"Two's Company" June 19, 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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DrTom
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#301

Post by DrTom »

MajordomoTom wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:18 am well, I thought I was on the E.T. shore, but turns out that I was standing in one of 7 buckets of sand on the Lido deck, looking at the sunset.

Nice construction and tip of the hat to those with G.I. answers (no GI problems, just GI answers).

Got the "Good for You", so 50% ain't bad for this weekend.
Well, if we combine our solves we are at 100%, but I gotta tip my hat to you on the MGWCC, I thought I had the path and I got a confirmation that my approach was solid, but apparently I never got my landing gear down because I'm crashing on that one - and that's the plane truth. I think it unlikely I will solve it without someone holding my hand.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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yourpalsal
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#302

Post by yourpalsal »

Arrrrrrrrgggggghhh! I had the mechanism, and I was so proud of myself for finding it, and in my rush to post I overlooked one of the seven abbreviations, and thought the puzzle was simply naming the missing pair. 100% careless error. If I’d found the seventh pair I would’ve had to figure out what to do with the seven triplets and I would’ve seen the included word, soldier. So close and yet so far. Beach jail.
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mheberlingx100
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#303

Post by mheberlingx100 »

Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 1:37 am
steveb wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:42 am
Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:35 am

I think a case could also be made for MP

Probably not as strong as GI but certainly something not a bad answer
What's the logic behind MP?
Both MP’s and GI’s are soldiers
All soldiers are GI’s, but not all soldiers are MP’s.
Ksoav
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#304

Post by Ksoav »

I got it, but didn't like that there was no way to validate G.I. in the puzzle. This also finally prompted me to learn why soldiers are called "G.I.", something I probably should have wondered a long time ago!
MaineMarge
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#305

Post by MaineMarge »

The WSJ answer reveal box says SOLDIER suggests G.I. My brain first suggested M.P. Later I considered G.I., but I could not find confirmation for either in the unused 3 letter grid words or elsewhere.
That MP in the middle of COMPANY could be a big hint?
This is a good lesson for newbies that Matt is not above requiring us to INFER, not to FIND the answer, which leaves us with these 2 good choices. Granted, G.I. would probably pop up more frequently in a word association test.
I expect there will be a lot of submissions for MP.
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Bob cruise director
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#306

Post by Bob cruise director »

mheberlingx100 wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 6:08 am
Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 1:37 am
steveb wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:42 am

What's the logic behind MP?
Both MP’s and GI’s are soldiers
All soldiers are GI’s, but not all soldiers are MP’s.
But all detectives are not PI's
All Added Notes are not PS's
All Aliens are not ET's
All Radio Hosts are not DJ's
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Bob cruise director
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#307

Post by Bob cruise director »

Ksoav wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 6:38 am I got it, but didn't like that there was no way to validate G.I. in the puzzle. This also finally prompted me to learn why soldiers are called "G.I.", something I probably should have wondered a long time ago!
There are a lot of justifications but the most common was that everything they use is "government issue"
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ReB
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#308

Post by ReB »

Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 7:00 am
mheberlingx100 wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 6:08 am
Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 1:37 am
Both MP’s and GI’s are soldiers
All soldiers are GI’s, but not all soldiers are MP’s.
But all detectives are not PI's
All Added Notes are not PS's
All Aliens are not ET's
All Radio Hosts are not DJ's
That's true if you just look at the theme answer words. But if you look also at the clues, you will find sufficient specificity I think.

18A Mike Hammer or Sam Spade were PI's (if I recall correctly)
20A Capital divided into four quadrants specifies which "Washington" is the answer
31A Written afterthought is pretty much a textbook definition of P.S.
38A Elliott and Gertie meet one in a 1982 movie specifies a specific alien (i.e. ET)
40A Taker of the Hippocratic Oath makes this a reference to all physicians, as opposed to a specialist (this had the least source of confusion)
52A Abode on a road clarifies that were talking specifically about an RV as opposed to some other mobile trailer (not likely to have gone astray)
58A Spinner over the airwaves takes us back to the source of the term "DJ" (disc jockey), who would juggle around and play vinyl records (which spin in the player) one after another
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Bird Lives
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#309

Post by Bird Lives »

Magnum, Rex Morgan , Cousin Brucie, and Elliott’s friend walk into a bar in Georgetown. There’s a Winnebago parked outside. The jukebox is playing the Beatles, something about I Love You.
“Hey Matt,” they ask the bartender, “Who’s the guy in in the corner in the camo outfit?”
“Some dogface grunt.”
“MP?”
“No, just a G.I.”
Last edited by Bird Lives on Mon Jun 22, 2020 8:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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MarkL
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#310

Post by MarkL »

MPs are a very small, specialized subset of GIs - General Infantry(men)(?)
Last edited by MarkL on Mon Jun 22, 2020 8:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
'tis... A lovely day for a Guinness!
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ReB
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#311

Post by ReB »

As fare as validating "GI", agree that it's not ironclad, but certainly G.I. is probably the most universal initialism for an (assumed) American soldier. At some point it's up to the prerogative of an author as to how tightly to weave the logic.

I liked that the title "Two's Company" implied "Three's a Crowd" which kept me from falling into several rabbit holes* after coming to their edges - and which worked on my subconscious and finally pointed me to the three letter words and suggested the mechanism for generating the answer clue (that it would involve an extra letter that created the "crowd" which would have to be disinvited. The rest then fell smoothly into place.

*[An early "rabbit hole" was doing a letter frequency analysis for the seven theme initialism, which found 2P's but 3D's (and the rest were single occurrences) - but then in particular the "three's a crowd scared me away as a warning that this approach didn't fit the title phrase and thus I shouldn't pursue further.]
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#312

Post by Joe Ross »

Survey question, IYHonestO:

Was 45A: ME(H)TA an intended Easter egg left for us to find?
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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ReB
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#313

Post by ReB »

MajordomoTom wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:18 am well, I thought I was on the E.T. shore, but turns out that I was standing in one of 7 buckets of sand on the Lido deck, looking at the sunset.

Nice construction and tip of the hat to those with G.I. answers (no GI problems, just GI answers).

Got the "Good for You", so 50% ain't bad for this weekend.
What (or where) is "Good for You"?
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ReB
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#314

Post by ReB »

Joe Ross wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 8:30 am Survey question, IYHonestO:

Was 45A: ME(H)TA an intended Easter egg left for us to find?
Given the theme answer, more likely an IED
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Bob cruise director
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#315

Post by Bob cruise director »

Joe Ross wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 8:30 am Survey question, IYHonestO:

Was 45A: ME(H)TA an intended Easter egg left for us to find?
Also I have seen the clue "Nudge(s)" a couple of times recently and wanted to put in Hint(s).
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Joe Ross
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#316

Post by Joe Ross »

ReB wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 8:50 am
MajordomoTom wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:18 am Got the "Good for You", so 50% ain't bad for this weekend.
What (or where) is "Good for You"?
Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest, by subscription.
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!
jhaburk
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#317

Post by jhaburk »

I agree with the comments about getting confirmation of GI in the puzzle. I immediately looked to see if there was a three letter entry in the grid that would confirm. Seeing none, then looked to see if there was maybe something like LT (for lieutenant). Still nothing. The only thing at all was SP, for Specialist, but the Army has dropped this term.
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femullen
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#318

Post by femullen »

I almost sent in "MT," because that's what I was coming up.

Got step 1 then stepped on a landmine. But I was dancing all around the right approach and thinking things I should have been thinking, like "three's a crowd" and following that hint. These near misses at least give me hope that some day I'll no longer be a noob and these puzzles will begin to dawn on me.

Since joining this scurvy crew at the end of February, I'm 3 for 16, which probably makes me the anchor man or pretty close. Don't know why I subject myself to this agony every week, but there's something pleasant in it, like the supposed endorphins released when eating jalapenos. Of course, on the rare occasions I get one of these things, there's that satisfying Aha! Finally, I also enjoy visiting with you, my more talented meta-pals. Talk to you all Thursday night.
For nudges, feel free to PM me. I won't have a clue how to help you, but you might shove me ashore.
SeanS
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#319

Post by SeanS »

mheberlingx100 wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 6:08 am
Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 1:37 am
steveb wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:42 am

What's the logic behind MP?
Both MP’s and GI’s are soldiers
All soldiers are GI’s, but not all soldiers are MP’s.
I'd like to add-- not all MPs are Soldiers. Soldier implies US Army. The Navy, Marines, Air Force also have their own MPs who are definitely NOT Soldiers.
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Joey Avocado
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#320

Post by Joey Avocado »

I submitted PL, for Platoon Leader, an Army position

PaL is a three letter word found in the grid and so the theme continues.

Right?
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