#642 - "We're Surrounded!"

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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JordanianTomlinson
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#41

Post by JordanianTomlinson »

Got it with a lot of help from Joe. Struggling more with the week 3s than 4s these days
chnest
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#42

Post by chnest »

I think I have the core idea, but not sure how to proceed :)
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norrin2
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#43

Post by norrin2 »

Well, I've had three nudges (Thanks, Muggles!) and still can't get it. Can someone please give me a shove?
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Streroto
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#44

Post by Streroto »

Wow. So many happy campers. I am completely LAS. I got a delayed start as I was visiting my grandson (yay) which has happened way too infrequently in his 9 month life. So if/when I go down the tubes on this one I won’t have a single regret.

Stay well all
Andrew Bradburn
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#45

Post by Andrew Bradburn »

My short streak is over at 9 weeks, time to start a new one. I made an educated guess (wrongly it turned out), as I was never going to get this. Could only find one thread to follow, and nothing ever developed from it. I can always tell that I will struggle with a puzzle when I have no clue what the title is referring to, and cannot figure it out in due course. My hat is off to those who solve Mr. Gaffney's puzzles every single week. I am getting better at them, but often they are just too tough for me.
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Kaille
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#46

Post by Kaille »

Week 3s are always the death of me. I am shamelessly asking for a nudge if anyone is still out there.
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DrTom
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#47

Post by DrTom »

Kaille wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 9:50 am Week 3s are always the death of me. I am shamelessly asking for a nudge if anyone is still out there.
Nudge unabashedly sent! Check your PM
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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Kaille
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#48

Post by Kaille »

Pretty sure I have it! Thanks for the nudges. I don't know how I missed it!
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tonyrobots
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#49

Post by tonyrobots »

Guess I'll chalk this one up as another miss, unless lightning strikes in the next 20 minutes. The misses been piling up lately! To be fair though, I've been a bit distracted and spending less time staring at grids, unfortunately.
Big Mac
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#50

Post by Big Mac »

I decided not to 16A and got my second Hail Mary completion of the year. I submitted Blue's Clues at 11:59am in desperation. Wow.
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tonyrobots
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#51

Post by tonyrobots »

Yup, same, @Big Mac. Last minute Hail Mary for the "win." Now will try to backsolve.
Last edited by tonyrobots on Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
damefox
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#52

Post by damefox »

My "spoiler" from an earlier post:
damefox wrote: Sun Sep 20, 2020 5:22 pm I predict many correct Hail Mary guesses this week (on this and the WSJ).
Looks like I may have been right.
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tonyrobots
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#53

Post by tonyrobots »

@damefox Gotta admit that your post may have given me the confidence (?) to submit my guess.
Big Mac
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#54

Post by Big Mac »

damefox wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:12 pm My "spoiler" from an earlier post:
damefox wrote: Sun Sep 20, 2020 5:22 pm I predict many correct Hail Mary guesses this week (on this and the WSJ).
Looks like I may have been right.
Yep. The apostrophe pattern was too much of a coincidence. I saw it immediately when completing the grid and then never got beyond it (despite writing down the surrounding letter pattern several times - d'oh!). Submitting the the most well-known answer with an apostrophe seemed prudent having gotten that far.
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Joe Ross
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#55

Post by Joe Ross »

20200919 MGWCC We re Surrounded solution 1.png
Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024

PLATELET 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 ENORMOUS 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
𝟰𝟬% 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰,
𝟯𝟬% 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰,
𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮. 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘!
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Richard B.
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#56

Post by Richard B. »

Would it have been more elegant (and/or complete) to have had the first letter of each of the clues for the 5 relevant three letter entries to have been C-L-U-E-S?
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norrin2
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#57

Post by norrin2 »

Why is it only the three letter words that count? Isn't the G in MIDGE surrounded by D and E? And the T in TATS by the A and the S?
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Joe Ross
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#58

Post by Joe Ross »

norrin2 wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:28 pm Why is it only the three letter words that count? Isn't the G in MIDGE surrounded by D and E? And the T in TATS by the A and the S?
Mots croisés d'élégance!
Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024

PLATELET 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 ENORMOUS 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
𝟰𝟬% 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰,
𝟯𝟬% 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰,
𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮. 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘!
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norrin2
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#59

Post by norrin2 »

Joe Ross wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:49 pm
norrin2 wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:28 pm Why is it only the three letter words that count? Isn't the G in MIDGE surrounded by D and E? And the T in TATS by the A and the S?
Mots croisés d'élégance!
More like Mots croisés déroutant!
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Jacksull
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#60

Post by Jacksull »

I solved the BLUE’S part of the meta, but where does the CLUES part come from? Did I miss it, or is it just understood?

I did find a “C” surrounded by AHAH, but that was it for me.
Jack Sullivan
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