"Lost in Space"

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.
Dow Jones
Posts: 472
Joined: Thu May 09, 2019 11:02 pm
Location: Yakima, WA

#61

Post by Dow Jones »

It only took me 3 days and 3 nudges to ascertain the answer. Lots of fun and I learned a few things (Indian pastries & Canis Minor stars).
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DrTom
Posts: 3765
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:46 pm
Location: Jacksonville, FL

#62

Post by DrTom »

j'ai maintenant part le divan! (je pense)
French Couch.jpg
J'attends la confirmation

I kind of wish this was the MEOW so I could say "Can we Chat?"

EDIT: Comme Alex dit, je suis hors du divan et dans la rivière (that's In Seine of course)
Last edited by DrTom on Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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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Al Sisti
Posts: 2037
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:28 pm
Location: Whitesboro NY

#63

Post by Al Sisti »

DrTom wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:20 pm j'ai maintenant part le divan! (je pense)
French Couch.jpg

J'attends la confirmation

I kind of wish this was the MEOW so I could say "Can we Chat?"
Se lever; vous avez raison!
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DrTom
Posts: 3765
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:46 pm
Location: Jacksonville, FL

#64

Post by DrTom »

Al Sisti wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:22 pm
DrTom wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:20 pm j'ai maintenant part le divan! (je pense)
French Couch.jpg

J'attends la confirmation

I kind of wish this was the MEOW so I could say "Can we Chat?"
Se lever; vous avez raison!
Hey - who you calling a "lever", I do crosswords I know that is another word for "Tool" (see I'm just ramping it up so I don't plainly get screwed - Tom said mechanically)
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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cbarbee002
Posts: 591
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:02 pm
Location: Philly Area

#65

Post by cbarbee002 »

Not confirmed, but seems like a lock. I will admit that it took two of the official nudges to get me home. Great puzzle!
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sharkicicles
Posts: 798
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 12:03 pm
Location: Chicago

#66

Post by sharkicicles »

Got it. Great meta!
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Tom Mueller
Posts: 57
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2020 6:08 pm
Location: California

#67

Post by Tom Mueller »

I think I have it solved. Thanks, Al and Josh! Great job!
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eagle1279
Posts: 307
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 7:00 pm
Location: Indianapolis

#68

Post by eagle1279 »

Off the couch and confirmed. No nudges needed but more internet searching than I would have liked. Nice puzzle, thanks Josh and Al for giving us something to do if we solved the WSJ puzzle quickly -- or found it too daunting to spoil a weekend. And a great idea for a movie to watch after the Superb Owl.
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Al Sisti
Posts: 2037
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:28 pm
Location: Whitesboro NY

#69

Post by Al Sisti »

The answer to this meta, as found by 56 (!!) solvers, was HIDDEN FIGURES; a terrific movie based on the essential work done for America’s fledgling space program by three incredible African American women -- Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. These brilliant and brave women, literally hidden in the bowels of the NASA complex simply because of the color of their skin (and, truth be told, their gender), persevered and ultimately made their mark in history as the giants they were; three women who – but for this movie and the book on which it was based -- might still be “lost in space.”

Josh (madhatter5) wrote me a few weeks ago to see if I was interested in joining forces to write a puzzle to highlight February being Black History Month. After a few ideas (that may someday see the light of day – you never throw out possible mechanisms), we came up with this one. We lobbied BrianMac for the first day of February, as we assumed other constructors around the country would be doing similar things; also we deliberately didn’t mention Black History Month in our post, because that would have made the meta much easier to solve. But bottom line, we wanted it to be solved by everyone, as we wanted everyone to become familiar with this great story.

The trick was based on a hint at 63D that suggested that many great space quests began at NASA. Armed with that hint, solvers noticed that there were seven symmetrically-placed Across entries that had one additional letter inserted – hidden, as it were – within the letters NASA. Those letters, taken in grid order, spelled out FIGURES (kudos to Josh for the masterful way he found and used the necessary entries).

17A: INASFARAS  NAS + F + A
25A: GYMNASIA  NAS + I + A
28A: NAGSAT  NA + G + SA
36A: SNAUSAGES  NA + U + SA
48A: ANARSA  NA + R + SA
51A: INASEAOF  NAS + E + A
61A: UNASSAYED  NAS + S + A

The random winner this week was DowJones, who will receive a DVD/BluRay copy of the movie “Hidden Figures.” (PM me for your choice, and how I can get it to you). Thanks for solving!

Al and Josh (still looking for a “Bennifer” or “HEX”-like portmanteau).
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