Addictive Additive ****RETRACTED****

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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Hector
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#21

Post by Hector »

Well I always wanted SUGAR or ICECREAM. Dr. Tom please explain the mechanism more fully, and curse you until your next meta. :)
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DrTom
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#22

Post by DrTom »

OK, so the words: BARBS, COKE, ALCOHOL, POT and SPEED all are addictive substances. They are all clued with a kind of double meaning to make them stand out: ex Sharp triangular portion on the end of hooks and easy to get hooked on, What you don't have to pee in even if you had a window to throw it out of (and you would in a pinch), etc. Once you had all 5 words you take their alphabetical value (so C=3, O=15, K=11, E=5 so that WORDS WORTH 34) and at that number sat a letter (34 in the original was an S). Following that through you got S U G A R, an addictive additive and something that has caused many a sweet surrender.

Good idea, bad implementation.
Dunce cap S.jpg
Last edited by DrTom on Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:37 am, 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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oldjudge
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#23

Post by oldjudge »

DrTom wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:58 pm OK everyone STOP!!!

I am embarrassed to say that during the creation of the original puzzle I had one of the ultimate "No No's" in a US crossword, unchecked squares. So I reworked the puzzle to eliminate the squares and had to come up with new words and clues. I even ended up having to change one of my addictive substances.

Well of course I was doing this well into the night and after about 20 or thirty iterations of trying to come up with a suitable fill I finally got one BUT what i did not take into account is that this process changed my numbering completely so that squares that were to hold letters to the meta answer were now different numbers. In short the meta cannot be solved.

Several of you were knocking on the door, the mechanism was that the substances, if you were to sum up their values based on their place in the alphabet, would give you a number (i.e. what the WORDS WORTH) and that number gave you one of 5 letters that eventually spelled SUGAR. Great idea, but a total novice mistake and I apologize for the work you all put into it and the lack of a good MMM. I think it may be a while before I try this again because I am frankly so ashamed of making this glaring an error. Forgive me.

For those of you who came up with ULTRA (which as I redid the solve is what the letters appear to be) you solved it and, interestingly, revealed the ULTRA sin in creating a puzzle....not re-solving after you make massive changes. DANG!!!
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oldjudge
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#24

Post by oldjudge »

Tom— Better a mistake here than at the hospital. We still love you!
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MamaE
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#25

Post by MamaE »

Whew - grid finished, found some stuff in puzzle than I’m sure has something to do with the meta, but clueless what to do next.....maybe sleep will help.
- Just puzzling it out here in Delmarva :D
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MamaE
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#26

Post by MamaE »

MamaE wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:32 am Whew - grid finished, found some stuff in puzzle than I’m sure has something to do with the meta, but clueless what to do next.....maybe sleep will help.
Just read Tom’s posting - no worries, we all make mistakes.
- Just puzzling it out here in Delmarva :D
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Al Sisti
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#27

Post by Al Sisti »

Aw man... maybe you could have posted a different prompt? And bottom line, don't be ashamed. Maybe you should blame your test solvers for not catching it until this morning... slugabeds.

Signed --

One of your test solvers.
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DrTom
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#28

Post by DrTom »

oldjudge wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:27 am Tom— Better a mistake here than at the hospital. We still love you!
Knock on wood, I have never had one of this magnitude at work. This level of one would surely get my name in the papers....

I'm glad you still love me because right now Tom is QUITE disgusted with Tom.
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!
madhatter5
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#29

Post by madhatter5 »

Tom, maybe you can write RETRACTED on the subject line to make sure people notice and dont keep working on it?
https://pandorasblocks.org/crosswords-for-cancer
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DrTom
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#30

Post by DrTom »

Al Sisti wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:39 am Aw man... maybe you could have posted a different prompt? And bottom line, don't be ashamed. Maybe you should blame your test solvers for not catching it until this morning... slugabeds.

Signed --

One of your test solvers.
Thanks Al, but this one is all on me - rookie mistake. I thought about going back and changing the meta prompt for one quick minute, hoping there was a sugar substitute named ULTRA, but no, time to take my lumps. The one thing you can be sure of, it will never happen again because, assuming I get back on that META horse you can be certain that I will check it and recheck it then have someone else check it.
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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ChrisKochmanski
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#31

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Bird Lives wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:02 pm
ChrisKochmanski wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 8:11 pm
Ditto. I'll occasionally re-visit the puzzle, and check in here, but chances are I'll need the hints to come on Wednesday.
Congratulations on the new, um. profile picture.
Two reasons to change: (1) The previous photo was sooooooo old (I haven't looked like that for a while); and, more importantly, (2) to show off Theo, our new grandson, one month old yesterday.
madhatter5
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#32

Post by madhatter5 »

Dont worry I've messed up on a similar level - twice :)

P.S. I can fill in with a backup puzzle at some point later today if people want?
https://pandorasblocks.org/crosswords-for-cancer
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Al Sisti
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#33

Post by Al Sisti »

DrTom wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:47 am
Al Sisti wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:39 am Aw man... maybe you could have posted a different prompt? And bottom line, don't be ashamed. Maybe you should blame your test solvers for not catching it until this morning... slugabeds.

Signed --

One of your test solvers.
Thanks Al, but this one is all on me - rookie mistake. I thought about going back and changing the meta prompt for one quick minute, hoping there was a sugar substitute named ULTRA, but no, time to take my lumps. The one thing you can be sure of, it will never happen again because, assuming I get back on that META horse you can be certain that I will check it and recheck it then have someone else check it.
Sent you a PM, brother...
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Al Sisti
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#34

Post by Al Sisti »

madhatter5 wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:54 am Dont worry I've messed up on a similar level - twice :)

P.S. I can fill in with a backup puzzle at some point later today if people want?
That would be sweet of you. I'll let myself out...
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Abide
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#35

Post by Abide »

This was the April 1 puzzle we were looking for two weeks ago!

The problem with "They are all clued with a kind of double meaning to make them stand out" is that describes all Dr. Tom posts. So I enjoyed the clues hearing them in Dr. Tom's voice but did not consider them in the meta.

If the letters spelled ULTRA, that is an appropriate alcohol substitute, being about 98% water.
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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#36

Post by Al Sisti »

Abide wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:58 am This was the April 1 puzzle we were looking for two weeks ago!

The problem with "They are all clued with a kind of double meaning to make them stand out" is that describes all Dr. Tom posts. So I enjoyed the clues hearing them in Dr. Tom's voice but did not consider them in the meta.

If the letters spelled ULTRA, that is an appropriate alcohol substitute, being about 98% water.
...and Monster Ultra energy drinks have zero sugar (no chance of getting addicted?).
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ChrisKochmanski
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#37

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Sorry the puzzle didn't work. I liked the concept. Don't be discouraged, Dr. Tom; it was fun getting as far as we did (I was PMing with another Muggle, who had gotten farther than me). Just in case it helps for the post-mortem ...

We figured correctly that we needed to calculate what the substance WORDS were WORTH, though we weren't yet sure how the values should be determined, or where those values were to lead. Also, we weren't sure if POT should be included.
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TMart
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#38

Post by TMart »

Tom, thanks for the effort- it was still a fun and well-clued grid to solve, even if the meta didn't quite work out. SUGAR was my Hail Mary, but had no idea how to get there.

Your dilemma is why I haven't been back as a constructor for quite some time. I have 4 or 5 half-baked grids, but these things are so dang hard to push over the finish line that few actually work out. I have a great respect for the Gaffneys and Shenks of the world who do it week in and week out.
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boharr
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#39

Post by boharr »

Dr. Tom,
Don't fret over this. Please. The grid was great fun even though the meta went astray. So I say, thank you.
Bob
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Meg
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#40

Post by Meg »

Dr. Tom,
We are a forgiving bunch. Just give us some alcohol and another puzzle, and all is forgotten. Besides, a bunch of us are really old, so we can forget without even trying.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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