"Sound Off" - May 29, 2020

A place to discuss the weekly Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle Contest, starting every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Please do not post any answers or hints before the contest deadline which is midnight Sunday Eastern time.
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Hector
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#321

Post by Hector »

WORKERBEES and VIOLINBOWS have salient synonyms: "drones" and "fiddlesticks." OBOES kind of drone, and BAH is a synonym for (another use of) "fiddlesticks." So I was stuck there for a while.
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boharr
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#322

Post by boharr »

tigerfly222 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 11:28 am
CPJohnson wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 8:36 am
tigerfly222 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 5:53 am The trigger for me came whilst focusing on the monosyllabic 2nd word of the long answers. I was considering whether the G in HIGH and SIGN could be considered a silent letter, and then SINAI - SIGN-I jumped out at me.
Four long answers plus the middle answer is a common pattern, I think. My first inkling came when I decided to concentrate on the monosyllabic 2nd words of the long answers and then noticed MEN and MENU.
Gee, it's almost like we're related or something! :lol:
Big family. SIGN/SANAI and MEN/MENU were the first two I spotted. Unexpectedly because I was first concentrating on BEES and BOWS.
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Colin
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#323

Post by Colin »

Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:52 am I got a lot of amusement about the comments that addressed two of the key words. First there were a lot of comments early about BOZO. These were followed by HEIDI commenting about here name. I did not know if they drew anyone's attention to the meta solution process.
Not me. I was far too determined to find a fifth 3-letter comic book sound like EEK, BAH, EEP and POP. Don’t ask me why... thought that revelation would come if I found it!
Nice puzzle though - not seen letter sounds in a meta until now (relative newcomer). Another one for the list!
One world. One planet. One future.
Nlobb
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#324

Post by Nlobb »

I got sidetracked on high going with hypos not Heidi. Also oboes not bozo. Finally after going back and reading each word in the grid slowly outloud I saw the other choices. Then everything fit!!! What great fun!! Thanks to our amazing puzzle creators who provide such entertainment for us especially at times like these.
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ReB
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#325

Post by ReB »

spotter wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 10:20 am
Devilbunny wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 10:06 am Well, I had AMOEBAS instead of AMOEBAE, which gave me xxZST, so I jumped to LIZST instead of BIZET. Never thought to Google it to check. That gave me LAH instead off BAH, but LAH is a fairly common word in Singaporean English, and maybe its meaning can be dismissive? Haven’t spent a lot of time around Singaporeans lately. So I left it.

I don’t think I would have gotten it anyway, as I was far too focused on something relating to the sections of an orchestra - HORN, OBOES, maybe STEEL drums if a somewhat modern production, VIOLIN for the strings, SOLI indicating it was a choral performance... and then SOLI/STOLI kept me going for a while.
I did the exact same thing, except I had UDIO and knew the A had to be somewhere. I asked a fellow muggle for help finding the A, and it wasn't until he asked if I knew how to pronounce French names that I realized where my mistake must be. Turns out the name is LISZT, not LIZST anyway...
I hit the same little sandbar just before reaching shore looking for the A to complete AUDIO and was floundering because I had filled in 30A as LIZST. But then when I sounded out BEES+A (I had discerned that the solution was auditory), I quickly recognized BIZET (best known for his opera Carmen; Mike was a bit tricky picking a more obscure work of his, one that I hadn't heard of before).

Thus I went back to LIZST (it being the only other Z besides BOZO, which was already used) and after replacing it with BIZET, I realized that 4D was AMOEBAE - which was more accurate than AMOEBAS- and also that 30D now worked as BAH, which it didn't before. This gave me absolute certainty.
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ReB
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#326

Post by ReB »

Also, I'm still wondering if 6D OBOES was a bonus hint/clue or just happenstance? Of course the extra sound/letter here is the first syllable, not the second, but still... BTW, I would think It's not easy to find such auditory word pairs like OBOES and BOZO.
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802puzzler
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#327

Post by 802puzzler »

I was exploring similar rabbit holes: silent letters, colors, instruments, letter sounds (Bee, Tee, Dee, etc). I'm glad I quit when I did, because I would never have solved it! But I learned alot and will file this away for the future.

Off topic: what does "MGWCC" stand for? Matt Gaffney ___________???
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boharr
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#328

Post by boharr »

802puzzler wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 3:35 pm I was exploring similar rabbit holes: silent letters, colors, instruments, letter sounds (Bee, Tee, Dee, etc). I'm glad I quit when I did, because I would never have solved it! But I learned alot and will file this away for the future.

Off topic: what does "MGWCC" stand for? Matt Gaffney ___________???
Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest (MGWCC)

See under Other Meta Puzzles for links etc.
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Cindy
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#329

Post by Cindy »

802puzzler wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 3:35 pm I was exploring similar rabbit holes: silent letters, colors, instruments, letter sounds (Bee, Tee, Dee, etc). I'm glad I quit when I did, because I would never have solved it! But I learned alot and will file this away for the future.

Off topic: what does "MGWCC" stand for? Matt Gaffney ___________???
Weekly crossword contest
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CPJohnson
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#330

Post by CPJohnson »

Colin wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:59 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:52 am I got a lot of amusement about the comments that addressed two of the key words. First there were a lot of comments early about BOZO. These were followed by HEIDI commenting about here name. I did not know if they drew anyone's attention to the meta solution process.
Not me. I was far too determined to find a fifth 3-letter comic book sound like EEK, BAH, EEP and POP. Don’t ask me why... thought that revelation would come if I found it!
Nice puzzle though - not seen letter sounds in a meta until now (relative newcomer). Another one for the list!
Check out the 7-29-16 puzzle - I Put a Spell on You.
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Deb F
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#331

Post by Deb F »

I got quickly attached to bees and bows. Went down a couple of unsuccessful paths before circling back. Once I glommed on to Bizet, I just hunted and pecked until I found my way. Nice to have gotten this week’s.
Frenchy
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#332

Post by Frenchy »

Anyone else get completely hung up on all of the Russian allusions? All I could think of was Sound Off = Soundov 🤦🏻‍♀️ That was a toughie! Lots of rabbit holes.
MileHighSolver
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#333

Post by MileHighSolver »

To prove I’m not completely off my rocker with my STEAK answer...

Silent S in Scitech
Silent T in Bizet
Silent E in Ites (hard I silents the E)
Silent A in Roadsign
Silent K in Knee

I’m hungry :)
steveb
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#334

Post by steveb »

CPJohnson wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 3:58 pm
Colin wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:59 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:52 am I got a lot of amusement about the comments that addressed two of the key words. First there were a lot of comments early about BOZO. These were followed by HEIDI commenting about here name. I did not know if they drew anyone's attention to the meta solution process.
Not me. I was far too determined to find a fifth 3-letter comic book sound like EEK, BAH, EEP and POP. Don’t ask me why... thought that revelation would come if I found it!
Nice puzzle though - not seen letter sounds in a meta until now (relative newcomer). Another one for the list!
Check out the 7-29-16 puzzle - I Put a Spell on You.
That's just the one I was thinking of - one of my earliest solves shortly after I started doing these. I love the way we're all such connoisseurs now!
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boharr
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#335

Post by boharr »

MileHighSolver wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 4:37 pm To prove I’m not completely off my rocker with my STEAK answer...

Silent S in Scitech
Silent T in Bizet
Silent E in Ites (hard I silents the E)
Silent A in Roadsign
Silent K in Knee

I’m hungry :)
STEAK is always welcome.
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CPJohnson
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#336

Post by CPJohnson »

steveb wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 4:57 pm
CPJohnson wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 3:58 pm
Colin wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:59 pm

Not me. I was far too determined to find a fifth 3-letter comic book sound like EEK, BAH, EEP and POP. Don’t ask me why... thought that revelation would come if I found it!
Nice puzzle though - not seen letter sounds in a meta until now (relative newcomer). Another one for the list!
Check out the 7-29-16 puzzle - I Put a Spell on You.
That's just the one I was thinking of - one of my earliest solves shortly after I started doing these. I love the way we're all such connoisseurs now!
You were a Super Solver if you got that one as a new solver! I still struggle with the "sounds like" puzzle category.
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Jacksull
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#337

Post by Jacksull »

Lost_at_Sea wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 9:25 am BIZET, French or English?

It is not BEES - A, it's
Bees-eh

But clever meta nonetheless
I guess he’s a French Canadian.
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KayW
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#338

Post by KayW »

jimbo1 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:31 am I got AUDIO
But
44A was LETSNOT
5 A Was NOTI
Same letter as
52 A ROADSIGN and 60 A sinAI

Alls well that ends well
LETSNOT - NOT I was my detour along the way to the correct answer. And when I first found five sound-off entries, I stopped looking (HEIDI was still HAYDN at that point). But I couldn't form any words out of the mess I had. Luckily LETSNOT was not symmetrical with the other theme answers.
matthewmoravec wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 9:16 am I submitted the correct answer, although I was hampered by unknowingly mispronouncing Bizet (had thought Biz rhymed with fizz) and being stuck on HYPOS as the match for SKY HIGH for a while. It was satisfying to get the answer eventually, but I wondered if I missed something because the first words of the theme answers didn't seem to participate with the meta in any way.
I pronounce it BIZ-ZAY too. My brain still thinks I'm right about that ;) but I was able to see the connection to BEES anyway.
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
Devilbunny
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#339

Post by Devilbunny »

spotter wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 10:20 am Turns out the name is LISZT, not LIZST anyway...
And I like to pretend to myself - though we'll never know, because after this lesson that WILL be burned into my mind - that I would have spelled it correctly if asked - but with ZST sitting there waiting, it was so easy. Note to self: if the answer can be confirmed with basic Goog search, and you're not 100% sure, check it.
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anjhinz
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#340

Post by anjhinz »

I really face-palmed this one... I accidentally marked "E" for the added sound in HEIDI, leaving with me the five vowels A U E I O which I thought was a pretty sub-par way to get to VOWEL, but I figured "what else could it be?" and submitted. Whooooooooooops.
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