XWord Muggles Forum

DrTom wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 11:46 am Well I almost managed to solve (or at least get a suitable word) via a completely incorrect mechanism.

Caret, Vee and Wedge are all V shapes ^, V, > so I just had to find where they pointed. Well that is easy I was given a reference; Cartesian plane divider. So count across 8 and draw a line down the grid, then down 8 and do the same. BINGO the E of appease is right there (it appeased my search). So go left > and right< and up ^ and down V and you get PAVE, after which you spend hours looking for the MENTS until finally you weepingly ask a friend if you are on the right track and they simply respond FORMATIONS OF GEESE and then everything falls into place, you begin to smack your head with the flat of your palm and you curse your "gotta find a really odd mechanism for this one" when the REAL mechanism has almost been handed to you....sigh!

Found the answer.jpg

Dplass wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 10:54 am Here's the mess I made of my grid. Not sure how I would have done all this without paper (thinking about what @woozy said; I think it was woozy...)

20221210_092751.jpg

The XWord Rabbit wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 12:47 pm
It has just been brought to your Rabbit's attention Dr. Tom's response. And yes, it is, indeed, worthy of a nomination.

Dear XWord Rabbit,
Was about to suggest a nomination for Dr Tom’s scientific formula post, but I see you got it! Thanks for nominating me, although I seem to have lost the plot along the way… What exactly are we being nominated for? Is there a big awards gala and red carpet night at the end of the year? Will it be on TV? Is Ricky Gervais hosting it? When does my limo come to collect me and my wife? Will it be open bar? Does the winner get a mug?
So many questions…

The XWord Rabbit wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 6:41 am Your XWord Rabbit first appeared in Post #627 under the "Come Aboard"/"Introduce Yourself" page. He suggests you search previous WSJ puzzle results to learn more about him. Mugs will be awarded to finalists at the appropriate time. Pretty classy, huh?

No elaborate ceremony is planned, as he is only an average rabbit of modest means. Still, he wishes you the best of luck.

Joe Ross wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 1:46 pm

DrTom wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 11:46 am Well I almost managed to solve (or at least get a suitable word) via a completely incorrect mechanism.

Caret, Vee and Wedge are all V shapes ^, V, > so I just had to find where they pointed. Well that is easy I was given a reference; Cartesian plane divider. So count across 8 and draw a line down the grid, then down 8 and do the same. BINGO the E of appease is right there (it appeased my search). So go left > and right< and up ^ and down V and you get PAVE, after which you spend hours looking for the MENTS until finally you weepingly ask a friend if you are on the right track and they simply respond FORMATIONS OF GEESE and then everything falls into place, you begin to smack your head with the flat of your palm and you curse your "gotta find a really odd mechanism for this one" when the REAL mechanism has almost been handed to you....sigh!

Found the answer.jpg

Your friend merely copied back your encyclopedic musings, striking through all but FORMATIONS OF GEESE, which you had dead in the middle of the middle volume.

(Unbeknownst to you, your friend told a mutual friend that he hoped you were wearing a helmet with a full bird-cage facemask before reading his reply, because your hand was going to hit it SO hard...)

The XWord Rabbit wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 7:40 pm 50%nominee.jpg

After a couple of mostly breezy weeks Mr. Shenk provided a somewhat bigger challenge. “In Formation, Please” offered up a couple of hints, most notably 64A “Number of formations to look for” (three) and 33D “Formation of Geese” (vee). That was meant to lead Muggles to three places in the grid where the letters G-E-E-S-E occupied 5 squares in a V-formation. The four letters inside each of those V’s, taken in order spelled out the meta: FLIGHT STRIPS.

There was much talk of wedges and carets -- especially carets. The X-Word Rabbit always gets excited when talking about carets, although his spelling is a bit different. (Bird Lives already found that joke, but it’s not beneath your Rabbit to "appropriate" worthy ideas.)

We have a legitimate Rabbit Hole nomination this week, notable for its eloquence and humor. Remember a few weeks back when your Rabbit reminded everyone that those things were important? Well, Colin took that to heart with this response:

“Didn’t think of looking for GEESE-type VEEs. Spent too long on the three small VEEs formed by three Is, Es and As and the letters (T, D and L) contained within. Tried to force fit but could only come up with Touchdown Locations which also took me down footballing terms, but it all seemed too far-fetched. Then I noticed two more 3-letter vees (Ss and Ts) pointing horizontally, so that broke the guidance of 64A. After a short but fruitless search for other formation shapes, I carefully folded the crossword into a combo of THREE VEES and gracefully glided my beautiful, yet incomplete, flying crossword into its final landing place. If it had landed with a noisy and somewhat inelegant splash on water, the link to GEESE might have ignited my dulled brain. But alas, it just fell gracefully, narrowly missing my Sunday nightcap glass by an inch, indicating it was time to throw in the towel.”

The weeks fly by, don’t they? 22 nominations since we began with the August 5th puzzle.
How can so many go so wrong so quickly? Until next week, then.

Cindy N wrote: ↑Sat Dec 17, 2022 7:02 pm.

Joe Ross wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 6:25 am

Cindy N wrote: ↑Sat Dec 17, 2022 7:02 pm.

You don't say.

Inca wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 12:12 pm

Joe Ross wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 6:25 am

Cindy N wrote: ↑Sat Dec 17, 2022 7:02 pm.

You don't say.

And I, for one, totally agree