#680 - "Split Decision"

An excellent puzzle written by one of the innovators of the meta crossword format. It comes out every Friday at noon and increases in difficulty throughout the month. Available for modest subscription (worth every cent) here: www.xwordcontest.com
Roberta
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Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:14 pm

#41

Post by Roberta »

Solved. Glad to get a solve after too many non-finishes lately.
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lbray53
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Location: Elkhorn, WI

#42

Post by lbray53 »

Beam me up. I needed a little nudge. I had forgotten who the constructor was. I am on (the) board but still wonder about something.
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
Orangecane
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 11:01 am

#43

Post by Orangecane »

If only this weren’t a Tuesday, I wouldn’t feel so bad about being stalled mid-stream. Humbly requesting a wee nudge.

Edited to add: thanks to a nudge, now aboard. Wow is all I can say!
Last edited by Orangecane on Sun Jun 13, 2021 1:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Schmeel
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Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 2:38 pm

#44

Post by Schmeel »

Beam me up!
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tonyrobots
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#45

Post by tonyrobots »

Brilliant. Beam me up, too!
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Jeremy Smith
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Location: Tampa Bay area

#46

Post by Jeremy Smith »

When I first stumbled upon the mechanism for this, and derived the first three letters of the answer, my thought was “Matt, you surely did not do what I think might be going on here.”

When I got the next letter I thought “Matt would never, ever attempt something like this.”

After getting the rest, my reaction—OMG!

I finally solved after going down way too many rabbit holes.

Matt, you are a really funny guy…..and diabolical! :twisted:
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Thurman8er
Posts: 393
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:05 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

#47

Post by Thurman8er »

So cheeky and I am LOVING it!
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ajk
Posts: 925
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:22 pm
Location: Colorado

#48

Post by ajk »

Finally beamed up thanks to a kindly nudge followed by an equally kindly shove when that didn’t work. :lol:
Two or three different small confusions conspired to hide the path until my focus was redirected back to it.
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
Barney
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Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2020 4:12 pm

#49

Post by Barney »

ajk wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:33 am Finally beamed up thanks to a kindly nudge followed by an equally kindly shove when that didn’t work. :lol:
Two or three different small confusions conspired to hide the path until my focus was redirected back to it.
I ask for help on cryptics and usually get cryptic nudges when I really want a shove.

My solving partner and I are regretfully flummoxed on this.

I read the board to gauge when to abandon ship.
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cbarbee002
Posts: 591
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:02 pm
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#50

Post by cbarbee002 »

Beamed up after a helpful nudge toward step 2. Always a “duh’ moment involved. Quite a clever approach / result.
Big Mac
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Location: Vienna, VA

#51

Post by Big Mac »

Beam me up! More of a week 2.5 I thought. Fun though.
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Prozach
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Location: Columbus, OH

#52

Post by Prozach »

Beamed up! That was fun.
Domini
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2020 8:47 pm

#53

Post by Domini »

I almost sought a nudge, and then the second step just appeared out of the fog. That happens so so often to me!!!

I have a 6-letter word, it’s surprising and funny as others here have indicated it would be, but I’m going to sit on it a bit because I have not found this puzzles missing clues as the directions said I would 🤔 I’m probably overthinking this (again)
EmilyW
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Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2020 10:03 pm

#54

Post by EmilyW »

Beam me up! Nice Aha and Haha moment.
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Bonnibel
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Location: Westlake Village & La Jolla CA

#55

Post by Bonnibel »

Busy with grandkids all weekend and no time for puzzles... I thought this was right up my alley til I hit the wall. A nudge would be great. I fear I'm on a losing streak.
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Cinny
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#56

Post by Cinny »

Solved. Needed a nudge to get me on the right track. I had an idea that sent me down a deep rabbit hole. As usual, I made it much harder than it was.
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DrTom
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#57

Post by DrTom »

Well in at around 380 but in. A VERY difficult slog for me even with nudges because I tried to do a Frank Sinatra and do it "My Way". I got home but for COMPLETELY the wrong reason. Anyway a win is a win even if it was probably only 50% of my effort at best. Oh, and I agree with the board - DIABOLICAL!!!

Off for the day to an auto repair shop - A/C dead in the wife's car and in Florida that is a NO NO as summer approaches.
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!
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Bird Lives
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#58

Post by Bird Lives »

Two utopias, no waiting. The translation is "nowhere," which is "where you’ll find this puzzle’s missing clues."

What to do when you have two letters for one square? Look for them elsewhere in the grid. I remembered this sandwich mechanism from at least one previous meta. Otherwise, I might not have gotten the answer so quickly.


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MGWCC 6-11 600a.jpg
Last edited by Bird Lives on Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jay
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TMart
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Location: Malvern, PA

#59

Post by TMart »

Beam me up - I was trying to be last, but ended up third from last. But I did unlock my Buzzer Beater achievement! (It’s the little victories that matter…..)
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ajk
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Location: Colorado

#60

Post by ajk »

Mistake #1: noticed PHI/PSI and MU/NU while filling out the grid, and thought 'oh I guess when I figure out the answer it will tell me which ones to include.' Which, what? Have you ever *done* a meta? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Mistake #2: failed to see that CHI was an alternative for PHI up top, so thought that resolved the PHI/PSI one because PHI was already used. Facepalm.

Mistake #3: Eventually noticed UPSILON/EPSILON, but failure to learn Spanish at even a rudimentary level (or to pay attention to any of the [large number] of crosswords I've done with ESO in it) meant that I figured USO was the only legit answer and so that ambiguity was resolved.

All of which stopped me realizing that all six of them were truly ambiguous until I was nudged back to sanity. Once I got that sorted the rest only took a little while. Tried various assortments of letters using one from each pair, then eventually figured maybe they'd be pointing to a different letter somehow, and remembered the 'Split' part of the title.
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
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