"In Bed By 9" - December 18, 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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Meg
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#321

Post by Meg »

MikeMillerwsj wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:08 am Greetings--There's no print WSJ on the next two Fridays for Christmas and New Years, but we don't want contest fans to be deprived, so look for contests on the next two Thursdays (due the usual time, midnight Sunday, so you get the gift of an extra day). Happy holidays, stay safe and solve swiftly!
So now I’m wondering if Mike is referring to the print edition, which could mean that the digital version will be available on Wed. At 4:00.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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joequavis
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#322

Post by joequavis »

MikeMillerwsj wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:08 am Greetings--we at puzzles HQ were stumped by this clever contest, perhaps because we are not acquainted with the workings of snooze buttons. As always we are humbled by the prowess of our solvers--a robust 1312 responses, about 77% correct (about a typical rate for our contests).

Lots of guesses from the (surprisingly) large lexicon of 6-letter sleep-related words, including ASLEEP (42), ZZZZZZ (26), SLEEPY (11), DREAMS (7), SNORES (7), ZONKED (6), and RETIRE (4), among others.

Congrats to this week's winner, Wayne Phoel of Arlington, VA! And a happy public service announcement: There's no print WSJ on the next two Fridays for Christmas and New Years, but we don't want contest fans to be deprived, so look for contests on the next two Thursdays (due the usual time, midnight Sunday, so you get the gift of an extra day). Happy holidays, stay safe and solve swiftly!
I'm guessing these will post on the next two Wednesdays at 4pm EST?
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joequavis
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#323

Post by joequavis »

Meg wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 10:28 am That snooze button and I have been close friends for decades, so I knew about the 9 minutes. It occurred to me that if you were not a snoozer, you might have trouble with this meta. I had to count several times...with/without the black squares and starting with the z/or the next letter.
I usually learn something each week with these amazing puzzles. Foremost this week I learned that there are people who, for reasons I may never understand, can get out of bed without hitting the snooze button! As a kid, snooze was a way for me to practice counting by 9s while still half-asleep!!
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BethA
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#324

Post by BethA »

CATNAP, from years ago when Daisy and Tiger were only 3 months old
80F81813-C3A2-4B56-926C-BE265A87475F.jpeg
I noticed the 6 Zs while solving. I noticed important hint clues 11D and 34D, but started to get that panicky feeling — when you keep reading the clue over and over and you can read the words, but not grasp their meaning!

My first brilliant idea was to use number of squares 15x15= 225 minutes or 3 hr 45 min, and superimpose the hands of a clock on the grid, to see what letters would appear at 3:45. No.

Then took a step back and googled standard snooze time, to discover 9 minutes, and then knew what to do! (I do have a strong feeling that some alarm clock in my past had a 6-minute snooze time! So didn’t realize that 9 was “standard”)
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DrTom
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#325

Post by DrTom »

Cap'n Rick wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 8:21 am
DrTom wrote: Sun Dec 20, 2020 11:25 pm
Cap'n Rick wrote: Sun Dec 20, 2020 4:30 pm

Maybe you need to "steer" at the puzzle a little longer Dr. Tom. :lol:
Well, it had me buffaloed for a while but eventually I was able to meat the challenge. I'm glad because if I had missed this it would have been a pain in the rump.

Shanks for all your concern though always good to have a tri tipping the balance. As it turns out I was skirting the answer for quite some time but after I went to my friend Porter's house the answer beefell me. OK, I'll stop before someone tries to chuck me out the window and I hit the ground round my front door.
Touche' DrTom! You win the award for top cowPUNcher of the week!
Proving once more that indeed "a mind is a terrible thing to waste" and I have wasted mine! Well, as they say, when in doubt punt. Do I get a standing ovinetion?
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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Bob cruise director
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#326

Post by Bob cruise director »

Meg wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:27 am
MikeMillerwsj wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:08 am Greetings--There's no print WSJ on the next two Fridays for Christmas and New Years, but we don't want contest fans to be deprived, so look for contests on the next two Thursdays (due the usual time, midnight Sunday, so you get the gift of an extra day). Happy holidays, stay safe and solve swiftly!
So now I’m wondering if Mike is referring to the print edition, which could mean that the digital version will be available on Wed. At 4:00.
I have asked Mr. Miller whether it will be out on Wednesday. Stay tuned
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Bob cruise director
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#327

Post by Bob cruise director »

BarbaraK wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 10:01 am
Hidden in 3D wrote: Sun Dec 20, 2020 10:05 am Now I have the rest of the day to prepare some of my annual Christmas confections, buckeyes and toffee. The biggest challenge I will face is finding a place to hide my homemade goodies from my husband. If I'm not careful, he'll eat too many before I get a chance to share them with neighbors and friends.
IMG_3528.JPG
It is amazing how easily those sticky notes can come off and land unseen on the floor.
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Gman
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#328

Post by Gman »

There's no print WSJ on the next two Fridays for Christmas and New Years, but we don't want contest fans to be deprived, so look for contests on the next two Thursdays (due the usual time, midnight Sunday, so you get the gift of an extra day).

Thank you WSJ Crossword team! What an awesome Christmas gift!
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Bob cruise director
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#329

Post by Bob cruise director »

Gman wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:39 am There's no print WSJ on the next two Fridays for Christmas and New Years, but we don't want contest fans to be deprived, so look for contests on the next two Thursdays (due the usual time, midnight Sunday, so you get the gift of an extra day).

Thank you WSJ Crossword team! What an awesome Christmas gift!
I am working to confirm whether the contest will come out on line Wednesday at 4 pm or Thursday at 4 pm
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Deb F
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#330

Post by Deb F »

Funny. I usually try to make these so difficult. I dialed in to this one right away seeing all the Z's on the left side of the puzzle. That led me to count 9 squares, based on the title, and once I got CATNAP, went no further. Then I read Muggle comments and wondered if I had gotten it wrong because I didn't really get the significance of 11D and 34D. Only understood that once I read today's comments.

Thanks for keeping us busy over the holidays, Mike. Bob, thanks to you for the work you put into this. You're a saint!! And, once again, Happy Holidays to all. 🎄
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Bob cruise director
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#331

Post by Bob cruise director »

I was wondering if either 1) the world of WSJ submitters are getting smarter or 2) Matt and Mike are being easy on us.

Long term average from April 2016

Mike 77.1% correct answers
Matt 71.5% correct answers

Last 10 contests for each constructor

Mike 79.5% correct answers
Matt 75.4% correct answers

What does it mean???

And I just got a confirmation from Mike Miller - the contest will come out on line at 4 pm on WEDNESDAY
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BarbaraK
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#332

Post by BarbaraK »

MikeMillerwsj wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:08 am And a happy public service announcement: There's no print WSJ on the next two Fridays for Christmas and New Years, but we don't want contest fans to be deprived, so look for contests on the next two Thursdays (due the usual time, midnight Sunday, so you get the gift of an extra day). Happy holidays, stay safe and solve swiftly!
Thank you for this wonderful gift! Hope you and yours have very happy holidays!
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Wendy Walker
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#333

Post by Wendy Walker »

Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:49 am

And I just got a confirmation from Mike Miller - the contest will come out on line at 4 pm on WEDNESDAY
Wednesday is our traditional "date night." I am facing a difficult choice indeed!
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
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KayW
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#334

Post by KayW »

Wendy Walker wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 12:06 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:49 am

And I just got a confirmation from Mike Miller - the contest will come out on line at 4 pm on WEDNESDAY
Wednesday is our traditional "date night." I am facing a difficult choice indeed!
I don't see any difficulty... but then maybe that's why I don't have many date nights? ;)
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.
Scraps
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#335

Post by Scraps »

Wendy Walker wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 12:06 pm

Wednesday is our traditional "date night." I am facing a difficult choice indeed!
What could be more romantic than solving a meta together? It's certainly MY idea of a good date.
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LadyBird
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#336

Post by LadyBird »

Wendy Walker wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 12:06 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:49 am

And I just got a confirmation from Mike Miller - the contest will come out on line at 4 pm on WEDNESDAY
Wednesday is our traditional "date night." I am facing a difficult choice indeed!
That's your motivation to solve it as quickly as Al does!
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Bob cruise director
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#337

Post by Bob cruise director »

Wendy Walker wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 12:06 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:49 am

And I just got a confirmation from Mike Miller - the contest will come out on line at 4 pm on WEDNESDAY
Wednesday is our traditional "date night." I am facing a difficult choice indeed!
Would you make sure that Mark is on the zoom call tomorrow night
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eagle1279
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#338

Post by eagle1279 »

Like others, I spent lots of time counting all of the squares between the Zs and getting nowhere, although at some point depending on the counting method I got CA and thought I was headed toward CATNAP, but alas it didn't work out. I had no idea about the 9-minute snooze standard, so 11D and the title were unhelpful to me.

Worst rabbit trail: Removing from METOOERA (6D) the letters in the answer immediately below it, OREO (56D), left you with META.

Congrats to those who got it!
michaelm
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#339

Post by michaelm »

A sad aside, KT Oslin, triple Grammy winner and member of the Nashville and Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 78.
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Jaclyn
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#340

Post by Jaclyn »

Jaclyn wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 6:12 pm I'm submitting... I'm on A beach. May or may not be the right one, but it's warm.
It was absolutely NOT the right beach. Possibly in the wrong hemisphere.
In_Bed_by_9__Friday_Crossword__December_18__-_WSJ.png
I found "9:00" clocks, then anagrammed the 6 letters "in bed" to get MOPPET. Yikes.
On a good day, my moppet is in bed before 9...
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