"Squeeze Play" - September 6, 2019

[Deb F]

Just arrived home from traveling and trying to work in peeks at the puzzle. Spent way long on a couple of rabbit holes that have yielded nada. One more look then hanging up my glove for the week. Never a bad thing to spend time with Isaac. Oh, and my Eagles, yet again off to a slow start, have kicked in so there's hope on that front. Maybe they'll yield a four letter verb!!!!!

[sphorning]

I'm going with the obvious 4 letter verb. Love baseball!

[Scott M]

Have been totally lost but the light just came on! I think it's 100%.

Will be traveling to South Africa for the next two weeks so unlikely I'll be able to keep up with the puzzles. Five days in Cape Town, a self-drive for a few days along the south coast and the Garden Route, and then four days at two different safari camps in Kruger. Can't wait!

[Bob cruise director]

Have been totally lost but the light just came on! I think it's 100%.

Will be traveling to South Africa for the next two weeks so unlikely I'll be able to keep up with the puzzles. Five days in Cape Town, a self-drive for a few days along the south coast and the Garden Route, and then four days at two different safari camps in Kruger. Can't wait!

Have a great trip.

[dmorack]

It's the bottom of the ninth. We're down 2-1. Got one man on. 2 outs. I'm facing a 3-2 count. Here comes the pitch....

Will it be a strikeout or a home run? I'll know in roughly 7 hours.

(Yes, I know a hit keeps the game going. That doesn't help me get the right answer to the meta myself!)

[KayW]

Fail, lose, flop, miss, fold, quit, trip, fall, sink...

Those are my four-letter verbs for this week. At least the ones suitable for public posting. Wouldn't it be funny if the answer is one of them?

I'm running out of time and got bupkis. Congrats to all those who did solve, and good luck winning the mug!

[31 Down]

I'm running out of time and got bupkis.

I've never had a bupki - do you have extra? Are they served with blintzes?

[billkatz]

I'm running out of time and got bupkis.

I've never had a bupki - do you have extra? Are they served with blintzes?

You just need a basic Yiddish lesson

[PHOFER]

Ashore but my goodness was I down a long an elaborate rabbit hole before I found my way to fresh air and the apparent solution. There were just so many instances of “It can’t be a coincidence that. . . .” But either there could be so many coincidences or Mike/Mike is really more cleverly devious than we believe.

[Guy]

Another Isaac, a toast to the muggles on shore, so many rabbit holes, no rabbit....we shall meta again next week...

[MaineMarge]

Stranded here on 2nd. Oh oh.. here comes the coach. Think he’s going to pull me from the game and send me back to the minors. I’m in over my head in this shell game of a meta. Got plenty of those shells in my garden. Midnight reveal party in the stern garden with raspberry cordial for all to drown our sorrows.

[bhamren]

Wow! Just made it to shore. Almost put in a wild stab that I tried to back into but couldn’t

[pddigi]

Are your Browns going to be a boom or a bust this year. Between Mayfield and OBJ, it looks like they have potential but.....

I’m a Browns’ fan through marriage but an Eagles fan by DNA. So while my emotional investment in the Eagles runs deeper, I sure hope the Browns have a good season. They won’t be going to the Super Bowl (Chiefs, Pats, and Chargers are the top 3, I think), but a division title isn’t out of the question. An Eagles-Browns Super Bowl would be epic, although my wife and I would have to watch from separate states!

My poor wife! She had her Baker Mayfield jersey on and was so excited, but the Browns deflated her (and were humiliated by our adopted hometown Titans to boot). She took off the jersey around the end of Q3 and joined me in pulling for the Eagles to complete their comeback (and they did!).

[Bird Lives]

Off-topic but . . . I was in Central Park today and happened on the last inning of a softball game. Apparently it was the championship game because there was this big silver trophy bowl. I'm not sure what league it was -- media perhaps, because the two teams were Buzzfeed and WSJ. I kept wondering which player was Mike Shenk.

Buzzfeed won.

[Bob cruise director]

Final count at halftime is 17 on the ship and 70 on the shore. Bingo starts by Marge's garden in 30 minutes

Latest to the ship are Dennis and Doug M

Making it to shore under the wire are
Ann
Scott AM
sphorning
Guy L
phofer
bhamren
John B

Good luck to all winning the mug

[HowardHuddleston]

Looks like my streak is shot as well. Amazing how Mike gets so many red herrings into the grid that it's easy to lose focus. It's fun looking for/at all the double meanings and sly references but this time it didn't get me home. I suspect he may have some sandpaper hidden in his glove!

[Geoduck]

Well, I submitted an answer, but I'm not 100% on it.

So it goes.

[a3jay]

On shore, for the first time in a number of weeks.

[Hector]

Print it out and read the whole thing.

[Colin]

Ne’er have I seen,
Holes so aplenty,
Down those I have been,
My glass is now empty.
The sun will soon rise,
On Enlightenment Day,
As I look to the skies,
And bid Isaac: “Good day”