"Tip of the Cap" by Thurman8er

A weekly meta crossword created by members of the forum. Difficulty levels will vary. Hints are usually available starting Wednesday, and solutions are posted on Sunday.
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Thurman8er
Posts: 393
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:05 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

#41

Post by Thurman8er »

The promised nudge:

The sport in question is baseball.
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lbray53
Posts: 1194
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 8:34 am
Location: Elkhorn, WI

#42

Post by lbray53 »

This would be a great puzzle for a meta solving class or to get a friend hooked on metas.
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
DebbieC
Posts: 85
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2020 8:08 pm
Location: Miami, FL

#43

Post by DebbieC »

lbray53 wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:15 pm This would be a great puzzle for a meta solving class or to get a friend hooked on metas.
Agreed. Very clever; a basic meta with easy-to-understand steps, yet clever and elegant.
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benchen71
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:50 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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#44

Post by benchen71 »

DebbieC wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:13 am
lbray53 wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:15 pm This would be a great puzzle for a meta solving class or to get a friend hooked on metas.
Agreed. Very clever; a basic meta with easy-to-understand steps, yet clever and elegant.
And yet I can't find any way into this meta! I consider myself a good WSJ meta solver, and create my own metas. I do not consider this meta basic or easy. However, I also know nothing about baseball so I don't know if that is a factor.
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
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Thurman8er
Posts: 393
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:05 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

#45

Post by Thurman8er »

It was so great ZOOMing with the Muggles last night and putting some faces to the names. Y'all are delightful.

Here's the updated leaderboard:

Meg
Barbara
Karen
Jay
Michael M
Dave C
Cap’n Rick
Bob
Jay
Dannyvee
Tamara
Heidi
Cindy
SharkIcicles
Dr. Tom
Beth
Laura
Old Judge
Mama E
Claudia
Shmuel
Matt
Scott
Chris Kochmanski
Kay
Cynthia
Bob
Jeanne C
Dick
Carolyn
Rich
Ibray53
Frank
Debbie
Darth
Jeremy
Dudeski
Marge
Bret
Cathy
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LadyBird
Posts: 872
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2020 4:20 pm
Location: Chicagoland

#46

Post by LadyBird »

I am confirmed off the couch. I didn't see it--and then I did. Lovely first meta!
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bhamren
Posts: 243
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 12:15 pm
Location: Urbana, Ohio

#47

Post by bhamren »

Unconfirmed, but definitely off the couch.

Nice Meta!

And I remember the Green M&M "theory" from the mid 1970's in high school. Haven't heard it since.
JeanneC
Posts: 616
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2020 11:25 am
Location: Florida

#48

Post by JeanneC »

This was a superb puzzle and not just because I solved it. Most of us use Mr. G from time to time when the subject matter is not in our wheelhouse. This subject matter and mechanism are, I think, fair to any participant.

Well done!
“I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year’s fashions”. Lillian Hellman
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benchen71
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:50 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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#49

Post by benchen71 »

Thanks to a couple of nudges, I've finally struggled through to the answer. That was definitely tricky for someone unfamiliar with that particular sporting arena! Thank goodness for Wikipedia... ;)
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
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auee89
Posts: 1069
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:55 am
Location: Indiana

#50

Post by auee89 »

Well done! Very enjoyable. I was stuck for a while on one thing and couldn't get out of my own way. With a helpful nudge, I was on my way off the couch.
Kevin
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MikeM000
Posts: 579
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:31 am
Location: Metro Detroit

#51

Post by MikeM000 »

Super nice debut! Given how others reacted I thought it would take me 30 seconds; it is definitely one that, if you don't get it immediately, benefits from just leaving it out on a table and looking at it from time to time. Very inventive elements involved.

My one question though....did @Thurman8er know of the Canadian sitcom beforehand or did he just find something in Google results that fit the grid? I've had access to the CBC my whole life and I've never heard of this one until now....
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Thurman8er
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:05 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

#52

Post by Thurman8er »

MikeM000 wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:37 am Super nice debut! Given how others reacted I thought it would take me 30 seconds; it is definitely one that, if you don't get it immediately, benefits from just leaving it out on a table and looking at it from time to time. Very inventive elements involved.

My one question though....did @Thurman8er know of the Canadian sitcom beforehand or did he just find something in Google results that fit the grid? I've had access to the CBC my whole life and I've never heard of this one until now....
That was definitely Googled. Although as a teacher...who is often called Mr. T...I thought it was fair. 8-) 8-) 8-)
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Thurman8er
Posts: 393
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:05 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

#53

Post by Thurman8er »

Nudge #2:

If you don't know your baseball teams

you'll want to find a list and compare it to the entries .
hoover
Posts: 1221
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2021 7:26 pm

#54

Post by hoover »

I think I'm off the couch. This was quite the amazing debut! Symmetric, no weird singles or twos, no obscure crossing pairs, etc.
Dplass
Posts: 1739
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:09 am

#55

Post by Dplass »

Solved after many nudges and hints.

Thanks for the puzzle!
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cbarbee002
Posts: 591
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:02 pm
Location: Philly Area

#56

Post by cbarbee002 »

Officially "OTC". Looking forward to posting the rabbit holes I went down, and how deep they went. . . .
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woozy
Posts: 2149
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2020 12:40 am

#57

Post by woozy »

Thurman8er wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:48 pm Nudge #2:

If you don't know your baseball teams

you'll want to find a list and compare it to the entries .

Yeah...... I'm not going to do that.

This seems like a great puzzle and well constructed and I want to ditto all the encouraging words.

But the antipathy sports and I mutually feel toward each other and that I think I know exactly two terms of sports statistics, makes me think I'll have to give it a miss.

[Unless I do, do that... I haven't met a puzzle I haven't wanted to wrestle a bit with.
Latest meta: Never forget... and never mind (A WSJ retaliation)
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sharkicicles
Posts: 798
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 12:03 pm
Location: Chicago

#58

Post by sharkicicles »

woozy wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 3:03 pm
Thurman8er wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:48 pm Nudge #2:

If you don't know your baseball teams

you'll want to find a list and compare it to the entries .

Yeah...... I'm not going to do that.

This seems like a great puzzle and well constructed and I want to ditto all the encouraging words.

But the antipathy sports and I mutually feel toward each other and that I think I know exactly two terms of sports statistics, makes me think I'll have to give it a miss.

[Unless I do, do that... I haven't met a puzzle I haven't wanted to wrestle a bit with.
This is kind of how I feel about Shakespeare-related metas. I think we all have not-so-favorite categories.

Me, I do the puzzles anyway... maybe I just don't try as hard on those :)
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Thurman8er
Posts: 393
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:05 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

#59

Post by Thurman8er »

sharkicicles wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 4:22 pm
woozy wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 3:03 pm
Thurman8er wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:48 pm Nudge #2:

If you don't know your baseball teams

you'll want to find a list and compare it to the entries .

Yeah...... I'm not going to do that.

This seems like a great puzzle and well constructed and I want to ditto all the encouraging words.

But the antipathy sports and I mutually feel toward each other and that I think I know exactly two terms of sports statistics, makes me think I'll have to give it a miss.

[Unless I do, do that... I haven't met a puzzle I haven't wanted to wrestle a bit with.
This is kind of how I feel about Shakespeare-related metas. I think we all have not-so-favorite categories.

Me, I do the puzzles anyway... maybe I just don't try as hard on those :)
This is me with my well-documented hatred of geography puzzles. Believe me, I get it.
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Thurman8er
Posts: 393
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:05 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

#60

Post by Thurman8er »

First off, let me thank all the folks who helped with the construction of my first puzzle and the posts on the message board throughout the week. That especially includes Al Sisti, Peter Abide, Brian MacDonald, and Joe Ross.

I'm also so grateful for the encouragement and appreciation of the Muggle community. You guys really are the best.

The final list of people who made it off the couch (at least by my reckoning) is:

Meg
Barbara
Karen
Jay
Michael M
Dave C
Cap’n Rick
Bob
Jay
Dannyvee
Tamara
Heidi
Cindy
SharkIcicles
Dr. Tom
Beth
Laura
Old Judge
Mama E
Claudia
Shmuel
Matt
Scott
Chris Kochmanski
Kay
Cynthia
Bob
Jeanne C
Dick
Carolyn
Rich
Ibray53
Frank
Debbie
Darth
Jeremy
Dudeski
Marge
Bret
Cathy
Kevin
Bhamren
Benchen71
Cae39
Kay
MikeM000
DPlass
Hoover
Cbarbee002
Deep
Cindy N
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