"Location, Location, Location" - May 24, 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
Janet P
Posts: 553
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 6:29 pm

#141

Post by Janet P »

KAS 5 for me! I got so hung up that the only state capital in the puzzle was Providence, Rhode Island, that I could not make any sense of the other city entries. First rabbit hole had the weather map next to the puzzle in the print WSJ all marked up with hoping to find some intersection at a capital city. Not Gaffneyesque at all so abandoned pretty quickly. Then tried the direction from each named city to its state's capital. Nothing there either but possibly a little more Gaffneyesque. Finally saw the two-word city/one-word state and one-word city/two-word state pattern but still could not reconcile the non-capital cities with Providence so I never made it to the initials phase. If the Rhode Island city had been Portsmouth or Pawtucket; or the other entries has been capitals, I MIGHT have made it a little further. Who knows?! I also burrowed into the Asheville/Bali/Raleigh rabbit hole CandyB referred to above...
Thankfully, Isaac got the martini perfectly dry by the end of my time at the bar!
User avatar
Joe Ross
Moderator
Posts: 5001
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
Location: Cincinnati

#142

Post by Joe Ross »

This is what I couldn't disregard, once found, and what blinded me to the solution:

"U.S." in the clue indicated - if not demanded - initials. Initials are letters.

This led me to ask which letters of the alphabet were "in this grid". Those 24 letters of the alphabet in this grid did not include J & Q.

There are three "U.S. state capital" cities that include J. In fact they start with the initial J. No "U.S. capital cities" include Q. Also, *three* capitals are not *one* answer. I reasoned that capital 'cities' may not be the answer.

I then pondered the clue word "capital" and reasoned that "capital" does not have to be a city. A capital can be an uppercase letter, like initials.

U.S. states have official two-letter postal initials, both "capitals". Of all of *these* " U.S. state capitals", B & Q are not used. Of the set of these 24 "U.S. state capitals", J was not in the grid.

My answer was J, although the clue words "should be" annoyed me.

After submitting my answer, a perfectly gracious Muggle offered to review my reasoning, after I cheekily requested if they might. I was not given the answer nor a nudge, at my request, but knowing there was a better answer didn't help me get past my reasoning above.
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

#143

Post by Joe Ross »

I also attempted to post earler, using my phone, but wasn't successful. I had success, now, after Previewing my post, then Submitting.
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—˜!
tyrion
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 9:45 am

#144

Post by tyrion »

Did anyone else venture down this rabbit hole? I took the compass directions from the 4 cities in the grid to their respective state capitals and used the compass directions to spell out TENNESSEE. I used TS from Providence as it is THE SAME as its capital. Thought for sure Nashville was the answer.
Last edited by tyrion on Mon May 27, 2019 9:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4512
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#145

Post by Bob cruise director »

My weekly, weakly tale of woe
After getting the grid, I wrote out the cities on the back of my page to see if there was a pattern either of the letters or number of letters. Nada. they I checked the two letter postal codes and that got me no where. So I wrote down the list of states and postal codes (remnant of taking fluid mechanics where I memorized the states in alphabetical order and the capitals). I checked to see if all but one of the postal codes were in the grid. another rabbit hole with no rabbit. I pulled up bing maps and put the five cities on the map - no pattern there. The spelled out the capitals cities of the states of the five cities. Another vacant rabbit hole. Along the way, I circled all the postal codes in the grid. Then I checked the clues to see if Matt had done something bizarre there - as he has been known to do. I also checked to see if the cities all had other states where they were named to see if there was something there.

So the only thing left is to root for the Bruins tonight.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4512
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#146

Post by Bob cruise director »

tyrion wrote: โ†‘Mon May 27, 2019 9:51 am Did anyone else venture down this rabbit hole? I took the compass directions from the 4 cities in the grid to their respective state capitals and using the compass directions to spell out TENNESSEE. I used TS from Providence as it is THE SAME as its capital. Thought for sure Nashville was the answer.
Tyrion - not exactly but a couple of variations on the same theme.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
MikeMillerwsj
Posts: 286
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:46 pm

#147

Post by MikeMillerwsj »

This was a tricky puzzle! We had 745 entries, only 53% correct. With 50 options to choose from, we had wrong answers literally all over the map, inclding DENVER (37, why so many?), NASHVILLE (20), RICHMOND (8), SALEM (8), INDIANAPOLIS (7), DOVER (7), and many others.

Congratulations to this week's winner: Liza Moore of Bexley, Ohio. And Happy Memorial Day to all!
User avatar
Joe Ross
Moderator
Posts: 5001
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
Location: Cincinnati

#148

Post by Joe Ross »

Um, Mike... What was the correct answer?
Last edited by Joe Ross on Mon May 27, 2019 12:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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

#149

Post by Joe Ross »

MikeMillerwsj wrote: โ†‘Mon May 27, 2019 11:45 am This was a tricky puzzle! We had 745 entries, only 53% correct. With 50 options to choose from, we had wrong answers literally all over the map, inclding DENVER (37, why so many?), NASHVILLE (20), RICHMOND (8), SALEM (8), INDIANAPOLIS (7), DOVER (7), and many others.

Congratulations to this week's winner: Liza Moore of Bexley, Ohio. And Happy Memorial Day to all!
What was the correct answer?
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

#150

Post by Joe Ross »

https://blogs.wsj.com/puzzle/2019/05/23 ... st-may-24/

"Mike MillerStaff
18 minutes ago

Yes itโ€™s Albany.
I believe the official explanation will be up at 4pm today."
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
Meg
Posts: 2137
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:41 pm
Location: St. Petersburg, FL

#151

Post by Meg »

Mike confirms on the WSJ site that the answer is Albany.
Did anybody notice the clue and entry for 12D? LOL in hindsight.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
Laura M
Posts: 1385
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:49 am

#152

Post by Laura M »

D'oh! I kept coming back to this one but never could see it. I wrote out the theme answers with their states but used the postal abbreviations, oops. This really was an ingeniously crafted meta puzzle. But so straightforward when you see the explanation--I'll be kicking myself for a while over this one!
User avatar
Wendy Walker
Posts: 1701
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:44 pm
Location: Unionville, PA

#153

Post by Wendy Walker »

Meg wrote: โ†‘Mon May 27, 2019 12:40 pm Mike confirms on the WSJ site that the answer is Albany.
Did anybody notice the clue and entry for 12D? LOL in hindsight.
Wow, yet another level of this brilliant puzzle! As if the symmetrical placement of the 3-letter answers in the grid wasn't enough!
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
User avatar
hcbirker
Posts: 1985
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:24 pm
Location: Studio City, CA

#154

Post by hcbirker »

I got stuck looking for airport codes due to 53 down. Then state codes, etc, Googled all the theme answers (did you know there is a Providence, Asheville and Collins in New York?). Finally saw "any" and that was that. (Heidi)
Heidi
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4512
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#155

Post by Bob cruise director »

Meg wrote: โ†‘Mon May 27, 2019 12:40 pm Mike confirms on the WSJ site that the answer is Albany.
Did anybody notice the clue and entry for 12D? LOL in hindsight.
Meg
I saw that as I was wandering through the many rabbit holes but converged on state postal abbreviations.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
tyrion
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 9:45 am

#156

Post by tyrion »

I really didn't like this at all, perhaps because I got it wrong. Why the use of cities that can be anagrammed into other cities? Fort Collins almost transforms into Lincoln, San Antonio almost contains Austin, Asheville almost has Raleigh, Providence contains Denver, and Grand Island contains Lansing. Also, ANY IS in the grid!! My least favorite meta ever as other answers are equally plausible.
JimmyJam
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 6:38 pm

#157

Post by JimmyJam »

I went down both the connect-the-dots-on-a-map rabbit hole and another involving circling all instances of the 5 state abbreviations and trying in vain to discern some pattern. The lone diagonal TX in the upper left both made me consider the latter option for FAR too long and ultimately helped me abandon it.

I was finally tipped off when I allowed myself to embrace my perception (likely born of ignorance) that PRI at the top of the grid is not โ€œcrossworthyโ€ (according to xwordinfo, for example, the last time it appeared in a Times puzzle was 23 years ago) and therefore must be relevant to the meta. When I noticed that ANC, only slightly more crossworthy in my estimation (though Iโ€™ve certainly seen it before) was in the mirror position at the bottom of the grid, it all came together!
Last edited by JimmyJam on Mon May 27, 2019 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
lyndonpeck
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 13, 2019 2:57 pm

#158

Post by lyndonpeck »

I LOVE meta puzzles; I was a fan of the cryptic crosswords in the Atlantic for decades, and they often had a meta aspect, which I loved. (And the ones by the same authors that are here on WSJ are good, too, but seem "nerfed" a bit, as the kids say.)

I have been trying these WSJ Crossword Contest puzzles for a few weeks, and so far they seem to be the kind that are clever in retrospect; after solving them you can see what the meta trick was, and appreciate the construction... to a point. But so far each puzzle has had an aspect that I've found to be either inelegant or rules-breaking (like the use of "narwhal" and "whale" a few weeks ago), and so were not particularly satisfying to me when I solved them. Sometimes I wasn't even sure I HAD solved them, which I also find problematic. I'm going to try a few more weeks, I guess.

I am only posting this because every week I have seen a few complaints, and I wanted to tell those folks that I agree with them.
User avatar
HowardHuddleston
Posts: 38
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:39 am
Location: Franklin, TN

#159

Post by HowardHuddleston »

Started Saturday on this thing, not seeing anything. Later, sat down across from my 5 yr old grandson (who was doing a puzzle of his own) and something made me sound out the crossword answers, such as โ€œProvidence Rhode Islandโ€ and there was the PRI and everything else following with โ€œANYโ€ in the corresponding position across from โ€œGINโ€. Itโ€™s just amazing what your brain will see or (more often) not see.
User avatar
KDubs
Posts: 68
Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 6:44 pm
Location: Stamford, CT

#160

Post by KDubs »

Gah, I TOTALLY should have gotten this one but didnโ€™t! Couldnโ€™t agree more that this was Gaffneyesque and masterfully constructed.. Wow.
Locked