"Stress Test" - July 3, 2020

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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eagle1279
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#341

Post by eagle1279 »

I also found APLUS early but could not find the mechanism to get there and had abandoned the stressed syllable method even earlier. Saw or imagined multiple references to school and tests -- DESK, CLASS, TIME, ACE, MAZE, VOCAB, & PASS (anagram of SPAS). So I returned to the syllables and backed (BACCED?) my way into A PLUS. I hope WSJ accepts that answer without the hyphen.

My son also reached APPLAUSE phonetically, perhaps because in his teaching role he has not given out many A-Pluses. When I nudged him to reconsider, he realized it was A-PLUS.

If you didn't get the answer, were you nonplussed? :roll:
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Stukmn
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#342

Post by Stukmn »

This was a big NOPE for me.
Don’t bother me until I’ve had my coffee and done the crossword.
RichA2
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#343

Post by RichA2 »

Like Kris Z, I wrongly went for applause, using the same reasoning. So much for my dream of solving a meta on my first ever attempt. Wonder how long it will be until I get that close again?
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Wendy Walker
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#344

Post by Wendy Walker »

RichA2 wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 7:52 am Like Kris Z, I wrongly went for applause, using the same reasoning. So much for my dream of solving a meta on my first ever attempt. Wonder how long it will be until I get that close again?
Rich, if you even got close on this one you are already a gifted Muggle! Please keep puzzling and posting!
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
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LittleGood
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#345

Post by LittleGood »

Antelope and Eyeballs both have secondary stresses - on the third and second syllables, respectively. (ˈæn tlˌoʊp / ˈaɪˌbɔl)

Anlopeswer isballsland backwards. (?)

Luckily there's another Thursday this week.
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Wendy Walker
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#346

Post by Wendy Walker »

eagle1279 wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 7:24 am

If you didn't get the answer, were you nonplussed? :roll:
Double plus ungood.
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
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Joe
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#347

Post by Joe »

I haven't read all the comments, so pardon if I'm repeating someone. Did anyone do what I did? Got as far as SULPA. Assumed pronunciation was still the key, so pronounced SUL-PA backwards and went "PU-SUL... PUZZLE!" Made sense to me at the time...
Happy to give nudges. If you notice I've solved, please tell me about avenues you've explored so I can nudge you in the right direction and not off a cliff.
RichA2
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#348

Post by RichA2 »

Wendy Walker wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 8:03 am
RichA2 wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 7:52 am Like Kris Z, I wrongly went for applause, using the same reasoning. So much for my dream of solving a meta on my first ever attempt. Wonder how long it will be until I get that close again?
Rich, if you even got close on this one you are already a gifted Muggle! Please keep puzzling and posting!
Thanks for the kind encouragement, Wendy. I’ll be back. How long until Friday?
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Joe Ross
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#349

Post by Joe Ross »

LittleGood wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 8:09 am ˈæn tlˌoʊp / ˈaɪˌbɔl
Take your stresses where you can get them!
Last edited by Joe Ross on Mon Jul 06, 2020 9:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Joe Ross
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#350

Post by Joe Ross »

RichA2 wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 8:43 am How long until Friday?
79 hours 13 minutes
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!
JennyByrd
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#351

Post by JennyByrd »

So I got the answer, but didn’t completely get the meta. I was playing with the accented syllables in the long across answers and found ‘backwards‘ but not ‘answer island - who knows why?’ , and I noticed that SULPA is ‘A PLUS’ backwards.

Lots of rabbit trails: Spent a lot of time trying to anagram the long answers, and then observing that Antelopes can be Red, Eyeballs are White and Tobacco can be (sorta) Black.

Happy Monday everyone.
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Scott M
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#352

Post by Scott M »

Geezer Weezer wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 12:05 am
DrTom wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 12:00 am
TPS wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 11:56 pm This thread is starting to remind me of my text feed to an ex-gf when I wake up with a Jameson hang over. 😂
Never let your Jameson hang over, it hurts! :oops:
Careful what you say here, someone was offended by my previous screen name (Bulls*******).
GW/BS
, how did you change your screen name?
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
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LadyBird
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#353

Post by LadyBird »

When I first saw the title, my first thought was a cardiac diagnostic test (occupational hazard of being a nurse). But then my mind went right to stressing of syllables. Momentary hiccup when I spelled out island backwards. DNALSI just didn't seem very elegant. So I set it down to return to later.

I had shown my husband how I had worked through the mechanism. He sat down to the computer, where the puzzle pdf was sitting on the screen. He noticed the word island in the clues, came into the living room right away and asked what the answer was to 42A. Ta da. I told him that he could drink out of the mug if it makes its way to our house! I don't think that has converted him to meta--of course, I haven't been able to convert him to birding either.
SeanS
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#354

Post by SeanS »

I also submitted the correct answer without understanding the syllabic nudge. Noticed the palindrome KAYAK and dueling appearances of APE and EPA, and SULPA seemed to stick out and mesh with the prompt. I was a little nervous after seeing several mentions of a Second Step, but since I missed the first step I'm glad I didn't overthink it. See you all later in the week!
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BrianMac
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#355

Post by BrianMac »

43E50210-B7E0-4276-A1EB-2BD066C678EB.png

Matriculating Eeyore -- wonderful!
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Colin
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#356

Post by Colin »

Too much of a Tango-Echo-Sierra-Tango for me and a self-assessed CMINUS goes into my report.
One world. One planet. One future.
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KscX
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#357

Post by KscX »

To the more experienced solvers- is the alliteration in the long answer clues an intentional red herring, an accident, or just the antics of the witty wordsman?
zacmoretz
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#358

Post by zacmoretz »

Way too many red herrings in this one by the way. Dr. Seuss? Noel Coward? Stress relief at the spa? I could use some stress relief after struggling with this thing!
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Bob cruise director
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#359

Post by Bob cruise director »

KscX wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 9:06 am To the more experienced solvers- is the alliteration in the long answer clues an intentional red herring, an accident, or just the antics of the witty wordsman?
We don't know but we guess that the wordsmen smile when they see the havoc that they create.
Bob Stevens
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Bob cruise director
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#360

Post by Bob cruise director »

LadyBird wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 8:55 am When I first saw the title, my first thought was a cardiac diagnostic test (occupational hazard of being a nurse). But then my mind went right to stressing of syllables. Momentary hiccup when I spelled out island backwards. DNALSI just didn't seem very elegant. So I set it down to return to later.

I had shown my husband how I had worked through the mechanism. He sat down to the computer, where the puzzle pdf was sitting on the screen. He noticed the word island in the clues, came into the living room right away and asked what the answer was to 42A. Ta da. I told him that he could drink out of the mug if it makes its way to our house! I don't think that has converted him to meta--of course, I haven't been able to convert him to birding either.
Be careful what you wish for on both accounts. You may be creating a monster
Bob Stevens
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