#573 - "Character Development" - May 24, 2019

[Leslie]

Keeping my streak alive for the moment at 10, but will be facing my first real week 5 next weekend! Great meta!

[MaryRoy]

I submitted an answer that I now realize is a letter different from the solution. However, I'm interested to see if it will be accepted as it is defensible. I'm hoping it's under review as I haven't yet been added to the leaderboard as a failed attempt. Fingers crossed.

[Leslie]

I'm hoping it's under review as I haven't yet been added to the leaderboard as a failed attempt.

Where do you see failed attempts on the leaderboard? I've never seen that -- only successful submissions and streaks.

[KDubs]

I see.. Something. I think it’s the right something. Now I have to figure out what to do with it, but it’s a start! I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten a week 4.

[MaryRoy]

I'm hoping it's under review as I haven't yet been added to the leaderboard as a failed attempt.

Where do you see failed attempts on the leaderboard? I've never seen that -- only successful submissions and streaks.

Perhaps I'm incorrect in how I'm reading the leaderboard. I thought that my name should appear on the "This Year" tab even if I submitted incorrectly. Wishful thinking probably.

[KDubs]

Got it!

[Leslie]

I submitted an answer that I now realize is a letter different from the solution. However, I'm interested to see if it will be accepted as it is defensible. I'm hoping it's under review as I haven't yet been added to the leaderboard as a failed attempt. Fingers crossed.

Good luck!

[MaryRoy]

I submitted an answer that I now realize is a letter different from the solution. However, I'm interested to see if it will be accepted as it is defensible. I'm hoping it's under review as I haven't yet been added to the leaderboard as a failed attempt. Fingers crossed.

Good luck!

Thanks. I sent Matt an email with my reasoning and he said it was "an interesting idea" and he would take it to his panel. So, there's hope!

[Meg]

I'm hoping it's under review as I haven't yet been added to the leaderboard as a failed attempt.

Where do you see failed attempts on the leaderboard? I've never seen that -- only successful submissions and streaks.

Perhaps I'm incorrect in how I'm reading the leaderboard. I thought that my name should appear on the "This Year" tab even if I submitted incorrectly. Wishful thinking probably.

Currently, the OVERALL list has 126. THIS WEEK has 113. So 13 incorrect answers so far.

[BrianMac]

Currently, the OVERALL list has 126. THIS WEEK has 113. So 13 incorrect answers so far.

Ha! Always wondered how you guys knew this.

Lost on the meta so far.

[Leslie]

I submitted an answer that I now realize is a letter different from the solution. However, I'm interested to see if it will be accepted as it is defensible. I'm hoping it's under review as I haven't yet been added to the leaderboard as a failed attempt. Fingers crossed.

I sent Matt an email with my reasoning and he said it was "an interesting idea" and he would take it to his panel. So, there's hope!

Matt has a panel! I will be interested in seeing what your answer was.

[TMart]

Got it! What a great puzzle. Al, I think I see exactly what you did and why you did it, and almost jumped to that same conclusion myself as the answer began to form.

[MaryRoy]

I submitted an answer that I now realize is a letter different from the solution. However, I'm interested to see if it will be accepted as it is defensible. I'm hoping it's under review as I haven't yet been added to the leaderboard as a failed attempt. Fingers crossed.

I sent Matt an email with my reasoning and he said it was "an interesting idea" and he would take it to his panel. So, there's hope!

Matt has a panel! I will be interested in seeing what your answer was.

My answer was "chords" which, as a group of symbols or characters, was the first thing that came to me. That left me with finding something for the "d" rather than the far more obvious "u". The clue for Dampens (Makes less dry) worked as that is what barmen do for their patrons.

[BrianMac]

Argh, I should have gotten this one. I spent some time in the "ABET" "BARMEN" rabbit hole, but didn't dig deep enough. I looked for synonyms of those words, but did not look back to the clues...still thinking like a week 2 solver!!

I still may not have gotten there, though, since I had misidentified the theme answers. But catching on that replacing the Greek letters was in fact the conceit probably would have helped me re-align on that. Then again, maybe not, since I had PYROXIDE instead of PYROXENE. So I spent a lot of time also looking at that "XI" and figuring that it disproved by theory.

[Jacksull]

What a great week four.

I was on the Greek letter trail, but never made the right connections. Kept looking for words that could be formed using the Greek letters or their English equivalents. All the while, I knew that MG would never make a week four that straightforward.

Thanks Matt.

[FrankieHeck]

I went through a lot in this puzzle! First I identified the Greek letters as A,R,T,M,N, and X, as I changed rho to R instead of P. So I really wanted MATRIX to be the answer. Eventually I caught on to using the words that the letters were located in, which gave me all the right words except I had CARP instead of CAPP...which led me to use AUK, and so I had CAORUS. So then I looked at the associated *clues* and I had the letters to spell A TWEET, which I thought was a great answer, but it was a 6-letter phrase, not a word. I came close to emailing Matt, but thankfully I had faith and kept looking for a answer on the grid that would give me the H for CHORUS. I just wasn't getting it, but then I finally changed the rho to P instead of an R, and much joy followed!

[Al Sisti]

I made the stupidest mistake possible. I'm *So-o-o-o* smart, I didn't need to look up RHO. So -- you know, because I'm so-o-o-o-o smart -- I knew it was "R," which gave me CARP (instead of, duh, CAPP). What didn't help was when I Googled "What do carp eat," the second thing listed was crustaceans, so the clue "eater of small crustaceans" fit CARP as well. I ended up with an anagram of MACROS, and there is such a thing as "macro characters." Why the "M"? Oh, because I'm so-o-o-o smart and don't need to take my time, because I wanted to be number 3 on the leaderboard (reserved for smart people), I stopped when I saw "Crowd of hooligans" for my appropriate clue for BARMEN instead of "Their workdays may include pitchers and a nightcap." And the stupidest thing of all? Assuming that Matt would anagram letters instead following his trademark "in order" reveals. I so-o-o-o-o should have gotten this one.

[Al Sisti]

I went through a lot in this puzzle! First I identified the Greek letters as A,R,T,M,N, and X, as I changed rho to R instead of P. So I really wanted MATRIX to be the answer. Eventually I caught on to using the words that the letters were located in, which gave me all the right words except I had CARP instead of CAPP...which led me to use AUK, and so I had CAORUS. So then I looked at the associated *clues* and I had the letters to spell A TWEET, which I thought was a great answer, but it was a 6-letter phrase, not a word. I came close to emailing Matt, but thankfully I had faith and kept looking for a answer on the grid that would give me the H for CHORUS. I just wasn't getting it, but then I finally changed the rho to P instead of an R, and much joy followed!

Besides the RHO R/P mistake, I also found "A TWEET" (from bottom to top) in the clue initials. Possibly defendable, but the click from his answer was palpable. Well done!

[FrankieHeck]

I made the stupidest mistake possible. I'm *So-o-o-o* smart, I didn't need to look up RHO. So -- you know, because I'm so-o-o-o-o smart -- I knew it was "R," which gave me CARP (instead of, duh, CAPP). What didn't help was when I Googled "What do carp eat," the second thing listed was crustaceans, so the clue "eater of small crustaceans" fit CARP as well. I ended up with an anagram of MACROS, and there is such a thing as "macro characters." Why the "M"? Oh, because I'm so-o-o-o smart and don't need to take my time, because I wanted to be number 3 on the leaderboard (reserved for smart people), I stopped when I saw "Crowd of hooligans" for my appropriate clue for BARMEN instead of "Their workdays may include pitchers and a nightcap." And the stupidest thing of all? Assuming that Matt would anagram letters instead following his trademark "in order" reveals. I so-o-o-o-o should have gotten this one.

Yep, I got the same crustacean thing for auk and carp. I figure Matt knew exactly what he was doing when he put those words in there!

[Al Sisti]

I made the stupidest mistake possible. I'm *So-o-o-o* smart, I didn't need to look up RHO. So -- you know, because I'm so-o-o-o-o smart -- I knew it was "R," which gave me CARP (instead of, duh, CAPP). What didn't help was when I Googled "What do carp eat," the second thing listed was crustaceans, so the clue "eater of small crustaceans" fit CARP as well. I ended up with an anagram of MACROS, and there is such a thing as "macro characters." Why the "M"? Oh, because I'm so-o-o-o smart and don't need to take my time, because I wanted to be number 3 on the leaderboard (reserved for smart people), I stopped when I saw "Crowd of hooligans" for my appropriate clue for BARMEN instead of "Their workdays may include pitchers and a nightcap." And the stupidest thing of all? Assuming that Matt would anagram letters instead following his trademark "in order" reveals. I so-o-o-o-o should have gotten this one.

Yep, I got the same crustacean thing for auk and carp. I figure Matt knew exactly what he was doing when he put those words in there!

Yeah, he always does. Maybe that was an example of the mantra he ends his challenges with each week: "...be not led astray by words intended to deceive."