"Ringing In the New Year" - December 27, 2019

[Colin]

Nice meta! I persisted in my search for COUNTDOWN-related numbers and letters in the grid, but sadly failed to look in the clues. Argh! It feels exactly the same as when my football team (round ball) Arsenal let in a goal due to an easily-avoidable defensive error. On the plus side, that means I am used to regular disappointment!
Roll on 2020... Happy and Healthy New Year to all!

[pddigi]

Dom and I got this one (he beat me to it) and sat out the previous week due to holiday merry-making. We are off to Dallas for the new year to take in the NHL Winter Classic, so I’m not sure if we will take a break on this week’s meta. Happy New Year all!

[KayW]

Another great one from Mike! I noticed the ten numbers in the clues almost immediately and figured that HAD to be the first step. I was trying everything I could think of with those clues and their answers - though I never stumbled onto FIRST KISS or FISH TRICKS. But it took me a day and a half to try counting out to the answer's letter position of the corresponding number in each clue.

I agree with the SAD (simple and difficult) diagnosis, and am impressed that so many saw the complete solution so quickly. I think this one would be a KAS5 for many newer solvers.

BTW for us dinosaurs, there is a misprint in the WSJ hardcopy edition (at least the one that gets sent out to the midwest). It's a different puzzle than the online puzzle and is titled "The Game is Up". The previous solution shown in the corner is not for Friday's contest nor for any grid I recognize, including today's online "Market Forces".

Happy New Year!

[DrTom]

So this dog walks into a bank carrying a small porcelain figurine and approaches the teller, one Patricia Whake, to inquire about obtaining a home loan...

I'm betting there are almost none of you who cannot finish this very old, very "ooooh" pun/joke - am I right?? I mean I will finish it if you want but I'm almost certain several would drive to my house and pummel me. (please don't arrive on an Arabian stallion, I'm afraid of pummel horses!)

It's a knick-knack, Patty Whack. Give the dog a loan!

So, a giraffe walks into a bar...

...his old man's a Rolling Stone. (forgot to mention the part about his claim to be the son of Mick Jagger as a result of some wild drug-fueled party)

Oh, and if it is like the horse that walks into the bar the bartender says "why the long face?"

[MaineMarge]

At first glance I was struck by the NYC related references- Hudson, Apple, Tribeca, SOHO, thinking Times Square countdown. NOGO there.

Early on I always spend a lot of time with the clues, and this time it paid off. I didn’t even try anagramming the resulting 10 first or last letters, as I remembered someone posting that the meta is never an anagram ( almost never?) Luckily I next tried the correct method.
10 stars for you on this one, Mike!

Happy New Year to all you Muggles friends!
And may you never hear, nor utter, any cross words in 2020.

[Joe Ross]

Before my son pointed out which letters I should be using from the ten answers, I tried using the first letters of each. Broke out the Bananagrams and came up with the following. Took a picture because I knew it would be terribly wrong. (Though I did first google the term to see if I was missing out on a fun New Years tradition.) -- Edited to add that I just read the Crossword Fiend write-up, and I see I was not alone!!

I think that Board Index / Come Aboard! / FAQs - Community needs a new Topic:

FrankieHeck's Guide to Solving the WSJ Meta with Bananagrams!

I was rather surprised to wake up alone on the wrong shore, after feeling I had an answer which clicked solidly!! I did manage to use the first letters of the theme answers, after discarding attempts at FIRST KISS, also. I saw that in order, they spell: CK is his FTR. Casey Kasem is his (we’re talking countdowns), for the RECORD! The confirmation click came with 61A Numbers = SONGS !!! So obviously I sent in “Casey Kasem’s Year End Top 100 Countdown”.

This is fantastic! Extry credit points, IMO.

I’ll be a little late to this week’s meta, as the Bearcats will be playing in the Birmingham Bowl on Thursday at 3:00! Go ‘Cats!

How'bout them 'Cats? All season, we'd have 8 to 10 people watching away games at various watering holes and the consensus was, "We don't care which bowl or in which city! We can party anywhere!" Since the announcement of the game? :::crickets::: I still want to go, but not alone.

Another great one from Mike! I noticed the ten numbers in the clues almost immediately and figured that HAD to be the first step. I was trying everything I could think of with those clues and their answers - though I never stumbled onto FIRST KISS or FISH TRICKS. But it took me a day and a half to try counting out to the answer's letter position of the corresponding number in each clue.

It took me a day and a half and kind nudges to recognize the utility of the numbers in clues, tyvm. It was a very early thought of mine, but knowing that there were no 1 & 2 letter answers, I abandoned the idea, foolishly.

The second part came instantaneously. I couldn't type fast enough, once the light came on.

BTW for us dinosaurs, there is a misprint in the WSJ hardcopy edition (at least the one that gets sent out to the midwest). It's a different puzzle than the online puzzle and is titled "The Game is Up". The previous solution shown in the corner is not for Friday's contest nor for any grid I recognize, including today's online "Market Forces".

Today's printed solution, as Kay describes:

So, a giraffe walks into a bar...

Oh, and if it is like the horse that walks into the bar the bartender says "why the long face?"

Ooh! New twist on 'long necks'. Love it! Wish I'd thought of it.

Mine was about being generous with spritzed drinks in tall glasses (with apologies).

[Bird Lives]

The host of the News Years party I go to every year has trained his neon tetra to jump out of the water, roll over, beg for food, etc. So when I saw that the first letters of the countdown clue answers could be rearranged to spell FISH TRICKS, I knew that I’d nailed the answer.

[grwinski]

I entered: "Noise Maker". Anyone know if that would be considered the correct answer (two words instead of one?).

George and Rita

[MajordomoTom]

Only if the fish can be taught new tricks.

[Nlobb]

Hooray! A great end to the 2019 crossword contest year! I finally got it right after a long dry spell. Nancy

[Nlobb]

Aka Nlobb

[Bob cruise director]

I entered: "Noise Maker". Anyone know if that would be considered the correct answer (two words instead of one?).

George and Rita

Here is my guess based on what I know of how they pick the winner. They draw an entry at random and a human looks at it. If it is right they stop. So my guess is that they would/should accept noise maker or noisemaker.

[Bird Lives]

I saw that in order, they spell: CK is his FTR. Casey Kasem is his (we’re talking countdowns), for the RECORD! The confirmation click came with 61A Numbers = SONGS !!! So obviously I sent in “Casey Kasem’s Year End Top 100 Countdown”.

Happy New Year!

I thought that the songs in CK's Top 100 were in fact noisemakers. No mug, but you get credit for showing your work.

[Scott M]

My record is absolutely woeful when the mechanism is buried in the clues. This week is no exception. I was way down the wrong rabbit hole. I saw IKES/ICESkating, LOOM/regROOMed, EDAM/forEXAMple/hEXAMeter, and even RACE/inteRACTs, but could not make anything of that hash.

Hanging my head in shame...

[CallMeShane]

Confession time.

At my best, I am not a brilliant conversationalist. When deep in meta stupor, my wife would do better to banter with a barnacle.

So we go for a walk. I had gotten the first step a few hours before, but ran into a wall trying to use the first letter of each of the ten critical answers. What does FISH STICK have to do with New Year's? And what do I do with an extra R?

She is monologing away about the beauty of the beach and the ocean, the flora and the fauna. I grunt occasionally.

I am mentally reviewing the answers. Then the bolt of insight hits.

My wife notices that my hand is rhythmically twitching. "What are you doing?". "Counting letters!"

And so to the shuffle-ball-change happy dance down the beach.

[Commodore]

Tip o' the cap to all solvers. Splendid work! Brilliant puzzle!
Our besotted & not so 27-A navigator was obsessed with UP & DOWN directions.
So we proceeded to TIE ONE ON.
Our decidedly ignoble, foolhardy & longstanding New Year's Eve tradition.

[Wendy Walker]

Confession time.

At my best, I am not a brilliant conversationalist. When deep in meta stupor, my wife would do better to banter with a barnacle.

So we go for a walk. I had gotten the first step a few hours before, but ran into a wall trying to use the first letter of each of the ten critical answers. What does FISH STICK have to do with New Year's? And what do I do with an extra R?

She is monologing away about the beauty of the beach and the ocean, the flora and the fauna. I grunt occasionally.

I am mentally reviewing the answers. Then the bolt of insight hits.

My wife notices that my hand is rhythmically twitching. "What are you doing?". "Counting letters!"

And so to the shuffle-ball-change happy dance down the beach.

Shane, you are truly one of us.

[Hector]

This seems like a really difficult construction, not that I know much about constructing. For each n from 1 to 10 there has to be an entry naturally associated with n and with the 11-minus-nth letter of NOISEMAKER in position n. That seems like a lot to ask for, but it was done with basically zero artificiality.

[DrTom]

This seems like a really difficult construction, not that I know much about constructing. For each n from 1 to 10 there has to be an entry naturally associated with n and with the 11-minus-nth letter of NOISEMAKER in position n. That seems like a lot to ask for, but it was done with basically zero artificiality.

Yeah, what he said!
(who let the math major in?)

[Bob cruise director]

Confession time.

At my best, I am not a brilliant conversationalist. When deep in meta stupor, my wife would do better to banter with a barnacle.

So we go for a walk. I had gotten the first step a few hours before, but ran into a wall trying to use the first letter of each of the ten critical answers. What does FISH STICK have to do with New Year's? And what do I do with an extra R?

She is monologing away about the beauty of the beach and the ocean, the flora and the fauna. I grunt occasionally.

I am mentally reviewing the answers. Then the bolt of insight hits.

My wife notices that my hand is rhythmically twitching. "What are you doing?". "Counting letters!"

And so to the shuffle-ball-change happy dance down the beach.

Tell your wife that we have proposed a spouses therapy group where they can commiserate.