XWord Muggles Forum

http://www.lexicondevil.live/2021/06/pu ... -meta.html

Deadline Tuesday, June 8, 12 PM EST.

Congrats to Puzzle 28 winners Hector and FrankieHeck!

BTW, if you regular solvers could spread the word about my metas to the other meta fans on this board, I would be greatly indebted. I think there are quite a few people on this board who haven't given them a whirl, and I think if you are a regular WSJ solver you would generally be able to solve and enjoy mine, and you'd have a much greater chance of winning something upon entry. The way it's going, I'd guess a regular entrant in the Lexicon Devil meta contest has a 5-10% chance of winning on a weekly basis, and sometimes better than that (when I make the puzzle too hard, granted, but...)

Another challenging and excellent LD outing, thanks!

Oof….I am at a loss. Seeing some rabbit holes, but nothing is gelling for me with this one

Hector nailed it pretty much immediately ... but is the only correct answer so far...

I don't like to give hints that not every solver has access to but while I'm typing this, I'm inclined to say that I have already discovered one or two totally unintentional red herrings in the grid -- things that I would make note of as a solver but that aren't actually significant.

I'm not seeing this one at all. I think I "grok" the title, but that's as far as I've gotten.
EDIT: Post-enlightenment! I was on the right track all along and EVEN WROTE DOWN THE ANSWER days ago when I was trying to figure out the title.

ricky wrote: ↑Fri Jun 04, 2021 1:51 pm Hector nailed it pretty much immediately ... but is the only correct answer so far...

I don't like to give hints that not every solver has access to but while I'm typing this, I'm inclined to say that I have already discovered one or two totally unintentional red herrings in the grid -- things that I would make note of as a solver but that aren't actually significant.

Ricky, I submitted my answer, but I don't know what "Option 1" was on the answer form, so I didn't check it. I hope that doesn't eliminate me from the running!
WLW.

I don't know what it is either! I must have accidentally hit the "create new item" button while the form interface was open on my computer?

UPDATE: I'm going to extend the deadline for this until Thursday at 12 PM.

There haven't been very many entries, and I've been trying to think of a good hint but haven't come up with one besides the following:

The two-word answer is (4,7).

Quick and maybe stoopid question: I was going to give this a shot, but it looks like there is no PUZ file for this particular puzzle? Both the PDF and PUZ links seem to link to a PDF....

After a big shove from Wendy, I'm pretty sure I have it. Submitted.

KayW wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 10:44 am Quick and maybe stoopid question: I was going to give this a shot, but it looks like there is no PUZ file for this particular puzzle? Both the PDF and PUZ links seem to link to a PDF....

Thanks for telling me and sorry about that. I'll try to fix it tonight.

Try this link for .puz

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u941ijuls92um ... s.puz?dl=1

I have left the workshop after a nudge. Very cool/creative, and nice payoff. Your sporadic test solver could have helped make this a little easier.

Got it with a nudge.

OK, I have it, but only after so much give and take with other Muggles that I feel like I shouldn’t submit for the prize.

Kinda cool, but I also tend to agree with some others here that there needed to be a bit more to get you going — something to grab onto, even if only tenuously, and make you suspect what the puzzle was after.

Still, I applaud Ricky’s creativity.

Solved with nudge.

This one proved a comedy of errors. First, when I went to clue this grid on June 2, which was Version 7, I thought, "Wow, this fill is pretty bad. But I remember that when I finished the grid, I was confident it was as good as I could get it. This must have been the best I could do." Well, after I clued it and posted it and everything else, I found the file for Version 8, which was significantly better. I've never made that mistake before and hopefully never will again.

This was a particular problem because the grid I wound up cluing included red herrings like SPIED and IED right on top of each other, which looks like something meaningful to the answer, especially with the title "Takes Shorts."

Second, I apparently posted two links to the PDF and no link to the .puz file, which I didn't notice until someone pointed it out days later.

Anyway, on to the answer: the grid was an unusual size (13x12) to limit the number of entries on the perimeter of the grid, because every entry on the perimeter is part of the meta solution. Each pair of entries that meets at a corner, read out loud, would form a familiar phrase, except that one syllable is missing. Trickily, in order to read two of them in the correct order, you have to read one of the down entries - ETNA and MEET - backwards.

ANTE ___ DENT
GRAD ___ ALI
PAN ___ HOSE
SELF ___ TEEM

the phrases are

ANTECEDENT
GRADUALLY
PANTYHOSE
SELFESTEEM

The missing syllables line up with the grid's corners, which are all black squares:

CEE YOU TEE ESS = C-U-T-S

The missing syllables in the puzzle's CORNERS, read out loud, spell the word CUTS.

The answer is CUTS CORNERS, also a synonym of the title, "Takes Shorts."

Wow, that's a clever meta! I never would have gotten there. Looking forward to trying again with the next one!