"I Really Don't Need This!" - September 13, 2019
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Ashore after solving a tough grid, made tougher by the conceit of the puzzle, but happily my first thought on how the meta might work turned out to be the right one. I am so impressed with Matt's cleverness.
- Bob cruise director
- Cruise Director
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I am not sure if this will be a double posting as the first one crashed and burned
First a welcome to our newest muggle - Anomander
And our final count is 8 on the ship and 110 on the shore
Since noon Howard H and Dennis have joined Isaac in the ship's lounge
and making their way to the shore are
Candy B
LLinNC
Anomander
Kay
Paul D
Domenic
Michael Silverman
Susan G
ImOnToo
Nalugirl
and phofer
Good luck to all in winning the mug
First a welcome to our newest muggle - Anomander
And our final count is 8 on the ship and 110 on the shore
Since noon Howard H and Dennis have joined Isaac in the ship's lounge
and making their way to the shore are
Candy B
LLinNC
Anomander
Kay
Paul D
Domenic
Michael Silverman
Susan G
ImOnToo
Nalugirl
and phofer
Good luck to all in winning the mug
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
Cruise Director
- Stukmn
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On shore but feel like I cheated.
Don’t bother me until I’ve had my coffee and done the crossword.
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Marie Kondo? Celebrity? Who knew? I bet Margaret Cho did!
- Hector
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So all I got was that there are blank squares in some entries in the grid, and the letters you use to make the across entries complete words spell out MARIE KONDO, who is a tidiness celebrity. I guess you eliminate the unneeded stuff with her?
- Bob cruise director
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It took me a while to realize that there were blank squares but 9D and 53D cinched it for me. The next challenge was finding out where in the word the blank square fit. After I got the grid completed with the correct blank squares and started looking at the across words with blanks, a couple jumped out at me that you could insert a letter and get a new word. Create, brooklets, slicker and lightning were the giveaways. When I started writing down the fill in letters, shmoes added the M so I looked up Marie Kon (google filled in the DO) and that got me the answer which also helped me with 59A and 27A
The question I have is that 17 A (C_DS) could be Cads, Cods, or Cuds and 56A (TI_E) could be any of Tide, Tile, Time, Tine, or Tire. The only reason I picked an A for 17Across and D for 56 Across is that they completed the name of Marie Kondo however this was not a particularly satisfying method
But Marie Kondo will go down in Muggles lore with Margaret Cho and Uma Sumac in the “who are these famous people” category.
The question I have is that 17 A (C_DS) could be Cads, Cods, or Cuds and 56A (TI_E) could be any of Tide, Tile, Time, Tine, or Tire. The only reason I picked an A for 17Across and D for 56 Across is that they completed the name of Marie Kondo however this was not a particularly satisfying method
But Marie Kondo will go down in Muggles lore with Margaret Cho and Uma Sumac in the “who are these famous people” category.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
Cruise Director
- BethA
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Anyone using the wsj app on iPad. It filled in all of the blank letters for you. Disappointing.
Ps. Along with the Steelers. Guess I will have to change my avatar!
- BethA
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Yma!Bob cruise director wrote: ↑Mon Sep 16, 2019 12:13 am It took me a while to realize that there were blank squares but 9D and 53D cinched it for me. The next challenge was finding out where in the word the blank square fit. After I got the grid completed with the correct blank squares and started looking at the across words with blanks, a couple jumped out at me that you could insert a letter and get a new word. Create, brooklets, slicker and lightning were the giveaways. When I started writing down the fill in letters, shmoes added the M so I looked up Marie Kon (google filled in the DO) and that got me the answer which also helped me with 59A and 27A
The question I have is that 17 A (C_DS) could be Cads, Cods, or Cuds and 56A (TI_E) could be any of Tide, Tile, Time, Tine, or Tire. The only reason I picked an A for 17Across and D for 56 Across is that they completed the name of Marie Kondo however this was not a particularly satisfying method
But Marie Kondo will go down in Muggles lore with Margaret Cho and Uma Sumac in the “who are these famous people” category.
- Joe Ross
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Yes, until you realize that the across "blank letters" must form across words. I backed into that when a search on MARIA KONDA gave MARIE KONDO. My incorrect As (for A RAGDOLL at 37D & A CLOCk at 59A) didn't fit.
I agree with the sentiment.
EDIT: Bob explains my "mehness" much better in Post #186, above.
Last edited by Joe Ross on Mon Sep 16, 2019 12:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024
PLATELET 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 ENORMOUS 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
𝟰𝟬% 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰,
𝟯𝟬% 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰,
𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮. 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘!
PLATELET 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 ENORMOUS 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
𝟰𝟬% 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰,
𝟯𝟬% 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰,
𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮. 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘!
- hcbirker
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As I was filling in the blank squares, I got to Marie K and thought wouldn't it be funny if it was Marie Kelly?
Heidi
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At least I've heard of Marie Kelly!
- EdStrong
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Hmm - shmoe and cad. Learned two new words today!
- FrankH
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So I asked my daughters if there is someone named MARIE KONDO, and I got back strange "where have you been" looks on their faces.
- FrankH
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And for 27A, it also could be Pawn. It looks like for each of the blanks if you go through the alphabets in order and select the first letter that can make a new word, you'll get the answer. But this point isn't mentioned in WSJ write-up.Bob cruise director wrote: ↑Mon Sep 16, 2019 12:13 am It took me a while to realize that there were blank squares but 9D and 53D cinched it for me. The next challenge was finding out where in the word the blank square fit. After I got the grid completed with the correct blank squares and started looking at the across words with blanks, a couple jumped out at me that you could insert a letter and get a new word. Create, brooklets, slicker and lightning were the giveaways. When I started writing down the fill in letters, shmoes added the M so I looked up Marie Kon (google filled in the DO) and that got me the answer which also helped me with 59A and 27A
The question I have is that 17 A (C_DS) could be Cads, Cods, or Cuds and 56A (TI_E) could be any of Tide, Tile, Time, Tine, or Tire. The only reason I picked an A for 17Across and D for 56 Across is that they completed the name of Marie Kondo however this was not a particularly satisfying method
But Marie Kondo will go down in Muggles lore with Margaret Cho and Uma Sumac in the “who are these famous people” category.
- FrankH
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It is shmo, a variation of schmo. But cad occurs quite often in crosswords.
- DrTom
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OK, I'll agree the construction was clever, but wouldn't it have been even better if the clues had hinted at the word that you had to come up with?
I would offer (and I am sure others have even better examples):
15 Too many heels hanging around the dressing room floor
17 Music holders that are obsolete and treated people badly anyway
24 Reading material you probably won’t ever look at again and could stream if needed
27 Item crammed into a kitchen cabinet and is a bother to get out
35 Containers that just seem to make more stuff
38 Kitchen gadget with a plastic cover you’ve used maybe once
43 Kitchen item you have dozens of but only ever use a few which threaten to take over the drawers
47 Old lamps that flash and might not even work anymore, e.g.
56 One of dozens on a rack whose popularity rises and falls and some of which are super-ugly
59 Item whose sole function and display is duplicated by your phone
I would offer (and I am sure others have even better examples):
15 Too many heels hanging around the dressing room floor
17 Music holders that are obsolete and treated people badly anyway
24 Reading material you probably won’t ever look at again and could stream if needed
27 Item crammed into a kitchen cabinet and is a bother to get out
35 Containers that just seem to make more stuff
38 Kitchen gadget with a plastic cover you’ve used maybe once
43 Kitchen item you have dozens of but only ever use a few which threaten to take over the drawers
47 Old lamps that flash and might not even work anymore, e.g.
56 One of dozens on a rack whose popularity rises and falls and some of which are super-ugly
59 Item whose sole function and display is duplicated by your phone
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
- Bob cruise director
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By the way, can someone explain to me what a "tidiness celebrity" is or does. Is it kind of like your mother yelling at you to clean up your room?
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
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- oldjudge
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The elegant solution I was looking for apparently does not exist. For some of the blanks there was only one choice. For others there were multiple choices. Getting the right answer was not difficult, but there should have been an elegant way of getting there. There should have been a reason contained in the puzzle that made you choose PAIN rather than PAWN, or TIME rather than TIDE or TILE. I think this was an unusually poor job by Matt.
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These metas never cease to amaze me. I often find amusing journeys down hare-brained chutes, wondering how many of these tunnels or traps are set by M&M, et al, and how many of them are muggle created. If muggle creations, I wonder is it just me, or do others find these same tunnels and traps? I, therefore, share now some of my amusements.
The scattered extra letters I found, at first, spelled MARINE KODO. I often will put these in the order they appeared, or in an order that I can remember them without necessarily writing them down, though I usually also write them down. I knew Marine could be USMC or perhaps something related to water. I searched G. and learned KODO is a Japanese drumming musical group, based in Japan, and they tour abroad to Europe and the U.S. I began another long rabbit hole thinking about Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, and I knew he was played by Gary Sinise, a celebrity, a great American, and giant supporter of various veterans' organizations, both personally and through the Lt. Dan Band. He frequently performs on USO tours at military bases around the world and I remember seeing him and his band in Vegas a few years back. I remember a possible hint USO 61A in this puzzle. In the movie he, like Gump, was in the army, not the marines, and his band is not KODO. MARINE KODO, surely is not the name of a celebrity, but I began thinking perhaps MARIE is the name of the celebrity. I briefly thought about Marie Osmond and wondered if I had somehow gotten some of the letters wrong, or maybe even missed some. So, I reviewed the entire grid and the only 10 extra letters, which I confirmed we’re likely correct.
Removal of the N from MARINES left me an N to add to KODO, hence, NKODO, which can be anagrammed into KONDO. I was surprised to see my G. search of Marie K. The first auto item on the list popped up Marie Kondo, whose name I didn’t know, a #1 on the NY Times best seller list, and she is a professional organizer. Then, “I don’t really need this!,” had relevance. I asked my wife, who immediately told me who she is, without looking her up. I further learned from G. that Marie Kondo is of Japanese descent, and her net worth is estimated at $10 million USD. She is just 4 ft 7 in tall, making me giggle to think how easily she could fit in some of these rabbit holes...or organized spaces.
Am I a cheat using G.?
I’m reminded of what my Pathology professor, disapprovingly would say: “Even a blind pig can find an acorn once in a while.”
Another rabbit hole I went down was 8 Across SCHWA, when I once noticed a lot of Es on the completed grid, unsure how that might possibly be related, but wondering if a schwa e might be similar and/or opposite to 10 extra letters that led us to MARIE KONDO.
Anyone else admit to rabbit hole exploring of MARINES, KODOs, Sinese, Osmond, or SCHWA Es?
The scattered extra letters I found, at first, spelled MARINE KODO. I often will put these in the order they appeared, or in an order that I can remember them without necessarily writing them down, though I usually also write them down. I knew Marine could be USMC or perhaps something related to water. I searched G. and learned KODO is a Japanese drumming musical group, based in Japan, and they tour abroad to Europe and the U.S. I began another long rabbit hole thinking about Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, and I knew he was played by Gary Sinise, a celebrity, a great American, and giant supporter of various veterans' organizations, both personally and through the Lt. Dan Band. He frequently performs on USO tours at military bases around the world and I remember seeing him and his band in Vegas a few years back. I remember a possible hint USO 61A in this puzzle. In the movie he, like Gump, was in the army, not the marines, and his band is not KODO. MARINE KODO, surely is not the name of a celebrity, but I began thinking perhaps MARIE is the name of the celebrity. I briefly thought about Marie Osmond and wondered if I had somehow gotten some of the letters wrong, or maybe even missed some. So, I reviewed the entire grid and the only 10 extra letters, which I confirmed we’re likely correct.
Removal of the N from MARINES left me an N to add to KODO, hence, NKODO, which can be anagrammed into KONDO. I was surprised to see my G. search of Marie K. The first auto item on the list popped up Marie Kondo, whose name I didn’t know, a #1 on the NY Times best seller list, and she is a professional organizer. Then, “I don’t really need this!,” had relevance. I asked my wife, who immediately told me who she is, without looking her up. I further learned from G. that Marie Kondo is of Japanese descent, and her net worth is estimated at $10 million USD. She is just 4 ft 7 in tall, making me giggle to think how easily she could fit in some of these rabbit holes...or organized spaces.
Am I a cheat using G.?
I’m reminded of what my Pathology professor, disapprovingly would say: “Even a blind pig can find an acorn once in a while.”
Another rabbit hole I went down was 8 Across SCHWA, when I once noticed a lot of Es on the completed grid, unsure how that might possibly be related, but wondering if a schwa e might be similar and/or opposite to 10 extra letters that led us to MARIE KONDO.
Anyone else admit to rabbit hole exploring of MARINES, KODOs, Sinese, Osmond, or SCHWA Es?