"First and Foremost" - August 16, 2019

A place to discuss the weekly Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle Contest, starting every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Please do not post any answers or hints before the contest deadline which is midnight Sunday Eastern time.
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Ann
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#221

Post by Ann »

I conisdered Warren Burger because his first name was Warren, he was the Chief Justice, and was appointed to the dc circuit by Eisenhower and to the Supreme Court by Nixon. Plus the Ronald McDonald aspect. But Harding was a better fit.
Ann
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Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 11:03 am

#222

Post by Ann »

I conisdered Warren Burger because his first name was Warren, he was the Chief Justice, and was appointed to the dc circuit by Eisenhower and to the Supreme Court by Nixon. Plus the Ronald McDonald aspect. But Harding was a better fit.
JimmyJam
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Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 6:38 pm

#223

Post by JimmyJam »

Jazzvibist wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:28 am Some really interesting and thoughtful comments.

Getting to WARREN was not complicated because the title "First and Foremost" confirmed for me that part of the exercise. Among its other definitions, "Foremost" can mean either "Leading" or "In First Place," so I coupled the "First" names in the grid with the "Foremost (i.e. "leading") letters in the matching surnames of U.S. Presidents. As to choosing between Earl Warren and Warren G. Harding (I can't visualize the latter's name without a middle "G," as would be the case for me with Edward G. Robinson, even though that was his stage name), I submitted Warren G. Harding because, again, I assumed that "WARREN" would need to be a first name in order to be parallel to the form of the grid.

Stu K
^^^

Huge, huge Earl Warren fan, but I can find no ambiguity. Each of the theme answers begins with a FIRST name enjoyed by exactly 1 US President. The FOREMOST letters of their surnames spell WARREN—another first name enjoyed by exactly 1 US President.

To have 6 US Presidents as the theme answers and a SCOTUS Justice (politician??) as the meta answer struck me as too inelegant.

Again, though, all the love in the world for anyone who said Earl Warren, who I hope pops up many times in the future.
Inca
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#224

Post by Inca »

Did I miss the winner announcement?
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Jazzvibist
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#225

Post by Jazzvibist »

JimmyJam wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:32 pm
Jazzvibist wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:28 am Some really interesting and thoughtful comments.

Getting to WARREN was not complicated because the title "First and Foremost" confirmed for me that part of the exercise. Among its other definitions, "Foremost" can mean either "Leading" or "In First Place," so I coupled the "First" names in the grid with the "Foremost (i.e. "leading") letters in the matching surnames of U.S. Presidents. As to choosing between Earl Warren and Warren G. Harding (I can't visualize the latter's name without a middle "G," as would be the case for me with Edward G. Robinson, even though that was his stage name), I submitted Warren G. Harding because, again, I assumed that "WARREN" would need to be a first name in order to be parallel to the form of the grid.

Stu K
^^^

Huge, huge Earl Warren fan, but I can find no ambiguity. Each of the theme answers begins with a FIRST name enjoyed by exactly 1 US President. The FOREMOST letters of their surnames spell WARREN—another first name enjoyed by exactly 1 US President.

To have 6 US Presidents as the theme answers and a SCOTUS Justice (politician??) as the meta answer struck me as too inelegant.

Again, though, all the love in the world for anyone who said Earl Warren, who I hope pops up many times in the future.
I think your ultimate reasoning is consistent with mine and agree with almost all of it. However, because he was the governor of California for 10 consecutive years, I respectfully submit that Earl Warren qualifies as a politician.

Stu K
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tim1217
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Location: Small Town America

#226

Post by tim1217 »

I found Harding as quickly as everyone else on Thursday afternoon but was leery given two weeks in a row of a very easy, and quickly solved, meta. So I noodled on it for a while and with the help of Mr. G, came up with 13 total possibilities (past politicians with the first name Warren);

Harding
Christopher
Magnuson
Zimmerman
Rudman
Arnold
Burger
Robbins
Redlich
Hearnes
Knowles
Austin
Winslow

So I thought I'd take a couple days and check the grid and clues to see if there was a 'PAGEANT' hiding somewhere. Sunday came and I had a chance to visit with my new granddaughter and by the time I got back home, I had just missed the entry deadline. Drat! I predict high numbers, so the mug was probably a long shot anyway.
MikeMillerwsj
Posts: 286
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:46 pm

#227

Post by MikeMillerwsj »

Hello and apologies for the late and brief (vacation) post:

I think this is an all time record--I will check and even better, the Muggle Ministry of Information (aka Barbara) will know for sure): 2518 entries. 77% correct. 215 EARL WARRENs, which I think may put us in PAGEANT territory. A dozen or so Elizabeth Warrens.

And congrats to this week's winner: John Hanna of Kirkland, WA!
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BarbaraK
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#228

Post by BarbaraK »

MikeMillerwsj wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:07 pm Hello and apologies for the late and brief (vacation) post:

I think this is an all time record--I will check and even better, the Muggle Ministry of Information (aka Barbara) will know for sure): 2518 entries. 77% correct. 215 EARL WARRENs, which I think may put us in PAGEANT territory. A dozen or so Elizabeth Warrens.

And congrats to this week's winner: John Hanna of Kirkland, WA!
Almost a record, but not quite. It's #2 in submissions and #3 in correct submissions.

Matt's "Just Say the Word" (JAPAN) from February 1st this year is still #1 both ways with 2844 submissions, 2787 correct.
And Mike's "Mirror Distortion" (FUNHOUSE) from November 2nd last year had 1967 correct submissions.

Thank you so much for finding time on your vacation to share the stats with us!
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Scott M
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Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 1:10 pm
Location: Charlottesville, VA

#229

Post by Scott M »

Late to the game having spent the weekend fishing on the Chesapeake Bay, but made it to shore quickly once I started on it today. No mug for me but I'm considering my streak to be intact.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
JimmyJam
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Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 6:38 pm

#230

Post by JimmyJam »

Jazzvibist wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 9:16 am
JimmyJam wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:32 pm
Jazzvibist wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:28 am Some really interesting and thoughtful comments.

Getting to WARREN was not complicated because the title "First and Foremost" confirmed for me that part of the exercise. Among its other definitions, "Foremost" can mean either "Leading" or "In First Place," so I coupled the "First" names in the grid with the "Foremost (i.e. "leading") letters in the matching surnames of U.S. Presidents. As to choosing between Earl Warren and Warren G. Harding (I can't visualize the latter's name without a middle "G," as would be the case for me with Edward G. Robinson, even though that was his stage name), I submitted Warren G. Harding because, again, I assumed that "WARREN" would need to be a first name in order to be parallel to the form of the grid.

Stu K
^^^

Huge, huge Earl Warren fan, but I can find no ambiguity. Each of the theme answers begins with a FIRST name enjoyed by exactly 1 US President. The FOREMOST letters of their surnames spell WARREN—another first name enjoyed by exactly 1 US President.

To have 6 US Presidents as the theme answers and a SCOTUS Justice (politician??) as the meta answer struck me as too inelegant.

Again, though, all the love in the world for anyone who said Earl Warren, who I hope pops up many times in the future.
I think your ultimate reasoning is consistent with mine and agree with almost all of it. However, because he was the governor of California for 10 consecutive years, I respectfully submit that Earl Warren qualifies as a politician.

Stu K
That is an excellent point (about which I was ignorant), and I apologize if I inadvertently misconstrued the spirit of your thoughtful, articulate, kindly worded post by linking it to mine (which was less so on all counts).
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Jazzvibist
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#231

Post by Jazzvibist »

JimmyJam wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 10:13 pm
That is an excellent point (about which I was ignorant), and I apologize if I inadvertently misconstrued the spirit of your thoughtful, articulate, kindly worded post by linking it to mine (which was less so on all counts).
There was no need to apologize. Your post came across to me as passionate, not disrespectful. One of my favorite things about this group is their passion for the sport!

Stu K
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CS_Classical
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#232

Post by CS_Classical »

First time in a long time that I managed to get the time to fiddle with the meta and actually get the correct answer. Ah, well, congrats to the the mug winner!
Bill Fodor
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