#54 - "No Need To Fill Me In"

[Hector]

The answer to the metapuzzle is a six-letter plural.

[Hector]

Clever as ever, but went quickly. Maybe a good first one for PGWCC newbies?

[TMart]

Fun but quick. Agree with Hector, good for beginners - not obvious, but not impossible.

[Al Sisti]

Loved it, and yes, some people will solve it without even noticing the additional level of terrific PGW-style elegance.

[RPardoe]

Loved it, and yes, some people will solve it without even noticing the additional level of terrific PGW-style elegance.

Count me as one of those who didn't notice that additional level (though I did delay submitting while seeing if I could find it. Will wait for the eventual reveal.)

[Beth Tyrpin]

Clever and fun.

[ChrisKochmanski]

Indeed enjoyable. I've submitted the answer that came quickly, but now I'm intrigued by the "additional level." Can't say I'm seeing it offhand ...

[FrankieHeck]

Beautiful. Took a sidestep in the wrong direction, but then it all came together.

[Al Sisti]

Indeed enjoyable. I've submitted the answer that came quickly, but now I'm intrigued by the "additional level." Can't say I'm seeing it offhand ...

You may have seen it; I had to admit I missed it.

[ChrisKochmanski]

Peter was kind enough to email me to explain the additional level. Yes, just for a flash, something like this idea did occur to me, at one point during the solving. But as usual, I didn’t follow through on the thought. And so missed out on some extra fun. Good puzzle!

[Cindy]

Solved thanks to my husband and less than thirty seconds of his time.

I have a fried brain from CARES documentation. Still no excuse.

[LesY]

Got it, and will now go in search of the additional level. I recognized one thing that might qualify, but will look again. I need as many puzzles to solve as possible right now!

[boharr]

This is the first time I've tried one of these PGWCCs. Got the grid, but now I'm starring at it. Are these metas considered difficult?

[Hector]

This is the first time I've tried one of these PGWCCs. Got the grid, but now I'm starring at it. Are these metas considered difficult?

Yes, they are! And pgw's are distinctive for being very innovative with "mechanisms" and employing remarkable "constructions" (puzzles meeting combinations of constraints, imposed by the mechanism, that you might not expect to be jointly satisfiable).

As with lots of meta puzzles, it might be useful on this one to print it out, even if you've solved it in an app. That can let you see things and annotate or highlight items of possible interest in the clues, grid, title, and prompt. Always a go-to move when "staring at the grid" doesn't spark insight.

(It should also be a tiny bit helpful and encouraging to see that some solvers seem to have gotten this one "in less than thirty seconds," or the like. It can't be a horribly intricate and obscure mechanism if that's some people's experience. So if you find yourself anagramming the vertically-symmetric letters in every other adjective in the grid, you might be on the wrong track. )

[boharr]

This is the first time I've tried one of these PGWCCs. Got the grid, but now I'm starring at it. Are these metas considered difficult?

Yes, they are! And pgw's are distinctive for being very innovative with "mechanisms" and employing remarkable "constructions" (puzzles meeting combinations of constraints, imposed by the mechanism, that you might not expect to be jointly satisfiable).

As with lots of meta puzzles, it might be useful on this one to print it out, even if you've solved it in an app. That can let you see things and annotate or highlight items of possible interest in the clues, grid, title, and prompt. Always a go-to move when "staring at the grid" doesn't spark insight.

(It should also be a tiny bit helpful and encouraging to see that some solvers seem to have gotten this one "in less than thirty seconds," or the like. It can't be a horribly intricate and obscure mechanism if that's some people's experience. So if you find yourself anagramming the odd letters in every other adjective in the grid, you might be on the wrong track. )

Thanks for the advice. I'll have another go at it.

[edot]

Enjoyable solve!

[Meg]

You know when Hermione says, "How could I be so stupid?" Except she pronounces it "steeyewpid". That's what I said after seeing the thing and then looking for something much more complicated. Ah well. I got it eventually.

[ChrisKochmanski]

I wonder if a few of us have maybe overplayed a bit the "additional level" to this puzzle. Maybe it's not so much an additional level as just an added realization or interpretation that can make the solve especially delicious. But you don't actually need to see this extra ... thing ... to solve the puzzle.

In other words, this is not a PAGEANT situation, for anyone who may be worrying about that.

I can say too that another solver has potentially seen even ANOTHER added twist to the solve, which too can heighten appreciation of the puzzle.

We'll probably want to share thoughts on these "added" ingredients when Peter posts the solution next week.

[Al Sisti]

I wonder if a few of us have maybe overplayed a bit the "additional level" to this puzzle. Maybe it's not so much an additional level as just an added realization or interpretation that can make the solve especially delicious. But you don't actually need to see this extra ... thing ... to solve the puzzle.

In other words, this is not a PAGEANT situation, for anyone who may be worrying about that.

I can say too that another solver has potentially seen even ANOTHER added twist to the solve, which too can heighten appreciation of the puzzle.

We'll probably want to share thoughts on these "added" ingredients when Peter posts the solution next week.

Yes, well described... between how you put it, and Hector's explanation, that sums up PGW's "extra mile style" better than I did initially.

[Al Sisti]

You know when Hermione says, "How could I be so stupid?" Except she pronounces it "steeyewpid". That's what I said after seeing the thing and then looking for something much more complicated. Ah well. I got it eventually.

You may be a lot of things, but "steeyewpid" isn't one of them!