#611 - "AKA"

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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Meg
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#21

Post by Meg »

So nice when it just shows up!
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hcbirker
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#22

Post by hcbirker »

sharkicicles wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:30 pm On the board. Loved the Easter egg in one of the entries... I had to ask Matt if it was intentional because it literally made me LOL.
I can't find it either. Would you mind PMing it to me?
Heidi
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Hector
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#23

Post by Hector »

Nice one.
Laura M
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#24

Post by Laura M »

BarbaraK wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:13 pm I'm still awaiting leaderboard update confirmation, but no real doubt - beam me up.

I looked at this on my phone between running errands this afternoon and saw the answer, but went ahead and went through it again when I got home and only then noticed how thorough Matt was.
You (and others) must have seen something I didn't; I got the answer but still felt like it wasn't tied up in a nice bow like Matt's puzzles usually are. I'll look forward to the writeup to find out what I missed!
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ky-mike
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#25

Post by ky-mike »

Nice mid-month meta. Took some thinking. I went down a rabbit hole that I thought I wouldn't get out of before finally seeing the light.

Now back to banging my head on the table while I try to figure out PGWCC from last week.
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Streroto
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#26

Post by Streroto »

Beam me up. There are a couple ways the answer could be submitted and I assume Matt will allow several? I too will look forward to hearing about the Easter egg. I have an idea about it but not sure. Many of you solve these on a much higher plane than we mere mortals!!!
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Al Sisti
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#27

Post by Al Sisti »

Laura M wrote: Sat Feb 15, 2020 12:54 am
BarbaraK wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:13 pm I'm still awaiting leaderboard update confirmation, but no real doubt - beam me up.

I looked at this on my phone between running errands this afternoon and saw the answer, but went ahead and went through it again when I got home and only then noticed how thorough Matt was.
You (and others) must have seen something I didn't; I got the answer but still felt like it wasn't tied up in a nice bow like Matt's puzzles usually are. I'll look forward to the writeup to find out what I missed!
Although there will probably be a lot of correct answers without people knowing why or feeling confident, Matt did actually tie this one up with an elegant bow.
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oldjudge
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#28

Post by oldjudge »

I agree with Al. I thought Matt provided a path to a no doubter solution. Enjoyable puzzle!
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joequavis
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#29

Post by joequavis »

Got it, though it took me quite some time. Fun one
burak
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#30

Post by burak »

Streroto wrote: Sat Feb 15, 2020 10:12 am Beam me up. There are a couple ways the answer could be submitted and I assume Matt will allow several? I too will look forward to hearing about the Easter egg. I have an idea about it but not sure. Many of you solve these on a much higher plane than we mere mortals!!!
That's why in the comments section I literally explained how I arrived at my answer lol. This was a very enjoyable meta, liked it.
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sharkicicles
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#31

Post by sharkicicles »

hcbirker wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2020 7:27 pm
sharkicicles wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:30 pm On the board. Loved the Easter egg in one of the entries... I had to ask Matt if it was intentional because it literally made me LOL.
I can't find it either. Would you mind PMing it to me?
Done!
Orsys
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#32

Post by Orsys »

Finally. I found that one tougher than week 2.
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Thurman8er
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#33

Post by Thurman8er »

Finally got it! The red herring had me fishing in the wrong pond.
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jenirvin
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#34

Post by jenirvin »

I'm just dipping my toes into the MGWCC, but I got this week's! At least I'm pretty sure I did - seems a 100%er to me.
~ Jennifer/jenirvin
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sharkicicles
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#35

Post by sharkicicles »

So now that the post is up on Fiend I can reveal the (possible) Easter egg I was referring to. It’s 5A, ATLAW. Like the themers it contains a three letter acronym split between two words, TLA. Which stands for Three Letter Acronym.

(Edit: Matt says it was unintentional. Heck of a coincidence.)
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BarbaraK
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#36

Post by BarbaraK »

Laura M wrote: Sat Feb 15, 2020 12:54 am
BarbaraK wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:13 pm I'm still awaiting leaderboard update confirmation, but no real doubt - beam me up.

I looked at this on my phone between running errands this afternoon and saw the answer, but went ahead and went through it again when I got home and only then noticed how thorough Matt was.
You (and others) must have seen something I didn't; I got the answer but still felt like it wasn't tied up in a nice bow like Matt's puzzles usually are. I'll look forward to the writeup to find out what I missed!
What I missed at first was that the clues perfectly described both people. I was initially only looking at the grid and saw that KAGAN is another supreme court justice, INOUYE is also a senator, etc. It wasn't til later that I took another look at the clues (and google) and realized that RBG and Kagan were also both born in New York City, RFK and INOUYE were both initially elected to the senate in the 60s, etc.
Laura M
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#37

Post by Laura M »

BarbaraK wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2020 12:35 pm
Laura M wrote: Sat Feb 15, 2020 12:54 am
BarbaraK wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:13 pm I'm still awaiting leaderboard update confirmation, but no real doubt - beam me up.

I looked at this on my phone between running errands this afternoon and saw the answer, but went ahead and went through it again when I got home and only then noticed how thorough Matt was.
You (and others) must have seen something I didn't; I got the answer but still felt like it wasn't tied up in a nice bow like Matt's puzzles usually are. I'll look forward to the writeup to find out what I missed!
What I missed at first was that the clues perfectly described both people. I was initially only looking at the grid and saw that KAGAN is another supreme court justice, INOUYE is also a senator, etc. It wasn't til later that I took another look at the clues (and google) and realized that RBG and Kagan were also both born in New York City, RFK and INOUYE were both initially elected to the senate in the 60s, etc.
Huh, I did get that (h/t Google) but it still felt unfinished to me. I guess the fact that the initials MLK are immediately recognizable like the rest of the initials in the puzzle is enough, but I would have enjoyed something like the center word (GAM) turning out to be the initials of another activist/minister, for example. A lot of people are named KING.

I had a similar feeling about WSJCC this week, where I thought it was a great mechanism but (as others noted over in that thread) it would have been a nice bonus if the extra letters in OPERAS had meant something. But really I'm nitpicking, both puzzles were excellent.
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Thurman8er
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#38

Post by Thurman8er »

I'm from California, and that KAMALA entry had me stumped for quite a while.
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