XWord Muggles Forum

Henry Paul wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 8:12 pm yes! I'd like to hear from fellow Muggles; how did you do from seeing these numbers in parens to understanding that the clues were somehow crossword clues themselves? And the speed that those connections are made astounds me.

Even with a nudge (thank you Wendy) that one of my substitute words (PO) was correct, I was flailing on the others...

The first thing I look for in any meta crossword puzzle are obvious theme entries in its layout - usually the longest Across entries. There were four: 17, 30, 48, & 64. Plus their clues verified their importance, being parenthetical numbers. Therefore, I saw no reason to solve any but their cross entries.

I initially solve grids using PUZ files on Acrosslite (computer) or Alphacross (android phone) apps, I am used to seeing each clue with the # of its entry letters in parentheses at clue's end. (Usually, this mindset is a hindrance with parenthetical numbers in clues, but not this time.)

I saw WIT, HERS, PO, & ON very quickly, thought 'REESE' and, having the meta clue & title in mind, REESE'S PIECES was obvious.

My solve time for the grid, tracked by the app, was shocking, including backfilling the remaining spaces. I attribute that to concentrating on filling in the theme entries first. Luck had me thinking WIT before other crosswordese entries for 38A. Luck also had me making the correct mental connections before rabbit holes (Squirrel!) took over my .


(EDIT: Metas have a way of humbling a person. After spraining my arm typing this, I pulled the BIGGEST, boneheaded, blinded mistake on this week's MMM. More post-deadline.)

My latest addiction from those fine folks in Hershey:
As if chocolate and peanut butter weren't enough, they jammed in just enough salty goodness to turn me into a Pavlovian puddle.

mheberlingx100 wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 12:42 pm

anaerobe wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 12:25 pm OK, I've waited almost 12 hours:

You know that actress from Legally Blonde....Walk the Line....won an Oscar.......?

Guess how she eats cereal?

God, am I a dope! I actually Googled this to get the punch line.

Speaking of how to eat cereal, I once had a breakfast meeting in the UK and a colleague poured orange juice on her cereal to eat it. She didn’t like milk. I was gobsmacked!

My mother-in-law has been known to do that.

DrTom wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 2:29 am

KayW wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 6:23 pm
EDIT: Did a little online digging. Maybe others knew this, but not me. Apparently H.B. Reese (founded by a former Hershey dairy manager) was the original and separate company but it merged with Hershey back in 1963... the things I learn from this forum!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reese%27s ... utter_Cups

But I am still going to buy some more candy. Just to get a closer look at that wrapper, of course.

And if you want even more information on how Hershey met Reese the History Channel doe a good job:

https://www.history.com/shows/the-food- ... /episode-2

However, my favorite PB cups are Trader Joe's dark chocolate PB cups - sinful!!

Plus one on both of these! We're enjoying that series on HC.

Hello and hope you all enjoyed this tasty Mothers Day weekend treat. You collectively nailed it -- 2799 entries, 88% correct, well above our typical rate around 75%.

Lots of lots of incorrect guesses in small numbers including KIT KAT (24), different forms of HERSHEY (bar, kisses, etc. total of 20), JOLLY RANCHER (13), BABY RUTH (12), ALMOND JOY (11) and many others.

Congrats to this week's winner, Linda Chadsey of Green Valley, Ariz.!

anaerobe wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 5:58 pm

femullen wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 3:40 pm Well, I just googled it too, and you know what I discovered? Reese Witherspoon is an actress, not a pop singer.

I would wear that as a badge of honor!

Full disclosure: I had to use Google to id the movies she was in. I have only seen one movie of hers and I can't remember the title. It's pretty old and it has Sam Waterston. He's one of my favorite actors.

I'm pretty sure that movie was The Man in the Moon, and it was Reese Witherspoon's first movie.

MikeMillerwsj wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 10:06 am Hello and hope you all enjoyed this tasty Mothers Day weekend treat. You collectively nailed it -- 2799 entries, 88% correct, well above our typical rate around 75%.

Lots of lots of incorrect guesses in small numbers including KIT KAT (24), different forms of HERSHEY (bar, kisses, etc. total of 20), JOLLY RANCHER (13), BABY RUTH (12), ALMOND JOY (11) and many others.

Congrats to this week's winner, Linda Chadsey of Green Valley, Ariz.!

Woo-hoo!!! That's my mom!!

joequavis wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 11:38 am

MikeMillerwsj wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 10:06 am Hello and hope you all enjoyed this tasty Mothers Day weekend treat. You collectively nailed it -- 2799 entries, 88% correct, well above our typical rate around 75%.

Lots of lots of incorrect guesses in small numbers including KIT KAT (24), different forms of HERSHEY (bar, kisses, etc. total of 20), JOLLY RANCHER (13), BABY RUTH (12), ALMOND JOY (11) and many others.

Congrats to this week's winner, Linda Chadsey of Green Valley, Ariz.!

Woo-hoo!!! That's my mom!!

And a belated happy Mother's Day to her!

Dplass wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 9:35 am

DrTom wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 2:29 am

KayW wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 6:23 pm
EDIT: Did a little online digging. Maybe others knew this, but not me. Apparently H.B. Reese (founded by a former Hershey dairy manager) was the original and separate company but it merged with Hershey back in 1963... the things I learn from this forum!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reese%27s ... utter_Cups

But I am still going to buy some more candy. Just to get a closer look at that wrapper, of course.

And if you want even more information on how Hershey met Reese the History Channel doe a good job:

https://www.history.com/shows/the-food- ... /episode-2

However, my favorite PB cups are Trader Joe's dark chocolate PB cups - sinful!!

Plus one on both of these! We're enjoying that series on HC.

Here is a tie in to the series for me....my nephew plays Campbell's nephew, the one who perfected the soup condensation and recipe. I think he did a souper job!

DrTom wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 9:48 am

Dplass wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 9:35 am

DrTom wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 2:29 am

And if you want even more information on how Hershey met Reese the History Channel doe a good job:

https://www.history.com/shows/the-food- ... /episode-2

However, my favorite PB cups are Trader Joe's dark chocolate PB cups - sinful!!

Plus one on both of these! We're enjoying that series on HC.

Here is a tie in to the series for me....my nephew plays Campbell's nephew, the one who perfected the soup condensation and recipe. I think he did a souper job!

He's the consome' actor.

Today's National Limerick Day -
@Limerick Savant should come out to play
Often's the time
he creates an apt rhyme
I wonder what he'll say today?

Bill Bovard wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 12:44 pm

Joe Ross wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 10:54 am WARNING: PEDANTIC NERD WAR UPCOMING!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup consists of smooth peanut butter cream wrapped in Hershey's chocolate.
Product type: Chocolate
Owner: The Hershey Company
Produced by: The Hershey Company
Country: United States
Introduced: November 15, 1928; 92 years ago
Related brands:

• Take 5 (candy)

• Reese's Pieces

• Reese's Fast Break

• NutRageous

Yes, I would think that Hershey is the company, Reese's is the brand, and Reese's Pieces is a product. But it had to be two words, and Reese's Pieces works so well, and Wikipedia calls it a brand.

Joe says pedantic nerd war like it’s a bad thing....?

SReh26 wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 9:29 pm Joe says pedantic nerd war like it’s a bad thing....?

If I projected that as 'bad' in any way, y'all have my deepest & sincerest apology.