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Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 1:11 pm
by DrTom
HunterX wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 12:20 pm
DrTom wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 12:12 pm
HunterX wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 11:21 am
My math-major daughter indicated something about how using the axially symmetrical clues plus a middle one made it impossible to hit the bottom right corner due to the odd number of total directions. You need a net of 15 to the right and 15 down to get there
I just took their word for it.
Yes, what he said. When it comes to math I have nothing to add that would not subtract from the discussion. Besides I am sure the discussions would multiply and probably be divided. It's just a sine of our diversity...but I'm getting off on a tangent. Wait what is that large boat on the horizon, oh, not to worry its an arc.
By my calculus, too many math puns and you will loose your associative properties. Your friends will be null.
I agree but I'm only rational a fraction of the time and I am constantly inducing variables in my expressions on line. I'll often try to do four at once, though the quadratics always confuse me. But I see your point so I'll try to paly it straight and not be so obtuse next time, right!
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm
by Nsmoretz@gmail.com
I liked the suggestion to look at past puzzles. I’ll try that on Friday’s. On a scale of 1 to 5, I’d give this one a solid 10+
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 1:27 pm
by HunterX
DrTom wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 1:11 pm
HunterX wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 12:20 pm
DrTom wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 12:12 pm
Yes, what he said. When it comes to math I have nothing to add that would not subtract from the discussion. Besides I am sure the discussions would multiply and probably be divided. It's just a sine of our diversity...but I'm getting off on a tangent. Wait what is that large boat on the horizon, oh, not to worry its an arc.
By my calculus, too many math puns and you will loose your associative properties. Your friends will be null.
I agree but I'm only rational a fraction of the time and I am constantly inducing variables in my expressions on line. I'll often try to do four at once, though the quadratics always confuse me. But I see your point so I'll try to paly it straight and not be so obtuse next time, right!
While your comments there are integral to the conversation, I'd swear they sound familiar. They are just SO derrivative...
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 1:33 pm
by ardentgailla
I figured the NSEW thing, but couldn't come up with a viable answer. I'm so mad I missed the other directionals!
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 1:41 pm
by zacmoretz
Nsmoretz@gmail.com wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 1:11 pm
Not for beginners. I put my thinking-cap on, but some evil launderer had bleached out the grey matter. Congrats to those who got it.
Hey it’s Aunt Norma, hooray!!!
@Nsmoretz
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 2:12 pm
by Tripod
I picked the wrong week to go into "puzzle blackout mode" until Monday...I stayed offline for the last few days because of family commitments. I didn't get a chance to solve until today...you know, just for the love of the game.
Dude!
That was a mind-blow. Great construction. Clever puzzle.
My nerd-brain saw the clustering of directional letters, but struggled to find a starting point (29D, 7D, 57A, 41A?) until getting a nudge on 13D. That was the "aha" for me. Then, clearly, seven sections of fence need eight fence-posts...bingo. Also felt like there were a fair number of taunts in there: 16A, 27A, 36A, 63A, 46D, 55D?
Glad to see a Muggle won!
Consolation prize: I had a decent weekend?
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 4:27 pm
by anaerobe
TeaJenny wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 12:23 am
I had the directions right - got all 8 of them. I had the mechanism right. I just couldn't figure out where to start.
Same. My first try was starting in the center (the E in DRESS). I then saw 13D, but I only thought to start at the O, N, and E. After each attempt, I found myself off the grid...not on the same page...over the edge...well, you get it.
Thanks to a nudge, I realized that '
square one' meant '
the square with the one in it' ??!?....geez
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 5:12 pm
by anaerobe
As a candidate for Rabbit Hole of the Week, I humbly submit the cul de sac of logic I entered after first ID'ing the 8 directions:
A) U,D,L, and R are RELATIVE directions. Hey, that's eight letters...but it doesn't feel right.
B) N,S,E, and W are CARDINAL directions. Hey, that's eight letters too, but also doesn't feel right.
C) What birds are RELATIVES of CARDINALS that have 8 letters?
BUNTINGS!
Man, if only the puzzle theme had been: 'WHAT TO DO WITH NO OUTS AND, A RUNNER ON FIRST, A RUNNER ON SECOND, OR RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND", I would've nailed it........
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 5:25 pm
by MikeMillerwsj
Well, this was an ingenious and elusive puzzle. (It eluded your faithful correspondent despite extensive bashing of head against it.). We had fewer respondents than usual but quite an impressive number of successful decoders: 940 entries, 81% correct.
Some fascinating clusters of incorrect guesses: OBEDIENT (12), CARDINAL (12), EASTWARD (6), NAVIGATE (4), DRESSERS (3), SURPRISE (3), and sundry others. Congrats to this week's winner: Emily Woodard of Lenexa, Kan.!
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 5:43 pm
by Al Sisti
anaerobe wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 5:12 pm
As a candidate for Rabbit Hole of the Week, I humbly submit the cul de sac of logic I entered after first ID'ing the 8 directions:
A) U,D,L, and R are RELATIVE directions. Hey, that's eight letters...but it doesn't feel right.
B) N,S,E, and W are CARDINAL directions. Hey, that's eight letters too, but also doesn't feel right.
C) What birds are RELATIVES of CARDINALS that have 8 letters?
BUNTINGS!
Man, if only the puzzle theme had been: 'WHAT TO DO WITH NO OUTS AND, A RUNNER ON FIRST, A RUNNER ON SECOND, OR RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND", I would've nailed it........
Well yeah, except nobody bunts any more! A lost art, a forgotten tactic whose life span was shortened by sabermetrics.
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 5:46 pm
by Susan Goldberg
EmilyW wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 12:49 pmI won the mug!
Wow!!!! Congratulations!!! Just out of curiosity, how do they let you know? Email?
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 5:48 pm
by Susan Goldberg
Well, at least this is a Monday where I didn’t slap my head for being so close, but just missed it. I had a bunch of the ingredients, but not enough to have gotten there ... chalking this one up to a learning process. I agree it was certainly a genius construction!
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 6:03 pm
by EVJ
Susan Goldberg wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 5:46 pm
EmilyW wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 12:49 pmI won the mug!
Wow!!!! Congratulations!!! Just out of curiosity, how do they let you know? Email?
Yes! Email.
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 6:13 pm
by rosiegirl
After reading the comments about the Richard III crossword puzzle (the puzzle was actually named King Me!), I decided I needed to take a look at it. Wow...that was some puzzle! I think I would have had to been led by the hand, step by step, to find the answer to that one!
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 6:16 pm
by EmilyW
Susan Goldberg wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 5:46 pm
EmilyW wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 12:49 pmI won the mug!
Wow!!!! Congratulations!!! Just out of curiosity, how do they let you know? Email?
Thank you! I was notified by email this morning. And also in case anyone was wondering, I used the online submission form to submit my answer so I can confirm that it works!
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 6:17 pm
by OGuyDave
CallMeShane wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 5:18 am
This is a meta that fell pretty quickly if you did a frequency analysis on the theme answers.
...
Yep, I did the frequency analysis:
Code: Select all
$ perl freqCount.pl wsjxwd_20210514.txt
Using FILE wsjxwd_20210514.txt
Frequency order Character order
Ltr Count Expected Difference Ltr Count
E 36 28 +8 A 20
S 25 18 +7 B 3
A 20 19 +1 C 4
D 16 8 +8 D 16
R 14 12 +2 E 36
L 9 9 +0 F 1
N 9 12 -3 G 8
O 9 13 -4 H 2
G 8 4 +4 I 4
T 7 13 -6 J 0
K 6 2 +4 K 6
M 6 4 +2 L 9
U 5 6 -1 M 6
C 4 4 +0 N 9
I 4 12 -8 O 9
B 3 3 +0 P 1
H 2 3 -1 Q 0
F 1 2 -1 R 14
P 1 6 -5 S 25
W 1 2 -1 T 7
Y 1 3 -2 U 5
J 0 0 +0 V 0
Q 0 0 +0 W 1
V 0 1 -1 X 0
X 0 0 +0 Y 1
Z 0 0 +0 Z 0
From this, noticed the higher freqs of the Es and S's, but didn't notice the D's. Since there were lower than normal N's, and only one W, I'm not sure I was ever super-confident that NEWS (bad news for me, I guess) was the appropriate route.
But had I had the brilliant inspiration to do a frequency analysis on just the starred answers, like this:
Code: Select all
$ perl freqCount.pl drseuss slurred reeds dress welds dresden denuded
Using TEXT drseussslurredreedsdressweldsdresdendenuded
Frequency order Character order
Ltr Count Expected Difference Ltr Count
D 10 2 +8 A 0
E 10 7 +3 B 0
S 9 4 +5 C 0
R 6 3 +3 D 10
U 3 1 +2 E 10
L 2 2 +0 F 0
N 2 3 -1 G 0
W 1 0 +1 H 0
A 0 4 -4 I 0
B 0 1 -1 J 0
C 0 1 -1 K 0
F 0 0 +0 L 2
G 0 1 -1 M 0
H 0 1 -1 N 2
I 0 3 -3 O 0
J 0 0 +0 P 0
K 0 0 +0 Q 0
M 0 1 -1 R 6
O 0 3 -3 S 9
P 0 1 -1 T 0
Q 0 0 +0 U 3
T 0 3 -3 V 0
V 0 0 +0 W 1
X 0 0 +0 X 0
Y 0 1 -1 Y 0
Z 0 0 +0 Z 0
I would have seen that there were only the eight letters, and that would led me towards, but not necessarily
to the promised land.
Not crushed (like that post!) that I didn't get this one. Great meta.
TFTXWD anyway.
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 7:00 pm
by iggystan
Originally, I, too, tried to use only the cardinal compass directions of NESW, but wasn't getting anywhere. Then out of the blue, my mind realized that all of the other letters were directions as well. Then I tried to use them to create a word, but didn't count the black squares so came up with gibberish as others have pointed out. Then I decided to count the black squares and, voila!, a word appeared. Others have asked how you come to arrive at the letters - they are the letter in the last square after following the directions of each of the theme words. I did notice the Square One clue when solving the grid, so I was sure that was the starting point. It's funny when everything falls into place and very frustrating when it doesn't. I have pondered over a bunch of these for a while and they seem to take over every waking moment when you don't "see" them.
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 7:04 pm
by SusieG
This was a brilliant puzzle! I saw the note to start at square one immediately, but it took me a little bit to figure out that the directions were “mixed.” Very Seussical, indeed. Trying to explain the solve to my husband and son over breakfast was hilarious...”down, right, south, east, up, south, south...” I wish I had a photo of my son’s face as he listened to my “directions.”
I’m still amazed at the construction — very similar to the Richard III puzzle, so veteran solvers had an advantage.
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 7:23 pm
by Tom Shea
Count me among those that STILL don't see how the letters in meanders were picked out of the meandering path.
KAS n! squared.
Re: "Following Directions" May 14, 2021
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 7:27 pm
by MaineMarge
Ok people, now that we’ve had a chance to test our ability to follow directions, here are some much easier directions for you to follow to see this happen with garlic scapes in your own home.
1. Buy any number of garlic scapes at the market. ( or cut your own
)
2. Recut the ends.
3. Place in a vase or container of water
4. For the next 3 weeks watch the intricate ballet as they slowly uncurl UDLR around each other as they lengthen and head skyward.
This is a yearly joy in our house.
An August 8th photo.
)