XWord Muggles Forum

This week's contest is titled "In Bed By 9" by Matt Gaffney. The answer to this week's contest crossword is a six letter word

Good luck with the grid and the meta

I’m channeling my inner Ann Landers and reposting last year’s Christmas poem. It’s been updated to add Joanne Sullivan, the 8th constructor (as of March 6, 2020). Enjoy!


‘Twas the week before Christmas, the meta a struggle
Not a creature was stirring, not even a Muggle;
The grid was completed with the utmost care,
In hopes that an AHA would soon be there.

The Muggles were nestled all sung in their beds,
While visions of coffee mugs danced in their heads;
And mamma with her pencil, and I with my Google,
Had just settled down, our brains to noodle.

When over on the Forum there arose such chatter,
I sprang from my Laz-Y-Boy to read the matter;
Away to my desk I flew like a sprite,
Tore open the laptop and logged onto the site.

The blue light emanating from my MacBook screen,
Gave the hope of insights yet to be seen;
When what did I see with all my brain’s deductor’s,
But a miniature puzzle, and eight tiny constructors.

With a little old editor, so lively and frank,
I knew in a moment it must be Mike Shenk;
More rapid than rabbits his constructors they came,
And he sorted, and rearranged, and called them by name.

‘Now Berry! Now, Gordon! Now, Shenk and Gaffney!
On, Sullivan! on Muller! on Kelly and McClary!
From within cyberspace we yelled out the call,
Now puzzle us! puzzle us! puzzle us all!

Go frustrated Muggles to Isaac’s bar with resolve,
When they meet with tough metas they cannot solve;
And then in a twinkling we think we see the beach,
But the rabbits and their holes keep it well out of reach.

As I was about to give up and post the fact,
A lightbulb went off and my hope was intact;
Then up to the grid-top the constructors they flew,
With a bag full of metas - and Mike Shenk too!

He leapt from the screen within the hue of blues,
And his clothes were all tarnished with letters and clues;
A bundle of metas he had flung on his back,
And he looked a bit devilish waiting to attack.

His eyes how they sparkled, but I a bit leery,
His metas I knew, often made me weary;
His droll sense of humor, was apparent at first,
And the sly grin on his face made me fear the worst.

The stump of a pencil was held tight by his ear,
And the scribblings, erasures and worksheets were near;
He had broad knowledge and skills that can’t be denied,
That made me nervous and dreadful, to that I will not lie.

He was clever and sneaky - the most dangerous constructor alive,
And I said ‘Oh no what’s this, don’t tell me a KAS5?’;
Though a wink of his eye, and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And gave us new puzzles; then turned with a jerk;
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up to the laptop he rose.

Once again on the screen, to his constructors gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, like a rocket or missile;
But I heard him exclaim, ere he pixilated out of sight,
‘Happy Meta-Solving to all, and to all Muggles a good-night!’

just printed the grid - - half expected to see that Al had solved.

On shore

Out of the snow and onto the beach… Guinness me please?

On the beach, margarita in hand. Some of you all have a lot of snow!!

On shore! Nice one. I guess I can be IN BED BY 9 tonight.

On shore! Back to shoveling...

On shore! Nice construction.

🏝

On shore - like it. Saw it early, and flowed with a nice swim from there. WSJ+ wine on the menu for 26th wedding anniversary celebration tonight.

Meg wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:28 pm On the beach, margarita in hand. Some of you all have a lot of snow!!

We got about 12 inches but parts of upstate New York where my friends live got 40

Ashore. Spent the entire day shoveling out from 15 inches of snow today in central PA so we'll be glad to be in bed by 9 and feeling fine.

Solved!

Ashore

On the beach! 🏖 -nog today!

Enjoyed it!

On shore. Nice swim.

On the beach! Earlier than usual.

ASHORE
and that's all she said.