MGWCC #811 — “Two-Way Communication”

An excellent puzzle written by one of the innovators of the meta crossword format. It comes out every Friday at noon and increases in difficulty throughout the month. Available for modest subscription (worth every cent) here: www.xwordcontest.com
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HeadinHome
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#21

Post by HeadinHome »

On the board thanks to team chatter. I was close close close but not quite clever enough . Yet.
The other Wendy. :roll:
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Wendy Walker
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#22

Post by Wendy Walker »

Boy, did I have a tough time with that one -- completely misinterpreting the title is never a good idea. I needed a nudge from @ajk but then had one of those wonderful drifting-off-to-sleep inspirations of how to use what I'd found. Followed, of course, by turning on the light and grabbing the phone to confirm my hunch.
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
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lbray53
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#23

Post by lbray53 »

Beamed at 143. Could not make sense of it last night. It jumped off the page this morning!
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
Katiedid
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#24

Post by Katiedid »

Beamed up, solo solve. :)
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boharr
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#25

Post by boharr »

Beamed yesterday.
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ajk
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#26

Post by ajk »

Beamed even though my share of the collaboration was pretty minimal this week. Not the strongest click for me.
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
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HunterX
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#27

Post by HunterX »

Beamed up, with a nudge. Maybe if I'd thought about it more it would have been solo. Oh well.
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DrTom
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#28

Post by DrTom »

It has literally taken me all day to see step 1, but I finally saw it. Now for step two...which I have been working on for the past hour.

T
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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ricky
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#29

Post by ricky »

Solo solve. In at #82. Took me a few hours of serious pondering.
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Latest puzzle: "This Place Looks Familiar," March 7, 2024

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ship4u
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#30

Post by ship4u »

Beamed. Happy to finally get into the correct mindset!
Don & Cynthia

We are always happy to get to know other muggles and help in any way! PM's are always welcome. The next best thing to winning a mug is helping a fellow muggle win a mug!
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LarsCaine
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#31

Post by LarsCaine »

Beamed up!
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DrTom
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#32

Post by DrTom »

Submitted and awaiting, but since I had to ask someone if I had the right answer (therefore not a solo solve) and they said yes, I know I am there. This was very clever and after about 18 hours it was a fluke that got me home. I almost stumbled near the finish, but that was what the confirmation was for. I could not believe that was the answer. As usual, a masterclass in construction.

EDIT: Yep, tucked in at #195. Many thanks to my verifier, I just did not feel what I had was strong enough until I checked with you.
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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sharkicicles
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#33

Post by sharkicicles »

Due to my propensity to make extremely stupid and (sometimes) poor-taste jokes on the zoom, I got a hint that I’m pretty sure pointed me in the right direction. Not on the board yet but I’ll be surprised if I’m wrong.
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TMart
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#34

Post by TMart »

Noticed the first step right away then gave up when I couldn't figure out what to do with it. Glanced at it again this morning and it was suddenly obvious. Funny how that works.
Andrew Bradburn
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#35

Post by Andrew Bradburn »

DrTom wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2023 10:55 am Submitted and awaiting, but since I had to ask someone if I had the right answer (therefore not a solo solve) and they said yes, I know I am there. This was very clever and after about 18 hours it was a fluke that got me home. I almost stumbled near the finish, but that was what the confirmation was for. I could not believe that was the answer. As usual, a masterclass in construction.

EDIT: Yep, tucked in at #195. Many thanks to my verifier, I just did not feel what I had was strong enough until I checked with you.
I was kind of in the same boat, but wanted a solo solve, so in my entry notes I explained to Matt how I solved, and if it wasn't the right answer, it should be accepted as an alternate answer, since everything I did was clear and led in that direction, and there were no iffy things about it. And still, I wasn't SURE it was the right answer, because it didn't have the same click as the best ones do. I got in at #86, so it must have been the right answer. I think the metas that most people have the hardest time knowing if it right or not are the ones where Matt is looking for someone or something that "often" or "frequently" does something, or is "well known" for something. These are more subjective criteria, and thus no %100 certainty.
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woozy
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#36

Post by woozy »

I legitimately got a wrong first 1/2 step and submitted an unsure answer so I deserve my miss.

But I'm surprised at the number of people who saw the first step without seeing the initial half step that I first came up with. I even got a personal e-mail from Matt wondering how I came up with my very wrong answer, which surprised me because I figured if one knew the correct mechanism it would be obvious how I came up with my wrong answer.
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
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schmidzy
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#37

Post by schmidzy »

woozy wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 1:02 pm I legitimately got a wrong first 1/2 step and submitted an unsure answer so I deserve my miss.

But I'm surprised at the number of people who saw the first step without seeing the initial half step that I first came up with. I even got a personal e-mail from Matt wondering how I came up with my very wrong answer, which surprised me because I figured if one knew the correct mechanism it would be obvious how I came up with my wrong answer.
I'm so, so curious to hear all the details after the reveal!
eisense
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#38

Post by eisense »

Me (out of control) to Dr. Tom: "my circuit's dead, there's something wrong"

Dr. Tom to me: "take your pills and put your thinking cap on"

I'm beamed and floating in space.
With apologies to David Bowie and many thanks to Major, er, Dr. Tom.
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woozy
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#39

Post by woozy »

schmidzy wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 7:02 pm
woozy wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 1:02 pm I legitimately got a wrong first 1/2 step and submitted an unsure answer so I deserve my miss.

But I'm surprised at the number of people who saw the first step without seeing the initial half step that I first came up with. I even got a personal e-mail from Matt wondering how I came up with my very wrong answer, which surprised me because I figured if one knew the correct mechanism it would be obvious how I came up with my wrong answer.
I'm so, so curious to hear all the details after the reveal!
It's actually a lack of details that allowed me my wrong answer.
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
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KayW
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#40

Post by KayW »

woozy wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 8:04 pm
schmidzy wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 7:02 pm
woozy wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 1:02 pm I legitimately got a wrong first 1/2 step and submitted an unsure answer so I deserve my miss.

But I'm surprised at the number of people who saw the first step without seeing the initial half step that I first came up with. I even got a personal e-mail from Matt wondering how I came up with my very wrong answer, which surprised me because I figured if one knew the correct mechanism it would be obvious how I came up with my wrong answer.
I'm so, so curious to hear all the details after the reveal!
It's actually a lack of details that allowed me my wrong answer.
Curiouser and curiouser!
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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