XWord Muggles Forum

MGWCC #752 — Friday, October 28th, 2022 — “Costume Change"

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is a common 5-letter Halloween costume.

Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.

(No word on possible deadline delay.)


WANT TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY CROSSWORD CONTEST?:
MGWCC is available only to subscribers at my Patreon page.
A subscription costs $3/month.

Seems like a great opportunity for someone new to grab that first solved award.

Only one wrong guess so far!

Andrew Bradburn wrote: ↑Fri Oct 28, 2022 4:27 pm Only one wrong guess so far!

Bet I could come up with a slew of them.

Way to go @Toby !!!

As for whoever predicted that this week would be easier since last week was so hard, remind me not to believe your predictions:)

Of course maybe lots of people have solved it but are just waiting until Monday to post to get their Too Spooky achievement.

I have more than one possible answer, which seems like a problem.

Well, if one can't even do the grid.... what's the point.

(Did anyone else have issue that the upper right hand corner simply isn't doable?)

EDIT.... Sorry.... I'm in a real stinkpot mood..... I figured it out. Wish I could delete this grouchy ill-thought post.

EDIT... Especially as it turns out that was a relatively smooth grid. (In the upper right hand corner I had 1A and 6D no idea for 13A 16A and I only had 1 and 3 down but I had them both wrong but was fairly certain I had the only reasonable solution for those . .... That makes for an impossible corner. But once I decide I most have everything wrong and started with a weak but correct guess for 13A and then everything fell into place.)

woozy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 28, 2022 9:29 pm Well, if one can't even do the grid.... what's the point.

(Did anyone else have issue that the upper right hand corner simply isn't doable?)

I'm pretty sure I have the grid completed correctly. I've even noticed a couple of things, but nothing that leads to a possible solution.

I WISH my problem were the grid.....

So...... is everyone holding off until Monday to submit? Hopefully I am ready by then.

ky-mike wrote: ↑Sat Oct 29, 2022 8:43 am So...... is everyone holding off until Monday to submit? Hopefully I am ready by then.

Does it have to be by Monday of this year?

boharr wrote: ↑Sat Oct 29, 2022 9:17 am

ky-mike wrote: ↑Sat Oct 29, 2022 8:43 am So...... is everyone holding off until Monday to submit? Hopefully I am ready by then.

Does it have to be by Monday of this year?

Halloween is on Monday. If you want the "solve a puzzle on Halloween" badge, then you need to submit a correct answer on Monday.

ky-mike wrote: ↑Sat Oct 29, 2022 9:38 am

boharr wrote: ↑Sat Oct 29, 2022 9:17 am

ky-mike wrote: ↑Sat Oct 29, 2022 8:43 am So...... is everyone holding off until Monday to submit? Hopefully I am ready by then.

Does it have to be by Monday of this year?

Halloween is on Monday. If you want the "solve a puzzle on Halloween" badge, then you need to submit a correct answer on Monday.

Yes, I understood that. I was commenting on my futility. Or trying to.

ky-mike wrote: ↑Sat Oct 29, 2022 8:43 am So...... is everyone holding off until Monday to submit? Hopefully I am ready by then.

I swear I got that badge last year. But it’s not unlocked. So I guess I will wait. Might as well.

But at this point, I don’t think “wait” is the appropriate word. It might be something more along the lines of “hurry up if you’re gonna figure this out by Monday.”

I usually bomb the Week 4s. I have a solid 33.3% chance of getting it this week! Of course, they are all hail mary answers.

It turns out that while I had a correct answer I did not follow the path Matt intended (which I never would have seen.) I do think I can justify my approach, though it was more than a little inelegant. It was iffy enough that if I had still been protecting a streak, I would have waited for confirmation from another solver. I'll be curious later to see if others did what I did. And, by the way, losing my 100 + streak was tremendously liberating -- now I can happily walk away from a puzzle if it is making me crazy.

@patpatchica and @Toby, we have two doggos in a row! It's going to be a good day!!

(Incidentally, I've made both of those dogs' expressions while doing metas.)

Toby wrote: ↑Sat Oct 29, 2022 2:10 pm It turns out that while I had a correct answer I did not follow the path Matt intended (which I never would have seen.) I do think I can justify my approach, though it was more than a little inelegant. It was iffy enough that if I had still been protecting a streak, I would have waited for confirmation from another solver. I'll be curious later to see if others did what I did. And, by the way, losing my 100 + streak was tremendously liberating -- now I can happily walk away from a puzzle if it is making me crazy.

Gold is gold in any case - congratulations!

I'm a test-prep tutor, and that's one thing in a way that I like about multiple-choice: you have a 1-in-5 shot and a hail Mary (or an educated guess) is just as good as intricately planning all of the steps. Curious to hear your logic when all is said and done!

Matt’s just posted an alternate title for this puzzle on the Patreon if anyone needs a hint. He’s also allowing any subscribers who’ve answered incorrectly to send a new solution to his email