Washington Post 12/27: 5x5

Puzzles from one of the best in the business which include themed crosswords and metas.
Sunday Crossword by Evan Birnholz
Washington Post Sunday puzzle reveals.
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BarbaraK
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Washington Post 12/27: 5x5

#1

Post by BarbaraK »

This week's Washington Post is a meta

https://www.washingtonpost.com/crosswor ... -birnholz/

Not too hard, but several steps to get to the final answer.

It's not a contest, so no submission deadline and no prizes. You can read the answer on Crossword Fiend.
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ChrisKochmanski
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#2

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Hey, two threads on this puzzle! Same comment as on the other thread: That was fun!
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Hector
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#3

Post by Hector »

Simultaneous threads!

Time-consuming, as there are lots of moving parts to keep track of, but there are lots of pretty explicit hints to make it easy.
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Richard B.
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#4

Post by Richard B. »

Simultaneous is right! 12:40pm. Great minds ...

Here’s the constructor’s write up (lengthy) of the solution.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine ... ssword-55/
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hcbirker
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#5

Post by hcbirker »

Quite a puzzle! So many moving parts! Fun one.
Heidi
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Abide
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#6

Post by Abide »

This one belongs in the Meta Hall of Fame!
The site is just a web page, a meeting place, a clubhouse - it's the group that's special.
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Laura M
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#7

Post by Laura M »

Very impressive!
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DrTom
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#8

Post by DrTom »

Got part 1, then part 2 but darned if I can move to part 3 and a solution....I'm going to invest a bit more time but WOW what an effort from Mr. Birnholz
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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hashbrown
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#9

Post by hashbrown »

What a fantastic puzzle to round off the year :O
-HB
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boharr
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#10

Post by boharr »

This puzzle was way beyond my tiny disorderly brain and so rather than seek about 10,000 nudges, I bailed.

But now I think I may need a nudge just to follow the explanation of the solution!
LesY
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#11

Post by LesY »

Great puzzle, Evan! I’m thankful I stuck with it. Can’t imagine how much effort it took to construct.
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DrTom
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#12

Post by DrTom »

Wow, what a masterpiece I cannot even begin to fathom how he managed to constructed it! There were more turns than in the Minoan Maze. I had the mechanism early on but getting from the lumber to the building was almost more than this little head could take. I know some have said that there were enough clues to make it easy, but I disagree. To me this is best summed up by:
Miracle occurs.jpg
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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ReB
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#13

Post by ReB »

Took a while to complete all the steps, trying my patience, but fortunately the author helpfully provided enough instructions in the grid answers to guide my way. Very well constructed puzzle.
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Scott M
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#14

Post by Scott M »

Woof! That took some contortions and permutations, but I made it through!

The 5x5 grid is reminiscent of PGW's Puzzle #64, Inspiration Point (https://pgwcc.files.wordpress.com/2020/ ... cted_a.pdf, available only as a PDF), although the solving mechanism is quite different.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
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C=64
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#15

Post by C=64 »

Wow! Fun to unravel, but I kept forgetting which color highlighter I was using at a particular time.
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Wendy Walker
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#16

Post by Wendy Walker »

I must confess that one was beyond me. I did the huge grid and quickly found the members of each quintet in the answers.
But then came the problem of how to enter the first letters of the "members" into the matrix so they would make meaningful columns. I tried in alpha order; in order of appearance in the clues (Across first, Down second); in strict numerical order.
Then I tried to find the letters hidden in the answers and really thought I was onto something when I found that guESTS' Sleeping spot corresponded to one of my columns (in order of appearance in the clues: Erie, Smell, Thumb, Southern, Scary). I even debated skipping my Zoom yoga class to search for others and though I didn't, you can imagine what I was thinking of when the instructor asked us to "set an intention" for the evening's practice.
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
WDunbar
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#17

Post by WDunbar »

Wow great puzzle. It was super fun working through all the different steps.
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oldjudge
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#18

Post by oldjudge »

I just found about the puzzle in Joon’s write up of MGWCC. This meta was a work of art and so much fun. I loved every part of it, but most of all the answer. Glad I didn’t see Wendy’s lament before I did it.
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Meg
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#19

Post by Meg »

I finally got back to this, having done the grid days ago. I’d say this puzzle is surely in the running for an Orca.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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DrTom
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#20

Post by DrTom »

oldjudge wrote: Tue Dec 29, 2020 3:59 pm I just found about the puzzle in Joon’s write up of MGWCC. This meta was a work of art and so much fun. I loved every part of it, but most of all the answer. Glad I didn’t see Wendy’s lament before I did it.
Funny, it did not occur to me until reading your comment just how well the answer fit. I was so glad to have gotten SOMETHING that I did not relate it to the answer. Now a real coup de grace would have been for the answer to appear across the top of the 5x5
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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