"That's A Plus" - November 8, 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.
Locked
User avatar
MajordomoTom
Posts: 1399
Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2019 12:09 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

#201

Post by MajordomoTom »

there are four (actually, eight) places with triple letters in the grid.

BAAAT (Baa At) has three As
DressShirt has three Ss

they're actually in "pluses", where the AAA of AAA Members is in a cross/plus with the AAA of BaaAt

This gives you four letters: LSAO

it's simple to anagram to ALSO, which is aligned with the name of the puzzle.

Hence, ALSO
"Lots of planets have a North", the Ninth Doctor.
User avatar
Joe Ross
Moderator
Posts: 5001
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
Location: Cincinnati

#202

Post by Joe Ross »

17A:

AAA Tower.gif
Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024

PLATELET ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ.
๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ENORMOUS ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ:
๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฌ% ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ,
๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ% ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ,
๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ & ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฎ. ๐—ฃ๐—Ÿ๐—˜๐—”๐—ฆ๐—˜ ๐—ฆ๐—›๐—”๐—ฅ๐—˜!
SewYoung
Posts: 726
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:25 pm
Location: Meridian, MS

#203

Post by SewYoung »

I also submitted "ALSO". Can't believe that it could be anything else, but no confirmation from WSJ yet. I also learned a new word at 29a. I just love all the limericks that have been posted. I am so happy to be a part of the Muggle community.
User avatar
MajordomoTom
Posts: 1399
Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2019 12:09 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

#204

Post by MajordomoTom »

I learned BELLLAP (don't have the puzzle in front of me right now, so can't give the location, I know it was a 'down' clue).
"Lots of planets have a North", the Ninth Doctor.
User avatar
oldjudge
Posts: 1624
Joined: Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:16 am
Location: Pasadena, CA

#205

Post by oldjudge »

Bell lap is the last lap of a multi-lap race. A bell is rung as the leader begins the last lap.
User avatar
MajordomoTom
Posts: 1399
Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2019 12:09 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

#206

Post by MajordomoTom »

oldjudge wrote: โ†‘Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:27 am Bell lap is the last lap of a multi-lap race. A bell is rung as the leader begins the last lap.
Noisy revolution, now I get it.
"Lots of planets have a North", the Ninth Doctor.
User avatar
Joe Ross
Moderator
Posts: 5001
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
Location: Cincinnati

#207

Post by Joe Ross »

GlennP wrote: โ†‘Sat Nov 09, 2019 5:23 pm Attention Muggles, both ashore and at sea: if you haven't seen the Saturday WSJ crossword puzzle, you might want to take a look. It's a meta of sorts, a joint effort of David Plotkin and Jeff Chen titled "Metamorphosis".
Agree! Fun puzzle!

FWIW, I would have dropped the circled grid letters, made this change: 107A *** Life stage prior to meta-morphosis, and used it for a Friday Crossword Contest.
Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024

PLATELET ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ.
๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ENORMOUS ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ:
๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฌ% ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ,
๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ% ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ,
๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ & ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฎ. ๐—ฃ๐—Ÿ๐—˜๐—”๐—ฆ๐—˜ ๐—ฆ๐—›๐—”๐—ฅ๐—˜!
User avatar
Joe Ross
Moderator
Posts: 5001
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
Location: Cincinnati

#208

Post by Joe Ross »

Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024

PLATELET ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ.
๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ENORMOUS ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ:
๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฌ% ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ,
๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ% ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ,
๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ & ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฎ. ๐—ฃ๐—Ÿ๐—˜๐—”๐—ฆ๐—˜ ๐—ฆ๐—›๐—”๐—ฅ๐—˜!
steveb
Posts: 379
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:25 pm
Location: Silicon Valley, CA

#209

Post by steveb »

I eventually submitted ALSO, but not before investigating whether "OFF AL" and "NOT SO" were suggesting that ALSO wasn't really the answer.
darthdriessen
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 6:00 pm

#210

Post by darthdriessen »

I got it right. I had the plus signs. I kept scouring the alos-sola etc. For far too long.
User avatar
Janet P
Posts: 553
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 6:29 pm

#211

Post by Janet P »

I am wondering about using the clockwise mechanism. Was there something in the clues/puzzle to suggest that? It was my only snag on this meta -- why to use clockwise instead of numerical order.
I sure hope someone on this board finds that happy muggle email this morning!
Devilbunny
Posts: 61
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2019 12:40 pm

#212

Post by Devilbunny »

Janet P -

One could use "bell lap" as a hint at that, though races are run counterclockwise...

I was too busy to get to it this weekend, but solved it (obviously too late for the contest) this morning. Meta only took a minute or so.

I guess it was just up my alley; I'm not normally the sort to solve them that quickly.
User avatar
Deb F
Posts: 393
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:02 pm
Location: Hilton Head Island

#213

Post by Deb F »

Yippee. It really was as easy as I thought. Lots of muggle competition this week. Good luck all.
User avatar
MajordomoTom
Posts: 1399
Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2019 12:09 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

#214

Post by MajordomoTom »

I saw nothing to indicate a clockwise direction, I just annagrammed to ALSO and it fit the theme.
"Lots of planets have a North", the Ninth Doctor.
ron
Posts: 81
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 4:49 pm

#215

Post by ron »

I'm also interested to know if there was some indicator to say to read it clockwise. I submitted ALSO not having anything else to go with, but wasn't really happy with it. It seems like 99% of the time these read in clued order or left to right.
williakz
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 10:54 am

#216

Post by williakz »

I'd forgotten I solved this one. Real snoozer, else there would've been a hue and cry about the late posting of the solution. There's gotta be something between pulling teeth and napping on feathers...
User avatar
DBMiller
Posts: 537
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 8:59 pm
Location: New Hampshire

#217

Post by DBMiller »

As the plus signs took 3 spaces in each direction, it was not surprising that the order was not related to clue numbers. But in these cases I have usually seen letters used to a top->down or left->right fashion. I can imaging the difficulty of construction to put the O's above the S's led to the only layout possible and a clockwise ordering worked. Like I said, out of the ordinary, but a single description of direction was available, versus just an anagram.
If I'm around, I am willing to join the Muggle Zoom room at other times to lend a hand to those in need.
Geoduck
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:40 pm
Location: Somewhere Nawth of Bangaw, or on The Other Cape

#218

Post by Geoduck »

I saw ALSO right away, but assumed the meta couldn't possibly be that easy. So I tried all sorts of ways to break the "code" and figure out what the next step would be.

Naturally, I failed.
User avatar
Tom Shea
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 6:37 am
Location: Freedonia, NH/VT/HI/Earth

#219

Post by Tom Shea »

sphorning wrote: โ†‘Sun Nov 10, 2019 10:22 pm On shore! Who eats sweetbreads?
One time in my life. Actually quite good.

Didn't know what they were at the time (violating my rule of don't eat what you can't identify).

Don't know that I'd ever order them again, now that I know what they are.

One of those food items where I wonder: Who was the first person to say, "let's eat that."

P.S., Agree with comments on the Saturday WSJ puzzle. Amazing construction.
Rufus T. Firefly
User avatar
pddigi
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2019 5:57 pm

#220

Post by pddigi »

A dad texted his eldest son:
"Solved the meta, I think, dear Dom.
But this seems too easy,
And it's making me queasy,
Was I pageant-ed and so will I bomb?"

Dom answered his dad like so:
"Sometimes it is that easy, y'know.
They're not all King Arthur
And multi-step bother
Take the W, submit, and go home!"
Locked