"Twelve Twenty-Six"

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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Abide
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#41

Post by Abide »

JeanneC wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 11:16 pm Aha moment. Got the extra credit first but submitted the wrong meta answer. Have now gotten it. Not resubmitting. One shot a puzzle. Elegant!
Please feel free to resubmit. You made a very close guess and that was before any nudges. There is no penalty for a wrong first (or second) guess. For example, our Cruise Director has probably gone through a hymnal by now. I still have hope he will seal the deal tomorrow.
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FrankH
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#42

Post by FrankH »

OTC. The extra credit was the easy part; needed nudge from Peter to get the right meta.
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Bird Lives
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#43

Post by Bird Lives »

Thanks to those nudges, I have finally, but sadly, ruled out "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."
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Al Sisti
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#44

Post by Al Sisti »

Bird Lives wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:03 am Thanks to those nudges, I have finally, but sadly, ruled out "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."
That would have been a fun one... maybe we should pencil you in for next year's Christmas Bonus MMM?
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#45

Post by Bird Lives »

Al Sisti wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 12:43 pm
Bird Lives wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:03 am Thanks to those nudges, I have finally, but sadly, ruled out "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."
That would have been a fun one... maybe we should pencil you in for next year's Christmas Bonus MMM?
The tempation is strong, though perhaps for a different song.
.
Bells.jpg
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C=64
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#46

Post by C=64 »

I instictively parsed that song title and thought "bro's wife (3), action word (4), building wings (4)".
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Al Sisti
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#47

Post by Al Sisti »

Bird Lives wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 12:55 pm
Al Sisti wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 12:43 pm
Bird Lives wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:03 am Thanks to those nudges, I have finally, but sadly, ruled out "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."
That would have been a fun one... maybe we should pencil you in for next year's Christmas Bonus MMM?
The tempation is strong, though perhaps for a different song.
.
Bells.jpg
Ha, great call... He was a very prolific songwriter, and while some may know he wrote this one and some other great, great songs, there's probably not many people who know he also wrote -- and sang -- the theme song to "Mr. Ed."
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#48

Post by Bird Lives »

Al Sisti wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:40 pm
Bird Lives wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 12:55 pm
Al Sisti wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 12:43 pm

That would have been a fun one... maybe we should pencil you in for next year's Christmas Bonus MMM?
The tempation is strong, though perhaps for a different song.
.
Bells.jpg
Ha, great call... He was a very prolific songwriter, and while some may know he wrote this one and some other great, great songs, there's probably not many people who know he also wrote -- and sang -- the theme song to "Mr. Ed."
I knew it, of course. Other fun facts. Like me, he was from the Pittsburgh area. Unlike me, his family name was not originaly Livingston but Levinson. And despite all those hits whose royalties continue to roll in, though probably not to the degree of Silver Bells, his brother made even more money in music. He was the president of Capitol records and signed the Beach Boys and the Beatles.
Last edited by Bird Lives on Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:07 am, edited 2 times in total.
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#49

Post by Al Sisti »

Bird Lives wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 2:54 pm
Al Sisti wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:40 pm
Bird Lives wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 12:55 pm

The tempation is strong, though perhaps for a different song.
.
Bells.jpg
Ha, great call... He was a very prolific songwriter, and while some may know he wrote this one and some other great, great songs, there's probably not many people who know he also wrote -- and sang -- the theme song to "Mr. Ed."
I knew it, of course. Other fun facts. Like me, he was from the Pittsburgh area. Unlike me, his family name was not originaly Livingston but Levinson. And despite all those hits whose royalties that continue to roll in, though probably not to the degree of Silver Bells, his brother made even ore money in music. He was the president of Capitol records and signed the Beach Boys and the Beatles.
Wow... did not know that.
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#50

Post by MajordomoTom »

"Conjunction, Junction" is probably not the answer.
"Lots of planets have a North", the Ninth Doctor.
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#51

Post by Abide »

Bakers, you have two hours to submit your answer!

Updated Wednesday afternoon leaderboard:

37. DPlass
38. cbarbee002*
39. FrankH
40. Anita
41. Schmeel
42. ReB*
43. MichaelM
44. SewYoung
45. damefox
46. Naptown Kid

*Both these guys sorta submitted the correct answer and then argued themselves out of it. But it's Christmas...
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#52

Post by Abide »

Final entry at the buzzer

47. bhamren

Reveal and writeup forthcoming --- ⭐️ ............ 🐪 🐪 🐪
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#53

Post by Abide »

MMM 12/21/2020 Meta Answer: We Three Kings (of Orient Are)

20201221 MMM Peter Abide Twelve Twenty-Six solution.png
Credit: Joe Ross

Forty-seven Muggles discerned the intended Christmas carol, which bore a special connection to another event occurring on December 21, 2020.

Three long entries hid three kings: King Midas, King Lear, and Stephen King. Using the central clue (*Manger site) with the asterisk serving double duty as a star, the kings came from the EAST and headed west towards the star, also known as the "Star of Bethlehem" or the "Christmas Star".

For a detailed explanation of the extra credit connection, and the title "Twelve Twenty-Six", let's go to dailygalaxy.com:

Tomorrow, Monday, December 21, Jupiter and Saturn will align in a “great conjunction,” appearing as close and as visible to be able to see both the rings of Saturn and the Galilean moons of Jupiter –Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto–at the same moment since 1226. The two planets will align close enough to become what is known as the “Christmas Star.”

The last time this celestial event occurred was on March 4, 1226, an event believed to be the basis for the earlier “Star of Bethlehem” in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew that guided the Three Wise Men to Christ’s birth.

It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this “great conjunction,” says NASA.


Odds and ends:
In addition to "the great conjunction", KayW was the first to notice "the great coincidence": Each of the long theme entries start with the name of the Three Kings: Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior. (I didn't plan that but I'll take it.)

Fans of Will's Pandora metas may be surprised to learn that Dinosaur Train(31-Across) is a thing.

Reginald Dwight legally changed his name to Elton Hercules John(41-Across) in 1972. Hercules came from the name of a horse in a popular British sitcom.

Shout out at 44-Down to the new kid on the block.

There was quite a bit of PM interaction on this one. which I enjoyed a lot. The randomly-drawn winner was #2, Joe Ross.

Here's to a Merry Christmas and a Muggle New Year!
The site is just a web page, a meeting place, a clubhouse - it's the group that's special.
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Al Sisti
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#54

Post by Al Sisti »

You've not only raised the bar on Muggle metas, you've raised the bar on reveals as well!
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#55

Post by cbarbee002 »

Well done.
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Joe Ross
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#56

Post by Joe Ross »

Yeeps! Thank you, Peter! I shall wear the Biloxi lapel pin with pride, eager to explain my opportunity to win it.

(Don't let the 'credit' fool you, folks. Peter conceived, designed, & edited the graphic. It was my good fortune to help in a small way.)

Best wishes to all, today, through the new year, and beyond. It is also my good fortune to be a part of this large, intelligent, & caring crowd. It isn't taken for granted. Thank you.
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#57

Post by KayW »

Al Sisti wrote: Fri Dec 25, 2020 1:56 am You've not only raised the bar on Muggle metas, you've raised the bar on reveals as well!
Hear, hear! And what a fabulous conjunction of timing for this particular meta. Kudos all around, Peter!

From Head EAST in the bottom row, the three long across entries, and the events of 12/21 and 1226, I had an immediate hunch as to the answer. So my back-solving attempts first led me to C(aspar)/B(althazar)/M(elchior) as well as the fourth KING at 2 down before I saw Peter's intended mechanism... and even then, I didn't quite realize they were heading towards the star. Not to mention that I googled and found a King Stephen before Peter nudged me towards the appropriate King :roll:

Ah well, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn or three...

And my grid solve for 2 down was somewhat amusing. I immediately thought EAP meant Poe and wrote in ALAN (yeah, yeah, I later realized it's ALLAN). But resolved my mistake when I had to google what the heck is CLUNK music?

Happy and safe holidays, everyone!
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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FrankH
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#58

Post by FrankH »

I also discounted Stephen King because in this case King is the family name, not the title. So I consulted with Mr. G and found King Stephen and assumed that was it. One thing that led me to go to various rabbit holes before getting to the right path is that Midas (or SADIM) didn't occupy the last 5 positions of the long answer.
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#59

Post by C=64 »

Complicating matters (for me) was the fact that the Feast of Stephen is on Dec 26.

My extra credit research revealed that Elvis made his famous White House visit 50 years ago on Dec 21, 1970.
elvis-presley-president-nixon-gettyimages-3072025.jpeg
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#60

Post by Abide »

C=64 wrote: Fri Dec 25, 2020 5:53 pm
My extra credit research revealed that Elvis made his famous White House visit 50 years ago on Dec 21, 1970.

I would have accepted that as appropriate extra credit :lol:
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