"Terrible Twos" -- Aug. 4, 2023

[Jace54]

My path to a quick solve was due to starting with the last across clue, which often contains a clue. In this case, “nightmare” seemed like it might relate to the puzzle title so I filled in the SE corner. “Elmst” stood out as an odd entry because the “st” abbreviation did not have a similar abbreviation in the clue, which is common in crosswords.

Then I solved the NW corner, where “Andco” had the same odd appearance without an abbreviation in the clue. At first I thought I was looking for two letter abbreviations, but that only produced “Stbasil” from the rest of the grid. I then looked at all of the two word entries and there it was!

I might not have solved if I had started with the NW corner and filled in the usual order. “Elmst” and “Andco” back to back drew my focus right away and prevented red herrings such as double letters.

[Mister Squawk]

Something about HEHIM gave me pause, leading me to look at other twosomes. But before that, I was fixated on DYNAMICDUO, which led me to ADAM, which sent me on a hunt for BURT....

[Ergcat]

I got stuck on 2-word entries vs. just the 2-letter words entries . So I kept wanting to take letters from entries like “PAIRED WITH” (PA) and “DYNAMIC DUO” (NA). So at one point I got something that looked like “COPARENTS”! Ha!
Didn’t even realize “LE MANS” and “AMEN RA” were 2-word entries!!
Good one, Mr Shenk!

[TeamDoubleTow]

Very cute puzzle but never would have seen it if it weren't for the Last Call zoom. Did anyone spend time with the alliterative clues? Nyet? Have a great week everyone!

[Mister Squawk]

Didn’t even realize “LE MANS” and “AMEN RA” were 2-word entries!!

Likewise, until I was backsolving for COUPLESTHEPIST.

[Colin]

Definitely the most rabbit holes I’ve ever seen - “our rabbit” should have a wealth of material! …
PAIRED WITH and DYNAMIC DUO decoys
Two-word clues (33 of them, counting “Isn’t upright” as 2)
Two-word clues with same first letters (5 eg “Vladivostok veto”)
Double letters in answers (7)
Diagonal double letters (~18 just in NE to SW direction)
3-letter intersects with two letters the same (eg SSI/ASI in 10D/29A)
2-letter intersects using the diagonal pairs to reveal a middle letter (~18 of these in NE to SW direction, eg E(X)E in 7D and 14A)
…. et al !!!
Again, proving the maxim: “If at first you don’t succeed, try again with another hairbrain idea!”

[Joepickett]

Ashore!

Also, I have a great alternative answer but no way to get it from the grid. I will share it on Monday.

My Hail Mary answer before discovering the real one was AU PAIR. I thought that worked well with Terrible Twos. But of course I could not backsolve it.

[LadyBird]

Well, this is very painful! Nicely underlined but never comprehended. Tried using just the first or the last letters, but not both. Ugh!

[pjc]

A few weeks ago, I was feeling pretty cocky with a lengthy solving streak; I figured I finally cracked how these guys think! But now, I've been brought back to reality with missing two out of the last three.

Rabbit holes this week included:

- Double letters
- Answers in the grid that differed from OTHER answers in the grid by one letter (SAP -> SAPP; LEANS -> LEMANS)
- Answers in the grid (especially on the edge) that make another word with the addition of a letter (SAPP->SAPPY; TRAUM->TRAUMA)

And many others.

I did stare at both ANDCO and ELMST, but didn't make the leap.

Ah, well. Back to square one.

[eagle1279]

SAP(P), (N)YET, LE(M)ANS, CEL(T) cost me a lot of time.

Me too. Not to mention PREY/PREP, YEA/YET, DIAS/AIDS, CAR/ARC, and PIER/PIMA/PIDAY/APING.

No complaints, great puzzle.

[hcbirker]

I was looking for companies - "strom" could be Nordstrom, "cost" could be Costco, "pier" could be Pier One, "crate" Crate and Barrel, etc. but that was a rabbit hole. Then I saw "cat" going diagonal from 45 A and a few others like that, but nothing was working. Looked at "co" and "pi" but didn't think further about it. I think what threw me off is that some were abbreviations and some weren't.

[chart]

SAP(P), (N)YET, LE(M)ANS, CEL(T) cost me a lot of time.

Me too. Not to mention PREY/PREP, YEA/YET, DIAS/AIDS, CAR/ARC, and PIER/PIMA/PIDAY/APING.

No complaints, great puzzle.

And let's not forget ASPS, CAESAR, Ides of March, and ST. BASIL of Caesarea.

[Richard]

I went down the double letter rabbit hole and never got out.

[BarbaraK]

Since the long acrosses seemed more like alternate titles than theme entries, I looked at the first and last across entries. And 1A felt like it could be a hint. So I tried adding CO to other entries. And what promptly showed up?
COPIER
COLEMANS
Yes! This must be it! I'll bet there are a few more and there will be clues where these could be answers somewhere - aper for copier and some kind of camping product maybe. But no. And I never found any more:(

Looked again a day later and found what I was really meant to do with that CO.

[damefox]

and "they" say that they never intentionally put in red herrings..... HAH!

I don't think Mike Shenk says that. In fact, I'm almost positive he does intentionally put in red herrings. Matt Gaffney is the only one I know on record as saying he doesn't. Someone should correct me if I'm wrong about that though. I generally think including red herrings on purpose is Bad Form, but obviously MS disagrees. To be fair though, a puzzle where two-letter strings are relevant is going to have tons of red herrings even if none are added intentionally. There are too many things that can occur by chance (e.g., double letters) that have that tempting "this can't possibly be a coincidence" vibe even when they are in fact coincidences.

[Magistra]

Alas. I got tangled in rabbit holes of double letters, the grid numbers 2, 12, 22, etc., the unusual clue for Sinatra, the duos of Caesar and Cleopatra, Adam and Eve, etc. I sent in nothing.

This morning I woke before the alarm thinking about the CO in 1 across. First, I added it to COST for COSTCO. Then I thought about the ST of Elm St. I picked up my grid again from where I had thrown it on the floor and quickly put together the correct answer. So I solved it. Six hours late. I'm okay with that. Misses like this usually sharpen my mind for the next several weeks.

Congrats to all who solved by the deadline!

[HunterX]

Did the puzzle with my kids and I found the 2-letter combos first. I was looking at them, trying to figure out what to do with them, when I saw that the last three pairs together spelled RAPIST. This seemed odd, but at least put me on the right path.

When my kids finally got it, and I told them about what lead me to it, they mentioned a line by Tobias in Arrested Development:

Tobias: You're forgetting, Lindsay, that as a psychiatrist, I was a professional twice over - an analyst and a therapist. The world's first "analrapist".
Lindsay: Yeah, and you were almost arrested for those business cards.

[CPJohnson]

I think I was in all the rabbit holes previously mentioned; hope someone will compile a complete list. My best one, though, was noticing grid answers that crossed and had something in common:

Sinatra/Gehry (both Franks)
Abyssinian/Amenra (both cats)
Neb/Bama (both refer to US states)
Strom/Perot (both politicians)
drip/sap - both liquids

But, no.

[Joe Ross]

The grid offered no obvious theme entries, so I started with the two-word clues, of which there are many. Their initials formed semi-intriguing, time-wasting patterns. I let that simmer overnight before calling "bleh."

"Two" had to play in some way, so I found all two-word grid entries, which led to those with two-letter words & abbreviations and a satisfying AHA!

[Joe Ross]

and "they" say that they never intentionally put in red herrings..... HAH!

I don't think Mike Shenk says that. In fact, I'm almost positive he does intentionally put in red herrings. Matt Gaffney is the only one I know on record as saying he doesn't. Someone should correct me if I'm wrong about that though. I generally think including red herrings on purpose is Bad Form, but obviously MS disagrees. To be fair though, a puzzle where two-letter strings are relevant is going to have tons of red herrings even if none are added intentionally. There are too many things that can occur by chance (e.g., double letters) that have that tempting "this can't possibly be a coincidence" vibe even when they are in fact coincidences.

I share your understanding of how Mike and Matt approach red herrings, Emma, and am amused that @MattGaffney is the one creator who consistently warns solvers:

Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.