"Roadblocks" - WSJ Saturday, May 16, 2020

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Flamel616
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"Roadblocks" - WSJ Saturday, May 16, 2020

#1

Post by Flamel616 »

I finished the grid and was wondering what others thought or knew about some of the answers. See spoiler, which has spoilers for the puzzle.

Clue 121 refers to searches experienced, and the answer is traffic stops. In the answers it refers to, a few seem to be one letter off of a more well known term or word, making TRAFFICSTOPS refer to internet traffic stopping to redirect the search. If anyone has a different interpretation of the answers, that is one thing I'm interested in hearing.

Assuming I am right, I found that ROSEBUS turns into ROSEBUD and HOUSEMI to HOUSE, M.D.. But, these were the only two I could identify. Anyone know what the other four could be replaced with in an internet search?
As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all — the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.
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BarbaraK
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#2

Post by BarbaraK »

Flamel616 wrote: Sun May 17, 2020 3:05 pm I finished the grid and was wondering what others thought or knew about some of the answers. See spoiler, which has spoilers for the puzzle.

Clue 121 refers to searches experienced, and the answer is traffic stops. In the answers it refers to, a few seem to be one letter off of a more well known term or word, making TRAFFICSTOPS refer to internet traffic stopping to redirect the search. If anyone has a different interpretation of the answers, that is one thing I'm interested in hearing.

Assuming I am right, I found that ROSEBUS turns into ROSEBUD and HOUSEMI to HOUSE, M.D.. But, these were the only two I could identify. Anyone know what the other four could be replaced with in an internet search?
I think there’s a black square that stops the answers and you have to look beyond that for the rest. So ROSEBUS + HES -> ROSEBUSHES which actually works with the clue. Likewise HOUSEMI +STRESS -> HOUSEMISTRESS which is what McGonagall was in Harry Potter (according to google). And etc with the others.

I didn’t notice it while solving, but the first halves of the divided answers all end with types of vehicles that might be stuck in traffic - bus, semi, car, etc. I only found this when I read about the puzzle on crosswordfiend.com which is a good place to see what’s going on when I’m lost.
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Flamel616
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#3

Post by Flamel616 »

Wow, thanks for the reply. That is a perfect explanation. That's actually really fun, and I wish I had seen it when I was solving it.
As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all — the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.
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