#597 - "Solving in Pairs"

An excellent puzzle written by one of the innovators of the meta crossword format. It comes out every Friday at noon and increases in difficulty throughout the month. Available for modest subscription (worth every cent) here: www.xwordcontest.com
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Jacksull
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#21

Post by Jacksull »

I thought I had backsolved this one but I couldn’t make a connection. When I gave up on the backsolve, it all became clear.
Jack Sullivan
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Jeremy Smith
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#22

Post by Jeremy Smith »

BarbaraK wrote: Sat Nov 09, 2019 5:28 pm
Jeremy Smith wrote: Sat Nov 09, 2019 4:58 pm
JJD wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 10:55 pm Hmm... I feel like I’m halfway there, but I can’t complete this approach for all the clues/entries I expect... is that a rabbit I smell?
Yes, I’ve found three seemingly promising things, and then crashed into a wall. I’ve also used several extensive resources to find someone fitting the description in the answer to try to backsolve. A famous someone, born in 1953, I would definitely be familiar with. Makes me think those three things I found are red herrings. I’m amazed that some muggles solved this within minutes. I’m stumped on a week 2—sheesh!
I believe you're in the same place I was. You need to be sure you're not overly limiting things. Some stuff I assumed was part of the meta was in fact just coincidence in the first couple I came across. When I broadened out a bit, I found the rest of the pieces. Then it turned out that what I needed to do with them was not exactly what I'd expected either, but it all came together beautifully.
Thank you, Barbara! Thinking of things that way, it quickly becomes a 100%-er. I actually had the piece that seemed “just a little off,” and discarded it. When will I ever learn that something that blatant would never be a red herring in Gaffney world?
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bhamren
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#23

Post by bhamren »

I was hung up also over some the were so clearly part of the meta and bupkis. Then I saw it after a closer look. Back solving didn’t give me any clues. I was surprised at how many people are born in 1953, though.
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JJD
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#24

Post by JJD »

Like always, I’ve found some amazing coincidences in the clues and entries, and between them.
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joequavis
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#25

Post by joequavis »

Beam me up! I was determined not to lurk on the forum until I had solved...though there's almost never spoilers, there are usually very subtle hints in language people use that either exclude or confirm a particular strategy.

My perfect month is still in tact! (Still going for my first one)
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Thurman8er
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#26

Post by Thurman8er »

Okay...finally got it.
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joequavis
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#27

Post by joequavis »

JJD wrote: Sun Nov 10, 2019 8:19 pm Like always, I’ve found some amazing coincidences in the clues and entries, and between them.
I wonder if we found the same amazing coincidence...let's compare notes tomorrow
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Jacksull
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#28

Post by Jacksull »

I thought I had backsolved this one with the famous puzzle pair Henry Rathvon and Emily Cox. But I could not link them (or their nickname HEX) to the pairs in the puzzle. After spending too much time trying to find a 1953 DOB for them, I went back and found REGIS.
Jack Sullivan
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BarbaraK
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#29

Post by BarbaraK »

Given the title, when I saw Hobbes and Teller on the first row, I had their partners in mind before I even got to their theme answers. Once I saw them though, I started expecting all the theme answers to start with a name and assumed that the initials of the grid partners - H, T, and the rest - would spell the meta answer. Obviously that didn't work.

Another pass through the grid and I noticed Oates, thought of Hall, and decided the names in the themes didn't have to be at the beginning, but I was still expecting them to be together. I even looked at Ginger, thought of Fred, so close but it just doesn't work because of that extra I.🤦‍♀️

When I did notice that the theme answer names were all in a complete word plus one letter, that fixed my "who can ?TH?O possibly be" problem too.
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joequavis
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#30

Post by joequavis »

joequavis wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2019 10:08 pm
JJD wrote: Sun Nov 10, 2019 8:19 pm Like always, I’ve found some amazing coincidences in the clues and entries, and between them.
I wonder if we found the same amazing coincidence...let's compare notes tomorrow
One coincidence I found - I noticed several clue pairs with identical words (Portrayer in 20A / 16D; Spice in 45A / 74A, etc.) Thinking these linked clues were part of the meta-chanism, and noting a year called out in the meta clue...16D: Kent portrayer of 1978 (Reeve) --> linked to Cesar Romero (portrayer) --> Cesar Romero portrayed Christopher (Reeve) Vincente in 1978. Looked for similar links in the other clue pairs, but of course fell short.
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JJD
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#31

Post by JJD »

Ugh, I never saw the extra letter in each word.
I did find the Ginger Spice > Geri
And Miranda Hobbes was played by Cynthia Nixon, and there’s a Nixon clue.
Teller got me to the “tell a tale” clue
I even backguessed Regis, but never saw the connection.
I kept looking elsewhere, especially because there were 3 words in YE SHALL FIND.
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