"Connect Four" May 5, 2023

[woozy]

Whoa whoa whoa… why would Mighty Mouse count? GHTY are right next to each other too!

The H isn't connected to T. The theme entry letters are adjacent, and in order.

Also, the four-letter part of the themers were “connected” on the QWERTY keyboard. POLK and LOKI , DREW and DXCV. So that left the 5th themer (TRES) without a “connected” partner word BUT we were told to look for an “appropriate 6th themer” so that told me where on the keyboard to look for this 4-letter word i.e. had to be “connected” to TRES. The only thing that fit all the conditions was FRED .
So, to me, that’s where the “CONNECT 4” title gave me a click to the answer.

Could you explain further. I'm not sure how Polk is "connected" to Loki or any of the others.

But anything concrete to confirm is good and I think you are onto something.

[woozy]

In the Connect Four game, the markers have to be four consecutive horizontally, vertically, or diagonally…..NOT just in a grouping. For instance, in this puzzle, LOKI is in a block, and the letters are NOT horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. The Connect Four title in the meta is a misdirection, and doesn’t correspond to the Connect Four game rules.

The First Rule of Fight Club Metas is There are No Rules.

and besides no one ever said it had anything to do with the GAME "Connect Four" ...... and the title was NOT a misdirection at all but rather it told us a hint to look at 4-letter words and to connect them somehow (as it turns out on the QWERTY keyboard).

Also misdirection is not only legal and to be expected, creative misdirection is good.

I thought the game was named for a phrase but it seems it wasn't. So I'd say the title refers to the game but there is no obligation as to *how* a title must refer to a concept.

I'm calling this completely fair. "Misdirection" is a stretch but I'll accept it. But I just won't accept it as an issue.

[Ergcat]

The H isn't connected to T. The theme entry letters are adjacent, and in order.

Also, the four-letter part of the themers were “connected” on the QWERTY keyboard. POLK and LOKI , DREW and DXCV. So that left the 5th themer (TRES) without a “connected” partner word BUT we were told to look for an “appropriate 6th themer” so that told me where on the keyboard to look for this 4-letter word i.e. had to be “connected” to TRES. The only thing that fit all the conditions was FRED .
So, to me, that’s where the “CONNECT 4” title gave me a click to the answer.

Could you explain further. I'm not sure how Polk is "connected" to Loki or any of the others.

But anything concrete to confirm is good and I think you are onto something.

Polk and Loki are “connected” physically on the keyboard as they share “OLK” keys on the far right. (Sorta like a Venn Diagram!). Drew and DXCV are similarly “connected” to each other on the keyboard albeit with just the “D”. So, that left TRES without a QWERTY keyboard “connection”/partner. If you look at TRES on the keyboard you will find FRED “connected” physically to TRES by the “RE” keys. That is what I meant.

[MikeMillerwsj]

The contest answer is FRED FLINTSTONE. As suggested at 69-Across, one four-letter part of each theme answer can be found by tracing a path through four adjacent computer keys: DREW, LOKI, POLK, DXCV and TRES. FRED can similarly be found, suggesting the contest answer.

This was a tricky one, especially for print solvers! We had a pretty big turnout with 1,644 entries, about 74% correct--right in line with our usual percentage. Incorrect guessers romped through all the famous alliterative cartoon characters: PORKY PIG (33), DONALD DUCK (31), BUGS BUNNY (31), DAFFY DUCK (29), PEPE LE PEW (22), MICKEY MOUSE (15), ROAD RUNNER (10) and several others.

Still waiting to confirm this week's winner, so stay tuned...

And... congratulations to this week's winner, Matthew Robson of Mendham, NJ!

[michaelm]

The contest answer is FRED FLINTSTONE. As suggested at 69-Across, one four-letter part of each theme answer can be found by tracing a path through four adjacent computer keys: DREW, LOKI, POLK, DXCV and TRES. FRED can similarly be found, suggesting the contest answer.

This was a tricky one, especially for print solvers! We had a pretty big turnout with 1,644 entries, about 74% correct--right in line with our usual percentage. Incorrect guessers romped through all the famous alliterative cartoon characters: PORKY PIG (33), DONALD DUCK (31), BUGS BUNNY (31), DAFFY DUCK (29), PEPE LE PEW (22), MICKEY MOUSE (15), ROAD RUNNER (10) and several others.

Still waiting to confirm this week's winner, so stay tuned...

And... congratulations to this week's winner, Matthew Robson of Mendham, NJ!

In honor of Matthew and Porky Pig, who got 33 email submissions this week, That's All Folks!

[mheberlingx100]

Also, the four-letter part of the themers were “connected” on the QWERTY keyboard. POLK and LOKI , DREW and DXCV. So that left the 5th themer (TRES) without a “connected” partner word BUT we were told to look for an “appropriate 6th themer” so that told me where on the keyboard to look for this 4-letter word i.e. had to be “connected” to TRES. The only thing that fit all the conditions was FRED .
So, to me, that’s where the “CONNECT 4” title gave me a click to the answer.

Could you explain further. I'm not sure how Polk is "connected" to Loki or any of the others.

But anything concrete to confirm is good and I think you are onto something.

Polk and Loki are “connected” physically on the keyboard as they share “OLK” keys on the far right. (Sorta like a Venn Diagram!). Drew and DXCV are similarly “connected” to each other on the keyboard albeit with just the “D”. So, that left TRES without a QWERTY keyboard “connection”/partner. If you look at TRES on the keyboard you will find FRED “connected” physically to TRES by the “RE” keys. That is what I meant.

Now I’m wondering— are there any Muggles out there with non QWERTY keyboards? Probably not many, but they do sell them on Amazon.

[ZooAnimalsOnWheels]

For a short time I was considering the icons on the WSJ crossword puzzle web page: pen/pencil, submit, contest info, erase, and print. Those are the directly down from the grid itself, and there are five of them to match the five theme answers! But there was no amount of rabbit hunting that could make those a plausible part of the meta, and the fact that we were looking for a sixth possible themer told me I was looking in the wrong place. Fortunately, the keyboard was the next place I looked.

[Joe Ross]

Could you explain further. I'm not sure how Polk is "connected" to Loki or any of the others.

But anything concrete to confirm is good and I think you are onto something.

Polk and Loki are “connected” physically on the keyboard as they share “OLK” keys on the far right. (Sorta like a Venn Diagram!). Drew and DXCV are similarly “connected” to each other on the keyboard albeit with just the “D”. So, that left TRES without a QWERTY keyboard “connection”/partner. If you look at TRES on the keyboard you will find FRED “connected” physically to TRES by the “RE” keys. That is what I meant.

Now I’m wondering— are there any Muggles out there with non QWERTY keyboards? Probably not many, but they do sell them on Amazon.

I use a different keyboard on my phone, which is more one-hand/one-thumb friendly. Oddly, it doesn't clash with the QWERTY I use on PC.

[MajordomoTom]

WER
..D

OI
LK

PO
.KL

.ERT
S

.D
XCV

RE
FD

Connect Four >> the "four are connected" in each of these.

[DBMiller]

Saw this today at Cedar Point...