"Past and Present" - December 24, 2020

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.
Locked
User avatar
Thurman8er
Posts: 393
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:05 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

#321

Post by Thurman8er »

Ashore!

Go do the WaPo Sunday meta by Evan Birholz if you haven't already. Absolutely amazing!
ErikThor
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2019 6:35 pm

#322

Post by ErikThor »

made it to shore and submitted.
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4511
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#323

Post by Bob cruise director »

Our final count for this week is 7 on the ship and 193 on the shore.

Making it to the shore this afternoon are
WSJosh
Vincent
Matthew M
Scott M
rexthree
Joedbee
the Thurman8er
Hidden in 3D
and Erik Thor

Good luck to all winning the mug - long odds this week

Happy New Year - remember the contest comes out on WEDNESDAY at 4 pm.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
Notbitter
Posts: 91
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:22 pm

#324

Post by Notbitter »

Onshore, after a Sunday start.
User avatar
cbarbee002
Posts: 591
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:02 pm
Location: Philly Area

#325

Post by cbarbee002 »

Thinking this applies to several muggles. Two out of three for me ain't bad. :-)
ThatswhatIdo.jpg
Franklin.Bluth
Posts: 199
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2020 10:22 pm

#326

Post by Franklin.Bluth »

Ashore...bullied my way to the 12-letter word first, based solely on noticing things that seemed a tad too coincidental, couldn't quite believe I was correct, and then saw the meta in hindsight after staring at my answer word.

So it's a win, but I still wish I'd have noticed the actual mechanism first (i.e. means to an end rather than vice versa).
User avatar
cpelster
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2020 3:08 pm
Location: Lakewood, WA

#327

Post by cpelster »

Completed the grid on Thurs. Saw a few pathways. Finally got around to solving the meta today. Happy New Year!
michaelm
Posts: 487
Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2020 3:21 pm

#328

Post by michaelm »

MajordomoTom wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:58 pm
DrTom wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:57 pm
DBMiller wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:05 pm

You can't compete with the master. If you use cross words, he'll Punjab you with a right across and knock you down. So grid/gird your loins and prepare for battle. We have no clue how to defeat him.
I'm not going to Punjab you, that would have been yesterday! Instead I might just invite you to the Dehli so we could get pastrami all of this (he said with a ryely). I mean I don't want you to think I am a sauerkraut loser!
you slaw me.
India-ed
User avatar
Colin
Posts: 546
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 11:57 pm

#329

Post by Colin »

Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:12 pm A belated Sunday report as I was attempting to replace my daughter's kitchen sink faucet - unsuccessful as that nut that holds it on was rusted forever and needs someone with a sawsall to cut the faucet off.
I had same thing back in the summer with my bathroom faucets. In the end, it was easier to disconnect the plumbing (h/c and waste), lift out the sink (with faucets) after cutting the silicone seal and then saw through the nuts on the workbench. Saved a few bandaids on my head too!
One world. One planet. One future.
User avatar
Joe Ross
Moderator
Posts: 4998
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
Location: Cincinnati

#330

Post by Joe Ross »

20201224 WSJCC Past and Present.gif
Last edited by Joe Ross on Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:06 am, edited 2 times in total.
Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024

PLATELET 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 ENORMOUS 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
𝟰𝟬% 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰,
𝟯𝟬% 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰,
𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮. 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘!
User avatar
Joe Ross
Moderator
Posts: 4998
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
Location: Cincinnati

#331

Post by Joe Ross »

FRANKINCENSE

Past & Present jpr.gif
Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024

PLATELET 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 ENORMOUS 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
𝟰𝟬% 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰,
𝟯𝟬% 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰,
𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮. 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘!
PJM
Posts: 75
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2020 8:06 pm

#332

Post by PJM »

Just curious -- are there others who wasted time looking for answers beneath the ELDER and LIME trees?
User avatar
LadyBird
Posts: 872
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2020 4:20 pm
Location: Chicagoland

#333

Post by LadyBird »

What does the "Past and" part of the title have to do with anything--that was a major obstacle to my solving?
User avatar
FrankH
Posts: 242
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 4:15 am

#334

Post by FrankH »

It was a gift in the past?
User avatar
DrTom
Posts: 3765
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:46 pm
Location: Jacksonville, FL

#335

Post by DrTom »

cbarbee002 wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 10:28 pm Thinking this applies to several muggles. Two out of three for me ain't bad. :-)

ThatswhatIdo.jpg
Well I don't golf so 1.5 out of three (I know some things, not enough to solve MGWCC but some)

Perhaps I can drink enough bourbon to bring it up to 2?
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!
User avatar
yourpalsal
Posts: 177
Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2020 2:28 am

#336

Post by yourpalsal »

I was stuck looking under the ELDER tree, at AVON, which was the only clue with “past” in it, as well as the 6 words with “present” in the clue. Those included that FOR TOY intersection that seemed like 40. Just another Watership Down full of rabbit holes...
Bob Kerfuffle
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2020 4:08 pm

#337

Post by Bob Kerfuffle »

SPOILER ALERT -- THIS COMMENT CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE NEVILLE FOGARTY 12/24/20 "HOME ALONE" PUZZLE --

As previously noted, this WSJ puzzle uses a mechanism fairly common this time of year, including in the 12/24 Neville Fogarty "Home Alone," which I had just solved the same day. But one integral part of the answer to the Fogarty puzzle involves a "LIME" tree, and by golly there is a LIME tree in the WSJ also! It doesn't enter into the solution, but as PJM notes above, it's there. (I wasn't bothered by the ELDER, as it s a Down, not an Across.) And that LIME signals a LEAD anchor in the bottom right corner, which was why I was "plumb" exhausted swimming to shore!
Scraps
Posts: 96
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:15 pm
Location: Gulf Coast of Florida

#338

Post by Scraps »

Franklin.Bluth wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 10:32 pm Ashore...bullied my way to the 12-letter word first, based solely on noticing things that seemed a tad too coincidental, couldn't quite believe I was correct, and then saw the meta in hindsight after staring at my answer word.

So it's a win, but I still wish I'd have noticed the actual mechanism first (i.e. means to an end rather than vice versa).
Same here. The answer occurred to me when I realized one of the famous presents from the past had twelve letters.

“I wonder if that’s hidden in the puzzle somewhere.”

It was.

I found nine of the twelve letters before I noticed the mechanism.

It felt almost like cheating—but not enough to keep me from submitting my entry.
User avatar
MikeM000
Posts: 579
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:31 am
Location: Metro Detroit

#339

Post by MikeM000 »

PJM wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:18 am Just curious -- are there others who wasted time looking for answers beneath the ELDER and LIME trees?
Not a lot of time, but I was wondering for a minute how to get a 12-letter word (and not phrase) out of, say, AVON COSMETIC.

To add to it, I think that day's NYT had HEATH in a similar down-entry position that was one of the last words I had filled in and was fresh in my mind; I fruitlessly searched for it in my just-completed WSJ grid.
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4511
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#340

Post by Bob cruise director »

Colin wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 11:30 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:12 pm A belated Sunday report as I was attempting to replace my daughter's kitchen sink faucet - unsuccessful as that nut that holds it on was rusted forever and needs someone with a sawsall to cut the faucet off.
I had same thing back in the summer with my bathroom faucets. In the end, it was easier to disconnect the plumbing (h/c and waste), lift out the sink (with faucets) after cutting the silicone seal and then saw through the nuts on the workbench. Saved a few bandaids on my head too!
I watched a couple of videos and laughed. First video the water shutoffs actually worked which they never do. And the nut twisted off by hand. HA

Second The guy drilled out the nut from below.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
Locked