"How Romantic!" - November 2019

A monthly, music-themed meta crossword published at noon on the first Tuesday of every month. The puzzles increase in difficulty each month, and at year end there is a 13th puzzle (the "Mega-Meta") that invokes each of the 12 monthly puzzles. Currently available at https://pmxwords.com/, as well as through the Washington Post website here: MMMM at WaPo
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BrianMac
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"How Romantic!" - November 2019

#1

Post by BrianMac »

November already!

The meta for this puzzle is a song from the '70s.

Enjoy and good luck!
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hcbirker
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#2

Post by hcbirker »

Oddly quiet in here. But I can confirm I got the Mega Meta! (Heidi)
Heidi
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Jacksull
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#3

Post by Jacksull »

Submitted an answer I was sure of, but I’m not on the board. Hmmm.
Jack Sullivan
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Toby
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#4

Post by Toby »

The MMMM and PGWCC both came out this afternoon, so for the first time I'm multi-mega-tasking and my head will probably explode. I should just try to do one at a time, but as I'm not seeing anything yet for either one, I keep going and forth.
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FrankieHeck
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#5

Post by FrankieHeck »

Toby wrote: Tue Nov 05, 2019 4:33 pm The MMMM and PGWCC both came out this afternoon, so for the first time I'm multi-mega-tasking and my head will probably explode. I should just try to do one at a time, but as I'm not seeing anything yet for either one, I keep going and forth.
I'm doing that, too, and I am also thinking it's a bad idea. I keep thinking that oh, I saw such-and-such a word...but it's in the other puzzle. So I think I'm going to try to focus on the MMMM for now.
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spotter
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#6

Post by spotter »

I'm on shore for this one. Fun Meta!
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KayW
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#7

Post by KayW »

I got it! Clever meta, and an early solve gives me a little more time to work at the mega meta...
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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Cindy
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#8

Post by Cindy »

Solved. Now for pgwcc.
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ChrisKochmanski
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#9

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Got it. Good one.

Now, finally, I believe I need to know how to get the mega meta. Surprised in a way it took me this long.
damefox
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#10

Post by damefox »

Got it! An odd combination of reasoning and Googling went into this puzzle, and in the end it turned out Google knew the answer even though I didn't. It's always a toss up if I've never heard of the answer before. (Not having been alive in the 70s may be holding me back...)
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Hector
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#11

Post by Hector »

This one is really nice.
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Thurman8er
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#12

Post by Thurman8er »

I am exactly nowhere on this one.
damefox
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#13

Post by damefox »

I got the Mega Meta... accidentally? Literally my comment was "I suspect this is not right, but this guess is stuck in my head and I'm not going to be able to move past it until I definitively hear that it is wrong." What's it called when you backsolve but don't actually solve and submit something you don't understand? Dumb luck? If someone else who's gotten it wants to message me and explain what I missed please do.

Edit: a few people explained the mechanism to me. I get it, but it's a little underwhelming IMHO. Not the most satisfying 54A.
Last edited by damefox on Wed Nov 06, 2019 6:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tom Wilson
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#14

Post by Tom Wilson »

A defensible answer - or so I thought! - but, alas, an incorrect one. I was very much "of age" in that decade, so I should know this one. Good ol' "should."
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Al Sisti
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#15

Post by Al Sisti »

Finally got the correct solution to the Mega-Meta, after yet another wrong submission, losing yet another point. I was starting to wonder if anyone's ever had a negative score for the year. This is my worst MMMM year, with misses in June, July and September. Before this, I was clean in 2017 and 2018, with my last miss being "Prime Directive" in 2016. Now the pressure's on: I need to solve the December puzzle to be eligible for the final drawing. Time for a brain adjustment...
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TMart
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#16

Post by TMart »

Al Sisti wrote: Wed Nov 06, 2019 4:53 pm Finally got the correct solution to the Mega-Meta, after yet another wrong submission, losing yet another point. I was starting to wonder if anyone's ever had a negative score for the year. This is my worst MMMM year, with misses in June, July and September. Before this, I was clean in 2017 and 2018, with my last miss being "Prime Directive" in 2016. Now the pressure's on: I need to solve the December puzzle to be eligible for the final drawing. Time for a brain adjustment...
I’m surprised I’m not negative- after a late start and two bad guesses, I said what the heck and fired a volley of 6 more guesses one night, and finally got the right answer as well as a big fat -8 to go with it. This is my first year of MMMM, so I think I may need to revise that strategy for next year.

Totally lost this week here and on the PGWCC. It’s gonna be a long week....
Laura M
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#17

Post by Laura M »

I think I finally got this, I was actually on the right track originally but I got to the wrong conclusion and discarded that approach for a while. Not the first time (or last, I'm sure).

I was alive in the 70s and definitely know the song, but I still needed Google because I forget stuff, or at least don't have it in easily-accessible parts of my memory...

(Checking MMMM site) Beam me up, I'm on the leaderboard! One down.

Edit: Oops, wrong puzzle for beaming up! Not sure what to say here. That's a wrap?
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hcbirker
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#18

Post by hcbirker »

Laura M wrote: Wed Nov 06, 2019 5:24 pm I think I finally got this, I was actually on the right track originally but I got to the wrong conclusion and discarded that approach for a while. Not the first time (or last, I'm sure).

I was alive in the 70s and definitely know the song, but I still needed Google because I forget stuff, or at least don't have it in easily-accessible parts of my memory...

(Checking MMMM site) Beam me up, I'm on the leaderboard! One down.

Edit: Oops, wrong puzzle for beaming up! Not sure what to say here. That's a wrap?
Sounds good to me! (Heidi)
Heidi
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hcbirker
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#19

Post by hcbirker »

Still floundering around with this one. (Heidi)
Heidi
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sharkicicles
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#20

Post by sharkicicles »

damefox wrote: Wed Nov 06, 2019 2:10 pm Got it! An odd combination of reasoning and Googling went into this puzzle, and in the end it turned out Google knew the answer even though I didn't. It's always a toss up if I've never heard of the answer before. (Not having been alive in the 70s may be holding me back...)
Oh crap I’m old.

Still haven’t got this one yet.
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