Aljo Cryptic Special

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madhatter5
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Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:48 pm

Aljo Cryptic Special

#1

Post by madhatter5 »

This collaborative cryptic between myself and Al Sisti contains perhaps the easiest meta in Muggle history.


The answer to the meta will tell you what the fisherman said to the one that got away.


Kindly direct all obloquy, gripes, restraining orders, and voodoo hexes to my distinguished co-constructor, while any and all compliments, donations, and/or autograph requests should please be addressed to your humble correspondent. Submissions to the meta can be sent to either of us.

Good luck!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing
http://crossword.info/madhatter5/Aljo
https://pandorasblocks.org/crosswords-for-cancer
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Richard B.
Posts: 547
Joined: Sat May 16, 2020 1:58 pm
Location: upper west side, NYC

#2

Post by Richard B. »

Finished the grid but needed one nudge from Al for one of the entries.
Got the meta. Nicely done guys.
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Hector
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#3

Post by Hector »

Tough and satisfying cryptic. The meta proved helpful in solving it. Thanks!
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Meg
Posts: 2137
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:41 pm
Location: St. Petersburg, FL

#4

Post by Meg »

I completely forgot there’s a meta!! I’m lacking one grid entry.
Edit: I got the entry with help and have submitted the meta answer. Some funny clueing and some funny clueing. This is a puzzle that ages well. Look at it. Put it down. Take the dog out. Pick it up. Repeat as needed.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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Al Sisti
Posts: 2037
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:28 pm
Location: Whitesboro NY

#5

Post by Al Sisti »

One more quick correction, sorry. The enumeration for 14D should be (3,4). With that, now all the correct entries can come streaming in!
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boharr
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Posts: 3182
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:57 am
Location: Westchester, NY

#6

Post by boharr »

I have at best 10 answers (!), but now I'm sure I'll breeze right home.
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Dannyvee
Posts: 515
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2020 11:39 am
Location: Jamaica Plain, MA

#7

Post by Dannyvee »

Spent lots of time on and off over the past couple of days but quite satisfying to finally crack it. Hope to see more of these!
I can be found in Sheridan, NY, veejaying. (8)
LesY
Posts: 678
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 4:21 pm

#8

Post by LesY »

Excellent puzzle! Needed the same nudge as others on one of the answers but got the meta.

I hope we see more cryptics from Aljo.
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Beth Tyrpin
Posts: 512
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:11 pm

#9

Post by Beth Tyrpin »

Almost finished. One empty square.
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Wendy Walker
Posts: 1700
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:44 pm
Location: Unionville, PA

#10

Post by Wendy Walker »

OK, thanks to peer pressure (from, ahem, Meg) and this week's easy WSJ puzzle, I am taking a crack at a cryptic for the first time in years. Dear Lord, talk about humbling. I have maybe a dozen answers -- but I did get one of the long ones!
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
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boharr
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Location: Westchester, NY

#11

Post by boharr »

I have 16 answers, but no long ones.
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Al Sisti
Posts: 2037
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:28 pm
Location: Whitesboro NY

#12

Post by Al Sisti »

Depending on who has contacted Josh (madhatter5) that I don't know about, here is our leaderboard:

1. Richard B.
2. Hector
3. Meg
4. RPardoe
5. FrankieHeck
6. Dannyvee
7. LesY
8. Beth Tyrpin

If you think your name/nom should be on this list, please let Josh or me know.
Homer Buckle
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2019 5:12 pm

#13

Post by Homer Buckle »

This was a really fun puzzle to do! Thanks to the creators!!!!
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boharr
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Location: Westchester, NY

#14

Post by boharr »

I DNF. But do you know when you'll post the solution?
madhatter5
Posts: 673
Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:48 pm

#15

Post by madhatter5 »

The meta answer is spelled out on the left and right columns: I'll catch you later.
Attachments
aljo.PNG
https://pandorasblocks.org/crosswords-for-cancer
SewYoung
Posts: 726
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:25 pm
Location: Meridian, MS

#16

Post by SewYoung »

Wendy Walker wrote: Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:53 pm OK, thanks to peer pressure (from, ahem, Meg) and this week's easy WSJ puzzle, I am taking a crack at a cryptic for the first time in years. Dear Lord, talk about humbling. I have maybe a dozen answers -- but I did get one of the long ones!
This was really a tough one to start with. I am about half way through and it took me a long time to get a toehold. Check out the "National Post Cryptic: by Cox and Rathvon Saturday" puzzles under the Cryptic category on the "Other Puzzles" page. Richard B. posts those and the answer in a subsequent post the same day so if you really get stuck, you don't have to wait a long time. And feel free to ask for nudges.
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KayW
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Location: Chicago

#17

Post by KayW »

Clever! But DNF for me. I didn't start until this morning, and didn't look at the posted answer until I gave it my best shot. I got all of the answers needed for the answer except 1A and 17A but failed to read the outer columns. I was able to suss all the answers post-mortem except 2D which I still don't get???
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.
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Hector
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#18

Post by Hector »

KayW wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 2:03 pm Clever! But DNF for me. I didn't start until this morning, and didn't look at the posted answer until I gave it my best shot. I got all of the answers needed for the answer except 1A and 17A but failed to read the outer columns. I was able to suss all the answers post-mortem except 2D which I still don't get???
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridescent_shark = SWAI, and the "unknown number" is the variable Z.
madhatter5
Posts: 673
Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:48 pm

#19

Post by madhatter5 »

Hector wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 2:15 pm
KayW wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 2:03 pm Clever! But DNF for me. I didn't start until this morning, and didn't look at the posted answer until I gave it my best shot. I got all of the answers needed for the answer except 1A and 17A but failed to read the outer columns. I was able to suss all the answers post-mortem except 2D which I still don't get???
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridescent_shark = SWAI, and the "unknown number" is the variable Z.
If I were a pretentious snob I would say that a better parsing would be "Iridescent shark" = SWAI, "unknown" = Z, and "number of Africans" is the definition, because your version has a definition indicator of "of" which reads a bit strange. But of course I am not a pretentious snob.
https://pandorasblocks.org/crosswords-for-cancer
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KayW
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Location: Chicago

#20

Post by KayW »

madhatter5 wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 3:10 pm
Hector wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 2:15 pm
KayW wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 2:03 pm Clever! But DNF for me. I didn't start until this morning, and didn't look at the posted answer until I gave it my best shot. I got all of the answers needed for the answer except 1A and 17A but failed to read the outer columns. I was able to suss all the answers post-mortem except 2D which I still don't get???
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridescent_shark = SWAI, and the "unknown number" is the variable Z.
If I were a pretentious snob I would say that a better parsing would be "Iridescent shark" = SWAI, "unknown" = Z, and "number of Africans" is the definition, because your version has a definition indicator of "of" which reads a bit strange. But of course I am not a pretentious snob.
Thank you both!! This fish was the "unknown" to me :lol: and even looking at the answer I couldn't make sense of it.
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.
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