the 7 two-letter phrases suggested in the puzzle, ET drew a landslide of incorrect submissions (150), perhaps because it was sitting in the center? The other 6 each drew smatterings, plus a long long list of other two-letter guesses.
Congrats to this week's winner: Leo Dombrowski of Skokie, Ill.!
A classic multi-step Gaffney challenge drew 1981 entries, with 75% correct. For some reason, of the 7 two-letter phrases suggested in the puzzle, ET drew a landslide of incorrect submissions (150), perhaps because it was sitting in the center? The other 6 each drew smatterings, plus a long long list of other two-letter guesses.
Congrats to this week's winner: Leo Dombrowski of Skokie, Ill.!
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- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2020 8:07 am
My initial initialism was GI. However, there was no way to validate it I could find. Scanning clues, I found 26D and 34D to be telling because of “TV” (not a perfect initialism but awfully coincidental) EMMY -> “M” OPIE -> “P”
MP
I still like it, but I guess I overthought it.
MP
I still like it, but I guess I overthought it.
- KayW
- Moderator
- Posts: 3534
- Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 12:10 am
- Location: Chicago
...nor considered an example like this:
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.
- MajordomoTom
- Posts: 1426
- Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2019 12:09 am
- Location: St. Louis, MO
Panda walks into a restaurant.
Eats, shoots and leaves. Or should it be "Eats shoots and leaves."?
Great book.
Eats, shoots and leaves. Or should it be "Eats shoots and leaves."?
Great book.
"Lots of planets have a North", the Ninth Doctor.
- DaveKennison
- Posts: 242
- Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:28 pm
I love to read the early-week comments about the previous Friday’s meta. What a creative bunch! I’m seriously envious of some of the folks who come up with “wrong” answers that make perfect sense!
- yourpalsal
- Posts: 177
- Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2020 2:28 am
Join us this evening for a cordial drink, live postmortem on Two's Company, and general thoughts on puzzles we have known!
YourPalSal's Muggle Meetup
5pmPT/8pmET on Zoom!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82938294870
YourPalSal's Muggle Meetup
5pmPT/8pmET on Zoom!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82938294870
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- Posts: 908
- Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2020 2:35 pm
You will kindly note that IE is in the middle (kinda) of ALIEN, the middle theme answer. You will also kindly note that there seven instances in the grid of I and E being diagonally adjacent in some direction. Yes, I and E are common letters, but there have been a maximum of four such "adjacencies" in the past five puzzles.
- DrTom
- Posts: 3957
- Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:46 pm
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
Just passed a pleasant approximately 60 minutes with my Muggle family, great fun. For some reason my camera refused to work so for those of you wondering I am 6'3" with a full head of hair and washboard abs. I also, unfortunately, suffer from delusions. SO nice to put faces to names and voices to text. Here is hoping we keep this up and that I eventually get my video on so that you can see just how big a prevaricator I am.yourpalsal wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 12:56 pm Join us this evening for a cordial drink, live postmortem on Two's Company, and general thoughts on puzzles we have known!
YourPalSal's Muggle Meetup
5pmPT/8pmET on Zoom!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82938294870
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!
- Meg
- Posts: 2212
- Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:41 pm
- Location: St. Petersburg, FL
- Al Sisti
- Posts: 2091
- Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:28 pm
- Location: Whitesboro NY
I intended to pop in, but I shot a good round of golf (for me), so I had to stay for beers afterward. Right. If there are more such meetings, I would like to see everyone.