"Leading Men" - October 4, 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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jhcogan
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Location: Frontière Québec / États-Unis

#201

Post by jhcogan »

Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Oct 06, 2019 8:42 pm Welcome to the clan. Good luck winning the mug. Where are you in Vermont? My niece's husband is from Beebe Plain.


Wow! Beebe Plain, Vermont (or just plain "Beebe") is a tiny place. It has some notoriety, though. It shares Canusa Street (CANada-USA) with the slightly larger village of Beebe, Quebec--itself merged into the bigger town of Stanstead, Quebec.

Residents on one side of Canusa Street can wave to their across-the-street neighbors in another country.

To lend them a cup of sugar, though, would mean a trip through Customs.

This part of Vermont is very rural and is called The Northeast Kingdom.

The neighboring area of Quebec is called The Eastern Townships (east of Montreal).

I live in Newport City, which is less than ten minutes from Beebe. It's at the southern end of a beautiful 30-mile-long lake, Lake Memphremagog, most of which is in Canada. The City of Newport has a population of about 5,000. At the northern end of Memphremagog is the larger city of Magog, Quebec. A hundred years ago, the two ends of the lake were served by international passenger steamboats :)

PS- My submission for this week was correct !!! :D
GlennG
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Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2019 12:48 am

#202

Post by GlennG »

Another meta with absolutely poor interpretation...saw what I was supposed to see, but nothing made sense out of it. Again, another meta that doesn't make any sense!
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FrankH
Posts: 242
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#203

Post by FrankH »

(Bob) DeNiro and (Tony or Bob) Elliott were red herrings. Both of those were clued as people, but the four hidden last names were not.
MaineMarge
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#204

Post by MaineMarge »

Let’s all give a shoutout to our own leading men- BrianMac, Bob, and Isaac. This motley crew of Muggles couldn’t ask for 3 more genial and helpful hosts.
This seemed straightforward to me, but yes, I am of that certain age. Only rabbit hole I investigated was looking at the obvious first names- Bob, Tony, Sly, Rip- as words with dictionary definitions. But there was no there, there.
Good meta for me, Mike.
I’m not getting the reference to “lead off doubles” here?? Clue me in, baseball guys.
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Joe Ross
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#205

Post by Joe Ross »

DrTom wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2019 12:36 am
Joe, I see the potential spoilers in PERAMBULATE = WALK and related to BOB. Leadoff double because it also relates to baseball and two Bobs, Hope there is not a DeNiro for sure and the one that made me gasp and chuckle "In the hope Bob...". But how were the other two related?
Tom, I did a poor job of explaining the musings, which were thoughts occurring when solving the puzzle and reading comments over the weekend.

I am taking a new tack of filling in the meta clue answers, first, so that they'll be foremost in my thoughts when completing the remaining grid. It's difficult since the meta clue answers tend to be more obscure than standard. PERAMBULATE fit the first clue I read and I soon discovered that my pride in it was misplaced. Not a spoiler, but a short-lived red herring.

I found the path quickly, but saw DENIRO, not HOPE, first, which gave me DOST. After finding HOPE & the solution, my reaction to comments hinting at the "multiple BOBS" was "Thou DOST (in lieu of "doth") protest too much, me thinks.".

FWIW, I didn't consider BOB Elliott, since there were so many Elliott options. These led me into a shallow rabbit hole hunting for Elliot 1st nicknames (Bill vs William) that were also four letter nouns. Too many of those returned me to the correct path.

"Youth will out" was for the younger muggles wondering if they'd be better equipped to solve if they were decades older. I agree. Hope, Orlando, Stone, & Torn probably aren't obvious names to people in their 20's & 30s. My actual thought was "Youth may be out."
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!
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Joe Ross
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#206

Post by Joe Ross »

"Lead off double": BOB Hope/De Niro.

Could also consider "lead off triple": BOB Hope/De Niro/Elliott.
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!
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CPJohnson
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#207

Post by CPJohnson »

So, glad I got it, but not getting cocky because everyone has been saying how easy they are.Oh, was there any "MEGA HINT" like Mike throws in at times (like the "A friend from here would be useful this week" - MEXICO when we had CLOSING NUMBERS or "What are you looking at" - CLUE with the FOR GOOD MEASURE)
I saw no "mega hint"
Cynthia J
Cynthia
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CPJohnson
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#208

Post by CPJohnson »

I submitted "host," but only after wondering for a long time if "hest" were the answer. (Hest is a noun, an archaic word for behest.) Since both children went to Clemson, I first saw Tony Elliott, not Tony Orlando. While I'm sure Tony Elliott is a superb leader of men, he didn't fit the title description Leading Men. The rule I forgot was "read the title." (actually #3 on the Hints list)
Cynthia
Tom Wilson
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#209

Post by Tom Wilson »

As happened recently with "pint," I was leery of inadvertently posting a spoiler if "host" could be extrapolated from any comments about the crowd expected on shore!
damefox
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#210

Post by damefox »

I got it! That was lucky. I know who Bob Hope and Rip Torn are, but I confess I've never heard of Sly Stone or Tony Orlando, and even Googling left me unsure of whether these were the right names. Especially since Elliott also seemed to fit.

One quibble I have with this puzzle: the prompt that the answer should be a four-letter noun seems to be suggesting that confusion with a four letter other-part-of-speech is possible. I guess it helps that you take the letters in order of where the first names appear in the puzzle, top to bottom, but technically SHOT is a valid anagram of those letters and is also a noun. And for that matter, HOST can be a verb.
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Eric Porter
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#211

Post by Eric Porter »

I had some doubts about my answer when I made my initial comment, but I did get 'host'. I saw the first names quickly. However I thought it was Bob DeNiro and Sly Stallone. I spent a little time wondering why 'stone' was missing the 'all' which would transform it into 'stallone'.

It was only after I found Tony Orlando and Rip Torn that I went back and found Sly Stone. Once I found those 3, I realized that Bob DeNiro was wrong and spotted Bob Hope, the only leading man I'd actually heard of.

While this puzzle wasn't too difficult, I had to spend much more time with Google than usual.
Inca
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:55 pm

#212

Post by Inca »

Knowing very little about entertainment industry, I saw the first names and googled for actors and to find last names that would give me a good 4-letter word. I got a great one, so never even looked/nor saw the/nor would have recognized necessarily the last names in the grid. So here's my wrong answer: CAST
  • BOB Crane
    TONY Anthony
    SLY Stallone
    Rip Torn
Actually, I think it is a very justifiable answer.
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Joe Ross
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#213

Post by Joe Ross »

My #1 rule, FWIW: The letters of the meta answer will be in meta clue order.
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!
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Commodore
Posts: 362
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#214

Post by Commodore »

Really stuck on Bob DeNiro and one of my favorite actors, Sam Elliott.
Just about to give up...when suddenly I had HOPE!
Tied a yellow ribbon around it and submitted correct answer.
But, Tony Orlando? A 'leading man'? Hmmmm. Hmmmmm.

The Commodore
Cochituate, Massachusetts
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Doug C
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#215

Post by Doug C »

After submitting HOST, which seemed too easy, I had a flash of remorse. Could the right answer have been ROBE - i.e. the lead-in to the leading man Robert DENIRO represented in the grid? Wondering if anyone went in that direction?
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BarbaraK
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#216

Post by BarbaraK »

Inca wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2019 10:16 am Knowing very little about entertainment industry, I saw the first names and googled for actors and to find last names that would give me a good 4-letter word. I got a great one, so never even looked/nor saw the/nor would have recognized necessarily the last names in the grid. So here's my wrong answer: CAST
  • BOB Crane
    TONY Anthony
    SLY Stallone
    Rip Torn
Actually, I think it is a very justifiable answer.
It's clever, but if you're going to open up the whole world of "famous" people, there are tons of other possibilities.

That's why, as someone once so succinctly put it, you have to find the answer, not just think of an answer.
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Bob cruise director
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#217

Post by Bob cruise director »

damefox wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2019 9:07 am I got it! That was lucky. I know who Bob Hope and Rip Torn are, but I confess I've never heard of Sly Stone or Tony Orlando, and even Googling left me unsure of whether these were the right names. Especially since Elliott also seemed to fit.

One quibble I have with this puzzle: the prompt that the answer should be a four-letter noun seems to be suggesting that confusion with a four letter other-part-of-speech is possible. I guess it helps that you take the letters in order of where the first names appear in the puzzle, top to bottom, but technically SHOT is a valid anagram of those letters and is also a noun. And for that matter, HOST can be a verb.
You must be younger than most of us. Sly and the Family Stone and Tony Orlando and Dawn were two very popular musical groups in the late 60's and 70's.
Bob Stevens
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Kris Zacharias
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#218

Post by Kris Zacharias »

First I used DeNiro for the Bob entry and got DOST. Then I tried Bob Elliott, and that gave EOST. At this point I noticed that "Elliott" and "Orlando" were in the same relative position. Often the significant entries are located symmetrically in the puzzle. "Torn" and "Stone" were not symmetrically placed, so I looked at the symmetrical entry for "Torn" and saw "Hope," a much more familiar Bob, and got HOST. But with the removal of "Elliott" the symmetry was lost So even though the assumption of symmetry helped me solve the puzzle, in the end it was a false assumption.
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Jim and Anita
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#219

Post by Jim and Anita »

We thought the names hidden in the horizontal clues were creatively constructed and the confirmation with other last names in the grid was well done but submitting "host" didn't give us that "aha" feeling like other metas. We wished for a different meta answer more suited to "leading men" such as "Star" We figured that the Leading Men title referred to how the letters leading the horizontal grid answers led to men in the entertainment industry. In the end we were just happy to find a solution.
Inca
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#220

Post by Inca »

BarbaraK wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2019 10:56 am
Inca wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2019 10:16 am Knowing very little about entertainment industry, I saw the first names and googled for actors and to find last names that would give me a good 4-letter word. I got a great one, so never even looked/nor saw the/nor would have recognized necessarily the last names in the grid. So here's my wrong answer: CAST
  • BOB Crane
    TONY Anthony
    SLY Stallone
    Rip Torn
Actually, I think it is a very justifiable answer.
It's clever, but if you're going to open up the whole world of "famous" people, there are tons of other possibilities.

That's why, as someone once so succinctly put it, you have to find the answer, not just think of an answer.
In the past, there have been many puzzles where first names were to be "found" in the puzzle (or cities or airport hubs) and then you would use the last names to get to step 3. And the names I have are all actors. All very consistent and form a solid word that fits the theme. Obviously, I see that this wasn't the intention of this meta (when those last names are in the grid), but I truly felt so good about my answer that I didn't even question it to keep looking for something better. Frankly, quite a few of those who came up with the correct answer, although they knew it could not be a coincidence, they did not feel confident and/or happy with it. I think this was a bit ambiguous....not campaigning to have my answer considered correct. No worries.
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