XWord Muggles Forum

For the longest time, I was stuck on a wrong solution that was very similar to the right solution, but I kind of like how I thought it should have worked better than how it actually worked.

Oh well... a solve is a solve.

RobM wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:10 pm I got nothin'. Putting pride aside and asking for a nudge. Anyone?

Thanks for the nudges; they worked.

I actually submitted the right answer about a half hour ago as a wild guess (before I asked for help), but I didn't have any idea how it was the correct answer.

RobM wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:10 pm I got nothin'. Putting pride aside and asking for a nudge. Anyone?

PM sent

ashore this week! had the right idea at first, but took a while to connect all the pieces

Made shore late Sunday,
But in which state, who can say?
Please! A Cabernet.

Wow. Just made it to shore with 4 minutes remaining. Make it a Manhattan with Maker’s Mark.

Hail Mary submitted, enjoying a Barrel-Aged Snickerdoodle Porter from Servaes Brewco.

Edit: Picked the wrong one. I went for Kansas since I live there and because of it's central location. I was not on the right track at all.

[EDIT: I left WI out as a "surrounded" U.S. state in my notes, when solving.]

For the record, I love seeing the Party Parrot taking hold.

It is absolutely gorgeous that the eight states in the border of the grid are in exactly the same places as they are on the real map of the states.

Going to be checking my email every few minutes tomorrow!

Ah, if I had a chance to sleep on it I'd have definitely found the answer. I had already noted down KY and VA for the top row but didn't follow that path for some reason. Eh, had a bad weekend so I didn't have the will to solve this one, not gonna lose sleep over it.

otlaolap wrote: ↑Mon Sep 28, 2020 12:05 am It is absolutely gorgeous that the eight states in the border of the grid are in exactly the same places as they are on the real map of the states.

I was just about to mention the same thing! Beautiful! Thanks again, Mr. G!

I am wondering if the central letter in the grid (T) was a deliberate allusion to Tennessee (surrounded by its neighbour states)

Or my mind is seeing a random coincidence (after all it wasn't TN, but that would have made the puzzle guessable without seeing the method).

I arrived at the right answer eventually.
But, I was initially stuck on Idaho as the “correct” answer.
Following the patterns of the grid border, I noticed that the first and last letters of the clue for 36A were “I” and “D”.
That felt kind of meh. But, I couldn’t stop chasing that dog. Until Saturday morning, when I decided to just mark the “border” states on a map. State #2 was when the “Doh!” kicked in.

We played a 50 states game with the kids some years ago that asked how many states Tennessee touched. I remember looking at the map and marveling at all the borders. That memory served me well for this puzzle! I was drawn to Kludgy, having just seen it in another puzzle, and immediately saw KY. I solved before I even finished the bottom right quadrant! After solving I noticed all the other state abbrs--NY, AZ.
Still marveling at the beautiful puzzle construction--36A even looks a little like TN.

This one was interesting for me on several levels.

First, I decided to apply myself and not give up so easily. That and use the advice offered within the past few weeks after WSJ+ #2: Ignore the stuff that is not useful.

Second, I quickly understood how to use the title, a rare occurrence. Along with 36A, I understood that the meta was a state completely surrounded by other states - no oceans, gulfs, lakes, or countries need apply. It was also evident to me that the USPS state abbreviations would likely be used in some manner.

67A and 68A quickly gave me MEsses and AZrael. Maine and Arizona? That did not look particularly promising. Coming back to the puzzle a bit later, I realized I should be seeing MesseS and AzraeL - the state letters *surrounding* the rest of the letters in the grid answer. Soon, I saw that the eight theme answers *surrounding* the grid yielded the *surrounding* states in their proper geographical location relative to the meta.

And at the time, the Rating was a 3. No way! I don't solve anything higher than 2.5. The Rating later dropped to that number. What a relief.

Oh well, an example of a puzzle hitting one of little talent in the face, while others far more skilled took a little longer.

Okay, so I got the right answer, but I missed the fact that, of the seventeen entries in the grid whose first and last letters formed two-letter state abbreviations, it was precisely the eight forming the boundary of the grid that identified the states bordering Tennessee, which adds an extra measure of elegance to the construction. Good meta!

And now I see (due to a post above) that the eight are in the correct order! Even more elegant! Bravo!

Notice Tennessee (minus one e) is mixed in the middle section of the puzzle.
P.S. thanks to Joe for the prompt solution and explanation