"Some Real Duds In There" - August 27, 2021

A place to discuss the weekly Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle Contest, starting every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Please do not post any answers or hints before the contest deadline which is midnight Sunday Eastern time.
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BethA
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#361

Post by BethA »

Thought there might be many just “Thread” answers, since there are two shorts and one full length movie by that name. Careful googling revealed Phantom Thread.

Enjoyed it!
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escapeartist
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#362

Post by escapeartist »

I got this one right, fortunately.

But asked my wife to rent it for Friday nite date nite.

OMG terrible - see my last post for my review of this "movie"
* 2022 WSJ Mug Winner - I bask in its Glory *
hoover
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#363

Post by hoover »

I got PAGEANTed. The instructions didn't specify Academy Award nomination, just "Best Picture."

Thread (2016) was nominated for Best Film at the 2017 Hellenic Film Academy Awards.

On another note, I cringed every time someone mentioned the title "snafu" because I thought it might be a spoiler. I assumed that the Dudes/Duds thing was deliberate in order to call attention to the dropped letters. When I did the puzzle, the text on the WSJ puzzle page and the URL itself said "dudes," but I don't remember which word the puzzle itself had.

I even thought for a little bit that the answer may have been Tread (2020) -- dropping the H as the theme answers dropped a letter -- which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW 2019.
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Bob cruise director
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#364

Post by Bob cruise director »

Limerick Savant wrote: Sun Aug 29, 2021 11:00 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Aug 29, 2021 8:36 pm A little early "final" report. When we are close to a record, I check Monday to see any late arrivals on the shore.

We have 252 on the shore at present - I will give a final count tomorrow

Since noon, several muggles have gotten to shore - most were there but hiding

The latest on shore are
Ben B and son
Peter
ZooAnimalsOnWheels
KscX
Janet P
OGuyDave
martimeryard
Thurman8er
Lyman
periperi
David Wa
Ann
Shirley


Stay safe especially those in Ida's path. The only impact on us in NE is that my Thursday golf is going to get rained out.
@Limerick Savant how the system works is that if you are entering that you are on shore while I am entering the status, your posting does not show up on my screen until I refresh it. Sorry I missed you


I announced my arrival right after your previous count but maybe it got lost in the throng. I am happy to be part of a record setting storming of the beach this week.
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Bob cruise director
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#365

Post by Bob cruise director »

Good Monday morning muggles.

Our final count is 258 on shore including the late comers and those who jumped the gun on Wednesday. A new record for most on the shore.

Well done
Bob Stevens
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KscX
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#366

Post by KscX »

Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:30 am Good Monday morning muggles.

Our final count is 258 on shore including the late comers and those who jumped the gun on Wednesday. A new record for most on the shore.

Well done
You deserve a bonus for the extra typing. Thank you for keeping this all organized!
Franklin.Bluth
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#367

Post by Franklin.Bluth »

hoover wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 1:12 am I got PAGEANTed. The instructions didn't specify Academy Award nomination, just "Best Picture."
"Best Picture" is a category that is, if not exclusive to the Oscars, highly associated with them. Most other awards use "Best Film", or some specific appellation (Palme d'Or, Grand Prix, etc.). Even the Golden Globes say "Best Motion Picture".
MaineMarge
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#368

Post by MaineMarge »

Thanks, Bob. Great job, Muggles!

Oops! I forgot there ARE some duds in the garden- of this puzzle variety, not of the botanical variety.
691C0846-7663-4B8B-85E5-B5392B3BF329.jpeg
My garden girl Carrie Underwood is always dressed to the nines. She is named thus because she has *wood under her*— formed around a cedar post sunk into the ground.
Nice threads, Carrie!
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whimsy
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#369

Post by whimsy »

Well, all our hanky-panky posting at the tail end of last week's puzzle topic about the premature and accidental appearance of the puzzle, had me wondering whether it might all have to be redacted --- resulting in a --- Phantom Thread.
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Joe Ross
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#370

Post by Joe Ross »

Franklin.Bluth wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:08 am
hoover wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 1:12 am I got PAGEANTed. The instructions didn't specify Academy Award nomination, just "Best Picture."

Thread (2016) was nominated for Best Film at the 2017 Hellenic Film Academy Awards.
"Best Picture" is a category that is, if not exclusive to the Oscars, highly associated with them. Most other awards use "Best Film", or some specific appellation (Palme d'Or, Grand Prix, etc.). Even the Golden Globes say "Best Motion Picture".
I was PAGEANTed, too, in this exact way & was told by the puzzle's creator Franklin's explanation, which is fair. (The Hellenic Film Society's Academy Awards aren't global news.)

Like others, my initial IMDB interwebbing did not yield PHANTOM THREAD, or I ignored it. Antiundisfortunately and less better, along with solving early (due to WSJ's mistake), I also submitted early & incorrectly when copying Mike Miller to alert him of the early posting of the contest's PDF.
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SReh26
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#371

Post by SReh26 »

SReh26 wrote: Sun Aug 29, 2021 10:52 pm
hcbirker wrote: Sun Aug 29, 2021 10:22 pm Always popcorn. Never candy.
Egads, Heidi! Why not?

(Because when you throw them they can land on someones head or shoulders without them noticing? Only good reason this city girl can come up with).
Much healthier to be low or no sugar! Ive tried it in various eras of my life. What a positive difference! (And no, I never threw anything in a movie theater. Cafeterias, perhaps, but I don’t recall specifically. Snowballs at city buses? OMG yes!)
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MarkWoychick
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#372

Post by MarkWoychick »

When I first saw the title and clue, I was hoping the answer would be Milk, as in Milk Duds, but its best picture nomination was more than 10 years ago. In the end, I was able to find the right answer.
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 contest-style (meta) crosswords that we've created to help raise money for cancer-related organizations - get the bundle at http://crosswordsforcancer.com
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Eric Porter
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#373

Post by Eric Porter »

This contest is probably one of the more guessable answers we've had. The title contains the word 'duds' and the correct answer is a movie about a dressmaker.

Looking through all the nominees for the past decade, I only know the general plot for maybe half and have seen far fewer than that. Apologies in advance if there's some other movie about clothes. I'm not reading through the plots for all of them.
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KscX
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#374

Post by KscX »

I’m loving the entertainment inspo I get from these puzzles. Currently listening to an N K Jemison novel, and now I’ll add Phantom Thread to my watchlist.

If I may be honest… I was thinking all weekend that this was another Marvel Comics movie I had no interest in…
Hidden in 3D
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#375

Post by Hidden in 3D »

I was one of the early solvers thanks to WSJ's glitch. I had seen Phantom Thread during a special event that AMC Theatres used to host just before the Academy Awards presentation in pre-COVID days. The Best Picture nominated films were shown back-to-back on the two Saturdays just prior to the Oscars presentation for those who bought the package ahead of time. I used to attend this movie marathon every year with my best friend; some years we even talked our hubbies into going. I think Phantom Thread was one of the last movies of the day, and thus I barely remembered it until I went back and read the synopsis. Not my favorite from that year - I think I'd have to go with Lady Bird! (What Muggle wouldn't?!!) :D
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Deb F
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#376

Post by Deb F »

Huh. Well now I know why I was on page 5 at 5:30 on Thursday. I'm never, ever ready with a solution that soon and was devastated to see how many beat me to it. But it's not that Muggledom is so darn smart and quick?!!

Have a good week, Muggles.
Al Laubenstein
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#377

Post by Al Laubenstein »

Ok, hear me out. If Sacagawea were spelled correctly, it leads to designer genes instead of designer jeans, and the missing letters spell THREE D. Clearly the movie is DREDD, no?
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femullen
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#378

Post by femullen »

Eric Porter wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:13 am This contest is probably one of the more guessable answers we've had. The title contains the word 'duds' and the correct answer is a movie about a dressmaker.

Looking through all the nominees for the past decade, I only know the general plot for maybe half and have seen far fewer than that. Apologies in advance if there's some other movie about clothes. I'm not reading through the plots for all of them.
Reading these post mortems is one of my favorite things, because they so often make me laugh, which Mr. Porter has just done--and he's made me laugh at myself, let me add, not at him. That this meta might have been guessable assumes that the guesser has (1) some awareness of the movies that have come out in the past ten years and (2) some notion of which have been nominated best picture. I googled the list last Thursday (naturally, because I have no awareness of (1) and no notion of (2)), and was surprised to find that I'd seen four of them, one of them in an actual movie theatre. But I hadn't any idea that they had been nominated for Best Picture or for any other Academy Award. I've read in the paper that the ratings for Oscar Night have been falling for several years. Apparently I'm part of the problem.
For nudges, feel free to PM me. I won't have a clue how to help you, but you might shove me ashore.
Bill Bovard
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#379

Post by Bill Bovard »

Watched the movie last night. Had some doubts but the more I think about it, the more I like it. What do others think?

Will be interesting to see how many submitted THREAD vs PHANTOM THREAD. I'm guessing about 10%.
pizzapizza123
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#380

Post by pizzapizza123 »

Al Laubenstein wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 12:30 pm Ok, hear me out. If Sacagawea were spelled correctly, it leads to designer genes instead of designer jeans, and the missing letters spell THREE D. Clearly the movie is DREDD, no?
If Sacagawea were spelled correctly, yes it leads to designer genes, yes it leads to 3D, and it leads to BLACK PANTHER. It is 3D, an Academy Award nominee, and it won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. I'm shaken that this isn't the correct answer. :shock:
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