"Alternatives" - May 31, 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.
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oliviazink
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2019 11:26 am

#101

Post by oliviazink »

after the deadline passes, will someone explain (here or another thread, i don't know?) what this "other" word was that you all found? or, if it's not against the rules, send me a private message about it.

i already finished the puzzle and submitted my entry, so you're not spoiling anything for me. i'm just curious, since i don't see the mystery other word.
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KayW
Moderator
Posts: 3127
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 12:10 am
Location: Chicago

#102

Post by KayW »

On the correct shore at long last!

After setting the puzzle aside all day I was finally able to able to abandon one very dead end rabbit hole. So glad I held off on submitting the shore I first thought I was heading towards.

Another brilliant puzzle and meta.
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
Bee
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 6:35 am

#103

Post by Bee »

Yikes! Still with Isaac. I work so hard and seem to make these so difficult. There must be another rabbit around here somewhere...

Bee
PHOFER
Posts: 157
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 9:20 pm

#104

Post by PHOFER »

Made it to the very crowded beach. A classic Shenk with a bit of Gaffney thrown in, I think. Once again, I'm amazed.
Beth C
Posts: 168
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 5:32 pm

#105

Post by Beth C »

Found the grid a little tougher than normal, and the light didn't come on the meta until Saturday morning. Finally, I got it! Good puzzle. Best of luck to all Muggles.
SusanF
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 8:29 am

#106

Post by SusanF »

Enjoying company on the beach this week~ good luck to all!
Jeff S
Posts: 85
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:18 pm

#107

Post by Jeff S »

Going absolutely nowhere this week :|
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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

#108

Post by Bob cruise director »

Good Sunday afternoon fellow muggles

We have had a slow but steady growth in both the ship's bar and the tiki bar on the shore, We have 14 keeping Isaac in business and 71 on the shore.

New to the ship's bar are
Deb
Stuart
ALS
Cynthia J
NoMajNoMug
Candy B
bee
and Jeff S

While making their way to shore re
EricP
Kris
Matthew
Anne
James W
Bill T
Paul
Patrick
Beth C
Kay
and Susan F

some of the shore party were hiding on the WSJ comments page and I missed them yesterday

Those of us with Isaac have just over 10 hours to find an alternative.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
Orsys
Posts: 189
Joined: Thu May 02, 2019 5:48 pm

#109

Post by Orsys »

Done and done. My mistake was stupid user error, and one I am embarrassed to say, I have done before.
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FrankH
Posts: 242
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 4:15 am

#110

Post by FrankH »

On shore, just in time.
Special_Ed
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2019 12:33 pm

#111

Post by Special_Ed »

There is a cryptic message in this grid, which hasn't helped one bit in solving META, but is diabolically annoying.
Upper left: FIND
Middle: HARES
Lower right: DONE

All the hares I find are Phantoms and Holograms. Barring a last minute AHA! moment, I remain with Isaac awaiting tomorrow's DOH! moment.
MatthewB
Posts: 138
Joined: Sat May 04, 2019 7:37 pm

#112

Post by MatthewB »

Still on board.. A bit frustrated. Seems like it should be obvious. I'll have another negroni and see what transpires.
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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

#113

Post by Bob cruise director »

Our final count is 16 on the ship and 72 on the shore. Good luck to those who figured this out
New to the ship's bar are MatthewB and Special Ed

Making it to shore are FrankH and Orsys
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
MatthewB
Posts: 138
Joined: Sat May 04, 2019 7:37 pm

#114

Post by MatthewB »

Down to the wire, we're on shore. Nicely done, Mike!
Tony S
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:14 pm

#115

Post by Tony S »

oliviazink wrote: Sun Jun 02, 2019 12:11 am after the deadline passes, will someone explain (here or another thread, i don't know?) what this "other" word was that you all found? or, if it's not against the rules, send me a private message about it.

i already finished the puzzle and submitted my entry, so you're not spoiling anything for me. i'm just curious, since i don't see the mystery other word.
The word (non-word) I first spelled out was NACKOD, the letters in the grid words that were different from the letters in the nationalities associated with the long answers. Since NACKOD was nonsense I then spelled out the letters in the nationalities than were different from the grid words, hence, KOREAN, the contest answer.
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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

#116

Post by Bob cruise director »

The answer from Monday's pdf
The contest answer is Korean. Six answers in the grid are one letter changes from the nationalities of the six longest Across answers
Socrates= Greek/Green
Livingstone= Scot/Scat
Ertegun=Turk/Tuck
Pulaski= Pole/Polk
Kierkegaard=Dand/Done
Sibelius=Finn/Find
The changed letters spell the contest answer
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
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FrankH
Posts: 242
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 4:15 am

#117

Post by FrankH »

I was totally led astray by the title. After getting nowhere for a long while, decided to do the first step without considering the title. I was sleeping on a boat when I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night realizing what else I needed to do (which is a commonly used scheme for a second step) and quickly went looking for the grid and found the words. Earlier I thought 1A answer was important but didn't know what I needed to "find". I'll have to wait for another time to go through the comments to understand what the title is referring to.
steveb
Posts: 379
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:25 pm
Location: Silicon Valley, CA

#118

Post by steveb »

FrankH wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 1:58 am I was totally led astray by the title. After getting nowhere for a long while, decided to do the first step without considering the title. I was sleeping on a boat when I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night realizing what else I needed to do (which is a commonly used scheme for a second step) and quickly went looking for the grid and found the words. Earlier I thought 1A answer was important but didn't know what I needed to "find". I'll have to wait for another time to go through the comments to understand what the title is referring to.
Think of the title as two words: alter natives. Then I think it makes sense with this puzzle. That was one of the first things I thought of when I saw it.
BrianDavidson
Posts: 118
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 8:27 pm

#119

Post by BrianDavidson »

I took a hint from the grid answers FIND TYPOS.
MaineMarge
Posts: 1597
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:57 pm

#120

Post by MaineMarge »

Rats! Nuts! Etc! Forgot to submit my correct answer. This one reminded me of the recent “Light Switches” meta. So what to do with the weird word letters NACKROD we first landed on? Maybe send them to play in Tompkins Square Park in Alphabet City?
I got a huge kick out of 23d Tyler-Taylor go-between. 50 years ago a college prof had thrown us this irrelevant aside in a geology class (!)
“ Polk the Taylor and he’ll Fillmore orders.” I have never had occasion to use this til now but never forgot it. I bet some of you have memorized the complete presidential sequence..
I also liked the Find/Finn and Done/Dane locations in the grid. Sometimes a nudge.
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