#33 - "Symbolic Language"

Published weekly by expert constructor Peter Gordon, the Fireball crossword is famous for being hard. How hard? Well, in the words of Peter Gordon, if you need to ask, too hard for you! It is not regularly a meta crossword, but does feature a contest or meta puzzle several times throughout the year. Available here for a subscription: http://www.fireballcrosswords.com
Locked
User avatar
BrianMac
Site Admin
Posts: 787
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2019 11:45 pm
Location: Connecticut

#33 - "Symbolic Language"

#1

Post by BrianMac »

Fireball is back this week with a meta by Peter A. Collins.

The answer is the three additional clues in the puzzle that need to be asterisked to complete the theme.

Also, if you're solving online, Peter [Gordon] notes that the puzzle has circles in 8 squares. See the email for a picture if they aren't showing up on your solving platform.

The deadline is this Sunday, September 8, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

Enjoy and good luck!
User avatar
Hector
Posts: 1297
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 8:15 pm
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

#2

Post by Hector »

Clever & fun!
User avatar
Beth Tyrpin
Posts: 512
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:11 pm

#3

Post by Beth Tyrpin »

Loved it!
User avatar
Cindy
Posts: 1247
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:39 pm
Location: Matthews

#4

Post by Cindy »

I believe I have it.
User avatar
Meg
Posts: 2136
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:41 pm
Location: St. Petersburg, FL

#5

Post by Meg »

Fun! Nice "aha!" moment.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
User avatar
Toby
Posts: 332
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:00 pm
Location: New York City

#6

Post by Toby »

I had a bit of trouble with finding the final AHA. Very cute construction.
User avatar
ChrisKochmanski
Posts: 2157
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:51 pm
Location: Saline, Michigan

#7

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Hmm ...

The solution here seems pretty simple to me ... I got to it quickly. Which leads me to suspect there's more to it than I'm quickly seeing. So I'll sit on this for a while, before submitting.

Also, I'm seeing four more clues to potentially assign an asterisk to, not just three. Which may also suggest that I'm missing a step.
User avatar
BrianMac
Site Admin
Posts: 787
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2019 11:45 pm
Location: Connecticut

#8

Post by BrianMac »

I have submitted an answer that I think is defensible, but there is an inconsistency that is bothering me.
User avatar
Hector
Posts: 1297
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 8:15 pm
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

#9

Post by Hector »

I didn't see the lone asterisked clue at first, so for a while I assumed they'd goofed and meant to indicate the entries with circles. That might be a way to not be at 100% with exactly three entries.

Also, I am curious how much harder this would have been without the circles (certainly a lot, and maybe it would have needed a more helpful title to even be doable?).
User avatar
ChrisKochmanski
Posts: 2157
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:51 pm
Location: Saline, Michigan

#10

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Oops!

Sorry to have misled, by saying I found four clues, not three, to possibly apply asterisks to. I commiserated with a known solver, who let me know I was off-track. Down a rabbit hole. So I returned to the puzzle, recognized my haste for what it was, and found the correct path. There are just three more to-be-asterisk-ed clues, as requested.

Good one!

To others who've wondered if this meta would have been do-able without the circled letters, well, my view is: probably not by me!

But maybe PG could have offered the puzzle two-ways: (1) EASIER, with the circled letters, and (2) VERY MUCH HARDER, without.
GlennG
Posts: 88
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2019 12:48 am

#11

Post by GlennG »

Another decidedly not-Fireball. But still stumped on the meta...as well as three Rush Hour puzzles. But that's something different entirely.
GlennG
Posts: 88
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2019 12:48 am

#12

Post by GlennG »

Since this one has closed, I'll say this turned into what a lot of metas are for me. No logical linkage to lead me to do what the solution ended up doing (synomym of the starred word appears later on in the theme entry).
Locked