"In Bed By 9" - December 18, 2020

[CallMeShane]

An idea finally paid off.

Sandy toes.

[LadyBird]

Well, this gal has made It to shore, mainly because of my Inability to fall asleep. Much, much later than 9 and Wandered downstairs. Took another look, explored another Idea, and the answer popped out. Will have a peppermint mocha in the morning--a caffeine lift will be needed!

Tough bird to spot. I almost thought you missed it this week!

It was not an easy bird to spot in the wild either, due to declining numbers.

[tim1217]

I went to Fleeting Image for the .puz version as I have been doing every week. But this time I got a "page is not available" message. Has anyone here had the same result or is it just me? Is a .puz aavailable anywhere else?

Yes, I was having that problem all week with the fleeting image site. I tried past puzzles I have downloaded successfully from there and they did not work either. I am usually using a Chrome browser. So just for the heck of it, I tried on Safari. No problem, downloaded right away.

[damefox]

Ashore! Oddly enough, it came to me in my sleep last night.

[Meg]

I went to Fleeting Image for the .puz version as I have been doing every week. But this time I got a "page is not available" message. Has anyone here had the same result or is it just me? Is a .puz aavailable anywhere else?

I get that message when I try too early. I have to wait until at least 4:07 pm. EST. Or maybe it’s because I’m using Firefox.

[mheberlingx100]

Finally on shore. Was sniffing around the same rabbit hole since last night, finally had the aha experience.

[madhatter5]

On shore! I really like this one.

[NDStegs]

Still at sea, sadly.

And can people settle a debate between my husband and me? Are all of Gaffney's puzzle designs symmetrical?

[EVJ]

That’s me at the little round table in the back corner with the finished grid and the usual from Isaac....4 shot cappuccino breve. I think I see something!

[Wendy Walker]

Sentence written by WLW in annual joint Christmas letter: "A highlight of Wendy's year was winning the Wall Street Journal crossword puzzle competition."
The final product, as amended by Mark: "A highlight of Wendy's year was winning a crossword puzzle competition. The coveted prize was a coffee mug. Her name was selected in a random drawing."
He keeps me grounded! <3

[hcbirker]

Yesterday after I solved, I texted my husband at work - "It's safe to come home, I got the meta". He texted back, "thank God".

[Bob cruise director]

On shore

[tim1217]

On shore. Had to sweep away some birthday hangover cobwebs first!

[Bob cruise director]

Still at sea, sadly.

And can people settle a debate between my husband and me? Are all of Gaffney's puzzle designs symmetrical?

Almost universally all crossword puzzles are symmetrical.

[Bob cruise director]

I printed out the comments from Heidi, Wendy, otlaolap and LizD and showed them to my wife. She rolled her eyes and said that I have found my tribe.

[RobM]

On the beach!

[RobM]

Am I right that there will be no Friday edition and so no meta for the next two weeks?

[EVJ]

Got it! ASHORE!
I had to try several approaches before finding the right path.

[Bob cruise director]

Good morning muggles.

another interesting challenge from Matt and we have 3 on the ship and 73 on the shore.

There will be contests the next two weeks even if the WSJ is not published. The contests will come out as usual on Thursday at 4 pm (assuming that whoever does them is not too full of holiday cheer by that time).

[Jacksull]

Still at sea, sadly.

And can people settle a debate between my husband and me? Are all of Gaffney's puzzle designs symmetrical?

Almost universally all crossword puzzles are symmetrical.

I seem to remember a past Gaffney meta in which asymmetry was the key to solving the puzzle. It might have been Matt's contest rather than the WSJ.