#586 - "Periods of Reconciliation" - August 23, 2019

[Laura M]

I agree. I did put an abbreviated explanation in the comments that said "35+55 = 90 (90's), so you wouldn't think I just guessed it."

Heh, my comment last week was literally just “55 + 35 = 90”.

Ha! That makes three of us. I said 55+35=90 (which is about the number of votes Perot got in 1996!) I wonder how many solvers actually guessed and got the right answer.

I like those! I said something like "I didn't realize I was going to have to do math."

One of my early (I thought) rabbit holes was looking up the dictionary definition of reconciliation (as somebody mentioned on CrosswordFiend), and being reminded that it could mean something like balancing a checkbook. Or more generally, math. But I couldn't see what to do with that information, so I dropped it and pursued the following productive trains of thought, and many more:
- Phrases containing the word "period," because I thought that Bill Clinton -> billing period couldn't be a coincidence
- Every period in the clues (there were 7 of them, or 8 if you count e.g. as 2)
- Trying to do something with "friends" of the first names of the Clinton rivals: George & Gracie (I was distracted by "grace period" here); Ross & Rachel; Jerry & Ben (or Tom); Ken & Barbie; Bob & Doug; Paul & Paula. No friend for poor Newt, so maybe he was the answer?
Eventually the reconciliation definition came back to me with an idea of how to use it. Probably not going to be so lucky this week, but I felt good for a while!

[FrankieHeck]

One of my early (I thought) rabbit holes was looking up the dictionary definition of reconciliation (as somebody mentioned on CrosswordFiend), and being reminded that it could mean something like balancing a checkbook. Or more generally, math.

I found the decade thing, and then also looked up the definition of reconciliation. I then proceeded to subtract the rival clue numbers from each other, which did not lead me to a word. Didn't think to add them, even when I had written 1 and 69 beside the clues marked "70s!" I then abandoned my solo solve and was pointed in the right direction, or I don't think I ever would have gotten there. I do love the whole puzzle, though. I was starting to think there was no way the "reconciliation" would play a part to my satisfaction, but it turned out that it did.

I also looked at all the periods in the clue, even though I knew as I was doing it that there was no way that was it.

[pomona47]

Quite a few solvers in the final couple of hours. I'll wager more than a few of them were Hail Marys.

Or silly people like me who leave a week 4/5 solve until Monday night after a full working weekend. Next week I will take no chances!

[Meg]

One of my early (I thought) rabbit holes was looking up the dictionary definition of reconciliation (as somebody mentioned on CrosswordFiend), and being reminded that it could mean something like balancing a checkbook. Or more generally, math.

I found the decade thing, and then also looked up the definition of reconciliation. I then proceeded to subtract the rival clue numbers from each other, which did not lead me to a word. Didn't think to add them, even when I had written 1 and 69 beside the clues marked "70s!" I then abandoned my solo solve and was pointed in the right direction, or I don't think I ever would have gotten there. I do love the whole puzzle, though. I was starting to think there was no way the "reconciliation" would play a part to my satisfaction, but it turned out that it did.

I also looked at all the periods in the clue, even though I knew as I was doing it that there was no way that was it.

It’s still weird when you read here that somebody else tried the same crazy technique. I tried subtraction too. I had 1/69 and 70's and still COULDN'T SEE IT! Amazing. Fortunately the light eventually came on.

[MaineMarge]

I was stumped on this one til a kind Muggle nudged me over the finish line. I didn’t tune into the math aspect of reconciliation- I would have Hailed Mary with Bush. Because of the periods H. W. in his name and especially because of the spectacular reconciliation between him and WJC that resulted in a true friendship.
I am doing a month’s sample try of MGWCC to plump up the relevant brain cells for the WSJCC.
Will definitely continue after my sample to keep up the learning curve, so sign me up Mike. Great grid, great meta. Fun method.

[BarbaraK]

Or silly people like me who leave a week 4/5 solve until Monday night after a full working weekend. Next week I will take no chances!

Nice to see you here, pomona47! I always notice your name on the leaderboard because I have friends with a daughter who went to Pomona College. That somehow makes you feel like a friend-once-removed or something, even though I'm sure there are many other possible origins of that username.

[Hector]

I stared at this one for a while before asking what in retrospect should have struck me much sooner as obviously the right question: what are those other four pairs of rivals doing in there? The logical answer was: all of those pairs are related in some one specific way --- a way in which the CLINTON entry is related to the answer entry. So the problem reduced to finding the common way the four pairs were related. Seconds later, having found no other possibilities, I thought about the numbering, wrote down 1/69, 13/47, 17/33, 26/54, thought, well, division clearly isn't it, and it became easy from there. The connection to decades was only vaguely in the background of my thinking, but it finally solidified the answer. This intricate but elegant and super-rational (meaning the opposite of random or unfair) meta made for a very satisfying solve, and not the first time I broke a log jam by forcing myself to explicitly consider the question that is the elephant in the room. I look forward to 4pm Eastern tomorrow with eagerness and dread.

[pomona47]

Or silly people like me who leave a week 4/5 solve until Monday night after a full working weekend. Next week I will take no chances!

Nice to see you here, pomona47! I always notice your name on the leaderboard because I have friends with a daughter who went to Pomona College. That somehow makes you feel like a friend-once-removed or something, even though I'm sure there are many other possible origins of that username.

No, you're right! It's a small school in a small world. =)

[joequavis]

I think this one was in my wheelhouse, being an engineer. I can see number relations much easier than word ones.

+1 on the 55+35=90 comment on my answer!