XWord Muggles Forum

I had this one from the start, unlike most MikeyGs. Admirable construction.

I haven't given up on this one, but I'm keeping an eye out for nudges to figure out where to go after step 1.

edestlin wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 8:54 am I haven't given up on this one, but I'm keeping an eye out for nudges to figure out where to go after step 1.

Coming up today!

Bird Lives wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 10:52 pm I had this one from the start, unlike most MikeyGs. Admirable construction.

Sometimes I'm nice!

Okay, time for Nudge Saturday! (The plan for Summer of Solves, when that arrives, is to have nudges on Wednesday.)

1. We have five longer across entries, so we should probably focus on those.

2. When I get stuck on a meta, I always, always go back to the title.

3. Let's try to take that title literally. Let's see if we can discard the PILE.

4. You probably notice a lot of recurring letters: let's discard all of the PILE.

5. But, don't worry: some stuff will remain!

6. Well, what do you think you have to do with what remains? (Hint: It's my favorite metanism.)

7. That should be enough to push you in the right direction!

And, then, after you've solved the meta:

8. Once you have the answer, we should see why this puzzle is the number that it is!

And that's all for now! Best of luck! Reveal on Tuesday.

Mikey G

Thanks for the nudges (especially #4), Mikey. That was a fun solve.

Ditto Dow Jones - fun one, especially after Nudge 4 slapped me upside the head. I think I still have some hair remaining!

Somehow missed this one which worked out perfectly for me. I got to solve this gem on Mother’s Day!

This was very cleverly done in all respects! [spoiler #8] is an excellent touch.

Puzzle #53 recap

Puzzle #53 answer: JOKER

Correct entries: 42.

Winner, by random draw: @BarbaraK - congrats!!

With special thanks to @Bird Lives for this one:



I always knew I was such a card.

A very solid Level 3, I think! Might even be 2.5 for some if you got what was going on quickly. (But it was a Level 4 to construct!)

1. We have five longer entries as the acrosses:

SPICE OF LIFE
PAPER CLIP
MILLIPEDE
OIL PASTEL
TRIPLE PLAYS

2. In line with the title, we probably need to literally discard PILE - more specifically, remove every instance of P, I, L, and E.

Originally, the mechanism was going to be much less elegant and requiring anagramming, but then I came across SCOFF from SPICE OF LIFE and thought that was definitely a sign. I had to sift through a lot of entries that didn't work and OAST is a bit crossword-esy, but it does help serve a need coming soon!

3. And then, in classic meta-nism fashion, we play "Alternate Clues."

SCOFF --> "Deride" --> JEER (originally, JEER was clued as "Scoff," which kind of defeated the purpose!)
TRAYS --> "A waiter might take yours" --> ORDER
OAST --> "Oven for drying" --> KILN
MD --> "RN's colleague" --> EMT
ARC --> "Curved path" --> RAINBOW

Put them together, and you have the JOKER, the 53rd card (note this is meta #53!) often discarded.

But you can't discard this joker that easily! Summer of Solves starts this Saturday! See you then!

Mikey G

Wow, thanks! For all the fun puzzles and for the prize!

Well I thought this Meta was AOK. Lucky I checked it out of FOMO because it almost escaped me and ended up on the DNF pile. I am a "Mikey Clue" aficionado from way back and do the puzzle as much for the amusement value as the thrill of the solve (although I am sure that is akin to saying "I read Playboy for the articles"). I didn't think this was a 2.5 but there is that one little twist that makes it HTTAB (harder than the average bear) and made me come up with ATNEHEHO (Acronyms That Nobody Else Has Ever Heard Of)