"Executive Search" - June 5, 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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MaineMarge
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:57 pm

#481

Post by MaineMarge »

I can’t let this opportunity pass by.
My college anthropology prof was given to embellishing his lectures with irrelevant asides.
I’ve never forgotten this one:

Poke the tailor and he’ll fill more orders.

That reminder of presidential sequence actually came in handy with a WSJ crossword clue some years ago
“ president preceding Fillmore”.
I know the early and the recent ordering, but I’m lost in the midstream- except for these 3.
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Streroto
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#482

Post by Streroto »

Surprised no one has mentioned all the nicknames in the grid. CHET, TRU, CAL, W, TR (or TED), RON, even ERA (part of Monroe’s nickname). I went deep down this rabbit hole among many others. I usually get the WSJCC meta and am 0/2 past two weeks...ouch. Never left the bar again this week. Isaac make it a double!!

Ah well Thursday is another day...to paraphrase TARA DENIZEN.

Stay well all.
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C=64
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Location: PDX

#483

Post by C=64 »

I'm a newbie who blithely ignored the crux of the two-word hint and found a bunch of unsatisfying possibilities that other folks have mentioned, such as MONROE, REAGAN, and a brief look at our boys from Vermont, CHET AR TH UR and CALyx COOGILLEEGE.

But here's my mad rabbit hole, straight down the center column: ONE SELLFOR EWE must mean "1 cell for you" which indicates answer 1D, james k. POKE. Maybe 54D POLO was also involved, 54-40 or fight?

I wisely decided not to submit a guess. 😀
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michaelm
Posts: 487
Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2020 3:21 pm

#484

Post by michaelm »

C=64 wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:57 pm I'm a newbie who blithely ignored the crux of the two-word hint and found a bunch of unsatisfying possibilities that other folks have mentioned, such as MONROE, REAGAN, and a brief look at our boys from Vermont, CHET AR TH UR and CALyx COOGILLEEGE.

But here's my mad rabbit hole, straight down the center column: ONE SELLFOR EWE must mean "1 cell for you" which indicates answer 1D, james k. POKE. Maybe 54D POLO was also involved, 54-40 or fight?

I wisely decided not to submit a guess. 😀
Tremendous work there!
Haven’t laughed as hard in a long time.
KeepQuiet, Silent CALyx COOGILLEEGE
MaineMarge
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:57 pm

#485

Post by MaineMarge »

Streroto wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:17 pm Surprised no one has mentioned all the nicknames in the grid. CHET, TRU, CAL, W, TR (or TED), RON, even ERA (part of Monroe’s nickname).
Count me in the executive nickname search.
That early Chet was a harbinger of many false leads to come.
MaineMarge
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#486

Post by MaineMarge »

Matt has many posts on this meta over on Crossword Fiend

https://crosswordfiend.com/2020/06/07/w ... ne-5-2020/

He didn’t know ZT was the 12th prez
Interesting back and forth thoughts about the Ronald Reagan option.
Dplass
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Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:09 am

#487

Post by Dplass »

I was also considering a non US GOVERNMENT president. Like the president of a large US company
MikeMillerwsj
Posts: 286
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:46 pm

#488

Post by MikeMillerwsj »

This puzzle clearly threw a curveball to lots of solvers! We had 1219 entries, about 60% correct. Lots of votes for NIXON (67, I think because you could spell out the 12 letters of his name in the 12 two-word anwers?), VAN BUREN (33, a two-word president), MONROE (37, why?), plus lots and lots of others.

Congratulations to this week's winner, Debbie Torrance of Atlanta!
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Streroto
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Location: Newtown Square, PA

#489

Post by Streroto »

Thanks Mike for the #s and major hats off to all the solvers and to Debbie!
Inca
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:55 pm

#490

Post by Inca »

yourpalsal wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 2:20 am
TPS wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 12:55 am
yourpalsal wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 12:46 am Call me difficult, but I don’t find the answer so satisfying. I went with Ronald Reagan because his was the only 12 letter, two word official Presidential name (no middle initial) whose letters could be distributed one letter per two-word answer. Folks, why is my answer less valid just because it wasn’t the intended answer? I’m not being rhetorical - it’s an honest question.
PAYUP - A
YOURERIGHT - R
OHHI - O
KEEPQUIET - E
ANGLEE - G
NOMORE - N
GRAPEJUICE - A
SELLFOR - L
EASEBY - A
DEJAVU - D
XEROXCOPY - R
IWON - N
If it had been prompted similar to JEFFERSON AIRPLANE it would have invalidated your answer - but since it wasn’t I think your answer is fine. And that’s why I’ve said this meta could have been a little bit better.
Thank you, TPS. I rewrote my post to pay respect to Matt Gaffney, and for ease of use:

Matt Gaffney is amazing, a genius, and this is another strong meta. I don’t believe his answer is the sole answer. I went with Ronald Reagan because his was the only 12 letter, two word official Presidential name (no middle initial) whose letters could be distributed one letter per two-word answer. Folks, why is my answer less valid just because it wasn’t the intended answer? I’m not being rhetorical - it’s an honest question.

YOURERIGHT - R
OHHI - O
NOMORE - N
GRAPEJUICE - A
SELLFOR - L
DEJAVU - D
XEROXCOPY - R
KEEPQUIET - E
PAYUP - A
ANGLEE - G
EASEBY - A
IWON - N
It wasn't my submission and given the 2 answers it is obvious that MG intended for it to be ZT, but I absolutely think Ronald Reagan is a perfectly legitimate answer as well....good searching skills.
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Hector
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#491

Post by Hector »

MikeMillerwsj wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 8:49 am This puzzle clearly threw a curveball to lots of solvers! We had 1219 entries, about 60% correct. Lots of votes for NIXON (67, I think because you could spell out the 12 letters of his name in the 12 two-word anwers?), VAN BUREN (33, a two-word president), MONROE (37, why?), plus lots and lots of others.

Congratulations to this week's winner, Debbie Torrance of Atlanta!
MONROE because the exact anagram NOMORE is in the grid. You'd have to have had significant Gaffney experience to know (as I certainly did) that it couldn't be that easy or that lazy of a mechanism, and it fits the title at least as well as the actual answer, so I wouldn't myself be comfortable rejecting it.
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MarkL
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#492

Post by MarkL »

Hmm.... Reagan did not make the top three. This week's numbers surprise me. Would have expected more entries and a higher number correct.
'tis... A lovely day for a Guinness!
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Joe Ross
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#493

Post by Joe Ross »

boharr wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 3:30 pm
Tony S wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 3:25 pm "It is interesting that the hardest metas seem to be a piece of cake for others, and others struggle over what pops out at me quickly. I guess the sea looks very different to some versus others."

After missing two metas in a row (King Me and Build Your Brand) I'm back on track. I found this one to be a KAS 1. The giveaway clue, "two word" answers, prompted me to write all of them down on paper --- I immediately noticed an unusual array of letters. I then wrote out the alphabet and systematically checked off the ones that were used, leaving only Z and T. I'm not sure I would have seen this without the pencil-and-paper exercise --- my hat's off to those who see these things on their phones! And, of course, hat's off to Matt Gafney for an incredible construction.
Pencil and paper seem required for this one.
While pencil & paper worked well for many muggles, this puzzle was custom-made for using Excel. It took me less than a minute to:
  • search for, copy, paste, edit, & sort the U. S. presidents
  • type out the initials of 67A two-word grid answers
  • sort them to find that Z & T were missing
I was lucky to find the method so quickly, but Excel also allowed me to solve this puzzle in a personal best time.
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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boharr
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Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:57 am
Location: Westchester, NY

#494

Post by boharr »

Joe Ross wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:46 pm
boharr wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 3:30 pm

While pencil & paper worked well for many muggles, this puzzle was custom-made for using Excel. It took me less than a minute to:
  • search for, copy, paste, edit, & sort the U. S. presidents
  • type out the initials of 67A two-word grid answers
  • sort them to find that Z & T were missing
I was lucky to find the method so quickly, but Excel also allowed me to solve this puzzle in a personal best time.
I believe you. I’ve checked out your Excel templates. They look great. But I don’t think I can master the customizations I’d need to do to use them easily.
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Joe Ross
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#495

Post by Joe Ross »

boharr wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 6:03 pm I believe you. I’ve checked out your Excel templates. They look great. But I don’t think I can master the customizations I’d need to do to use them easily.
I'm not sure of any customizations you'd need, but I'm interested in helping, if I can.

All muggles may PM me with questions & comments. Better: Ask questions & request help in the Topic/Thread.

The form is much easier to use, now, & has evolved over time due to muggles' questions, comments, suggestions, and sharing of their methods & screen captures. All are welcome and appreciated!
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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boharr
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#496

Post by boharr »

Joe Ross wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 6:17 pm
boharr wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 6:03 pm I believe you. I’ve checked out your Excel templates. They look great. But I don’t think I can master the customizations I’d need to do to use them easily.
I'm not sure of any customizations you'd need, but I'm interested in helping, if I can.

All muggles may PM me with questions & comments. Better: Ask questions & request help in the Topic/Thread.

The form is much easier to use, now, & has evolved over time due to muggles' questions, comments, suggestions, and sharing of their methods & screen captures. All are welcome and appreciated!
Thanks, Joe
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TPS
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#497

Post by TPS »

Joe Ross wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 6:17 pm I'm not sure of any customizations you'd need, but I'm interested in helping, if I can.

All muggles may PM me with questions & comments. Better: Ask questions & request help in the Topic/Thread.

The form is much easier to use, now, & has evolved over time due to muggles' questions, comments, suggestions, and sharing of their methods & screen captures. All are welcome and appreciated!
I just want to say THANK YOU Joe - In the few months I've been active you have been nothing but a valuable resource. It is nice to have someone with both your experience, wisdom, and patience - willing to provide the support that you do!
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