"Town & Country" - March 19, 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.
Locked
zacmoretz
Posts: 101
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2020 6:50 pm

#261

Post by zacmoretz »

Bob cruise director wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:56 pm
zacmoretz wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:53 pmAshore!
where is Aunt Norma?
Ha! Thank you for asking! She is traveling this weekend so she did not puzzle. We visited her last weekend for her 86th birthday. Unfortunately the three of us together with our great minds could still not solve last weekend’s puzzle.
User avatar
Annabelle
Posts: 213
Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2020 4:26 pm

#262

Post by Annabelle »

On shore this week! I knew the first key answer but had to consult Dr. Google for the others, then it all came together. Nice one; simple and elegant!
User avatar
TPS
Posts: 721
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2020 2:19 pm
Location: Florida

#263

Post by TPS »

Had a work emergency that took up most of my time this weekend so wasn't able to start the puzzle until this morning.

Onshore now though - probably one of my fastest meta solves. Had it with 20% of the grid done but I did have to use Google for a couple clues to complete the grid.
Olaf
Posts: 56
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2019 7:12 pm

#264

Post by Olaf »

Bob cruise director wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:52 am Good Saturday morning muggles

After a rocky start and Brian's magic, the launches to shore have been full to the extent that we have muggles swimming and taking jet skis.

We have 192 on the shore already so the list will be very long. I think I got everyone from both here and

Good luck to all and stay safe. And celebrate the vernal equinox that happened at 5:37 am EDT
I think you missed me! I’m on shore as well.

I’ll never be a first pager on the board here - I’m old school and wait for the actual paper to do my crosswords.
And I’m not that fast anyway. I liked the grid. Resorted to google, but I like when I can learn a little something from a puzzle, which I did here!
MaineMarge
Posts: 1597
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:57 pm

#265

Post by MaineMarge »

I’ve lived in both Town & Country, but since I’m just a country girl, here I am happiest.
And look! It’s my own big green machine. This Cushman Truckster, a golf course discard, is my garden workhorse.
Beside me you see another garden workhorse—our helper Buddy, who was 17 in this
June 2015 photo.
7FD303A8-B187-4363-99C0-82E85C0861AC.jpeg
Inca
Posts: 828
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:55 pm

#266

Post by Inca »

ashore
CopperRiver
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 10:42 pm

#267

Post by CopperRiver »

A little late to the party but on shore!
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4512
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#268

Post by Bob cruise director »

zacmoretz wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:51 am
Bob cruise director wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:56 pm
zacmoretz wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:53 pmAshore!
where is Aunt Norma?
Ha! Thank you for asking! She is traveling this weekend so she did not puzzle. We visited her last weekend for her 86th birthday. Unfortunately the three of us together with our great minds could still not solve last weekend’s puzzle.
Tell Aunt Norma that we are thinking of her and that 86 is not old. You have to hit triple digits to be sort of old.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4512
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#269

Post by Bob cruise director »

MaineMarge wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:47 am I’ve lived in both Town & Country, but since I’m just a country girl, here I am happiest.
And look! It’s my own big green machine. This Cushman Truckster, a golf course discard, is my garden workhorse.
Beside me you see another garden workhorse—our helper Buddy, who was 17 in this
June 2015 photo.
7FD303A8-B187-4363-99C0-82E85C0861AC.jpeg
I can't show this to my wife as she will want one.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4512
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#270

Post by Bob cruise director »

Good Sunday muggles

Sorry about the late report but I have been replacing a 40 foot wooden gutter with a much lighter PVC one.

We have our newest muggle - Anaerobe

and serious apologies to those I missed yesterday

however we have 221 on shore somewhat shy of our record of 250 but a good crowd none the less.

Those getting to the shore since yesterday including those who I missed are

Joe R
Scott L
Tom Wi
Powers2020
Nlobb
Kas
zacmoretz
rtwitchell
michaelm
TeaJenny
Jim and Anita
jrdad
BrennerTJ
Fishoutowater
Omnibus
Natalie
Joseph B
Emmajane
Olaf
Annabelle
TPS
PQ63
copperriver
Michelle B
Burak
Inca
Douglas
Michael S
Anaerobe
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
User avatar
C=64
Posts: 684
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:29 pm
Location: PDX

#271

Post by C=64 »

rtwitchell wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:23 pm On Shore. Will have a Oban at 5:00 (maybe a touch before....)
Fun (?) fact: My aunt married a Scotsman and my cousins spent their formative years in Oban village. When they moved back as teenagers, they had the most unusual accents in the town of Antrim, NH.
User avatar
ajk
Posts: 925
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:22 pm
Location: Colorado

#272

Post by ajk »

Oban is a great little town, even if you ignore the whisky. Which, obviously, would be a tragic error. :lol:
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
User avatar
cpelster
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2020 3:08 pm
Location: Lakewood, WA

#273

Post by cpelster »

On shore!
User avatar
DBMiller
Posts: 537
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 8:59 pm
Location: New Hampshire

#274

Post by DBMiller »

Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 12:29 pm
MaineMarge wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:47 am I’ve lived in both Town & Country, but since I’m just a country girl, here I am happiest.
And look! It’s my own big green machine. This Cushman Truckster, a golf course discard, is my garden workhorse.
Beside me you see another garden workhorse—our helper Buddy, who was 17 in this
June 2015 photo.
7FD303A8-B187-4363-99C0-82E85C0861AC.jpeg
I can't show this to my wife as she will want one.
Which? The Truckster, or the 17 yr old?
If I'm around, I am willing to join the Muggle Zoom room at other times to lend a hand to those in need.
minimuggle
Posts: 553
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2020 7:33 am

#275

Post by minimuggle »

I have a question for the muggles. Is it acceptable to use google for the contest? I know I used it this week. I would never use it for the grid. Growing up we used to call the Crossword Dictionary "The Cheater". That being said, we did have a crossword dictionary which was an admission that at times we had to cheat. But we never considered we had solved it on our own if we "cheated". The contest seems different though. It feels OK to google. Happy Weekend
Marie
User avatar
Joe Ross
Moderator
Posts: 5000
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
Location: Cincinnati

#276

Post by Joe Ross »

minimuggle wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 3:02 pm I have a question for the muggles. Is it acceptable to use google for the contest? I know I used it this week. I would never use it for the grid. Growing up we used to call the Crossword Dictionary "The Cheater". That being said, we did have a crossword dictionary which was an admission that at times we had to cheat. But we never considered we had solved it on our own if we "cheated". The contest seems different though. It feels OK to google. Happy Weekend
Marie
Another county heard from:

If constructors continue to fill their grids using crossword creating software, solvers are allowed to search the interweb for answers & verifications.
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
Wendy Walker
Posts: 1700
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:44 pm
Location: Unionville, PA

#277

Post by Wendy Walker »

minimuggle wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 3:02 pm I have a question for the muggles. Is it acceptable to use google for the contest? I know I used it this week. I would never use it for the grid. Growing up we used to call the Crossword Dictionary "The Cheater". That being said, we did have a crossword dictionary which was an admission that at times we had to cheat. But we never considered we had solved it on our own if we "cheated". The contest seems different though. It feels OK to google. Happy Weekend
Marie
My philosophy: It's OK to use Google if necessary, but try really hard to get the answer via crossing letters first. Then again, I had heard of Yma Sumac, Marie Kondo and Margaret Cho . . .
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
User avatar
TPS
Posts: 721
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2020 2:19 pm
Location: Florida

#278

Post by TPS »

minimuggle wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 3:02 pm I have a question for the muggles. Is it acceptable to use google for the contest? I know I used it this week. I would never use it for the grid. Growing up we used to call the Crossword Dictionary "The Cheater". That being said, we did have a crossword dictionary which was an admission that at times we had to cheat. But we never considered we had solved it on our own if we "cheated". The contest seems different though. It feels OK to google. Happy Weekend
Marie
I used to consider using Google cheating and I didn’t consider it a victory if I had to use Google...but that changed when I started doing meta puzzles. Also, I think the overall difficulty of puzzles has ramped and some of the quality of the puns used at times has gotten shakier. So while I like to try to solve w/o Google I don’t feel as defeated as I once did when I had to use it. And I believe that some constructors like PGW have said they use Google to create the puzzle so it’s fair game to use it to solve the puzzle - I feel like most meta constructors share that mentality - There was a puzzle last year that required you to notice there were numbers in different foreign languages hidden in the theme answers - I don’t think the expectation was that anyone would know the numbers in all 5 languages.
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4512
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#279

Post by Bob cruise director »

DBMiller wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 2:31 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 12:29 pm
MaineMarge wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:47 am I’ve lived in both Town & Country, but since I’m just a country girl, here I am happiest.
And look! It’s my own big green machine. This Cushman Truckster, a golf course discard, is my garden workhorse.
Beside me you see another garden workhorse—our helper Buddy, who was 17 in this
June 2015 photo.
7FD303A8-B187-4363-99C0-82E85C0861AC.jpeg
I can't show this to my wife as she will want one.
Which? The Truckster, or the 17 yr old?
Yes
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4512
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#280

Post by Bob cruise director »

minimuggle wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 3:02 pm I have a question for the muggles. Is it acceptable to use google for the contest? I know I used it this week. I would never use it for the grid. Growing up we used to call the Crossword Dictionary "The Cheater". That being said, we did have a crossword dictionary which was an admission that at times we had to cheat. But we never considered we had solved it on our own if we "cheated". The contest seems different though. It feels OK to google. Happy Weekend
Marie
Marie
You will see an entire spectrum of opinions on this as "acceptable" is in the eyes of the beholder. I think most of us would like to do as much of the grid and meta on our own. However there are too many movie actors/actresses, text acronyms and other things that you could not possibly know. Sometimes you can get them from the crossing words sometimes not.

Given that we are all doing this for our own pleasure you are free to do what you want and not worry about "acceptable".
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
Locked