#685 - "Get Out Your Wite-Out"

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
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joequavis
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#81

Post by joequavis »

It saddens me to hear about the low ratings received on crosswordfiend for this puzzle. I thought it challenging, fair, and rewarding to solve - the precise attributes that bring me back each week. Bravo Matt!
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Joe Ross
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#82

Post by Joe Ross »

joequavis wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:04 pm It saddens me to hear about the low ratings received on crosswordfiend for this puzzle. I thought it challenging, fair, and rewarding to solve - the precise attributes that bring me back each week. Bravo Matt!
Any bashing must be discounted for whatever varied reasons people may have. This puzzle was excellent.
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Hector
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#83

Post by Hector »

Joe Ross wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:06 pm Any bashing must be discounted for whatever varied reasons people may have.
Been there, done that. Agree that the puzzle is excellent.
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ajk
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#84

Post by ajk »

Popped over specifically to rate it highly. The complaints don't seem especially persuasive to me.
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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Duane Suarez
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#85

Post by Duane Suarez »

Can someone please explain to me the purpose of the parenthetical numbers?
I did not get a good grasp of this even after reading the write-up.

Duane
"Barbecue Sauce"
-Ted Lasso
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TMart
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#86

Post by TMart »

I made this a lot harder on myself by not realizing until after I submitted that the four-letter replacement words for the typos were ALL IN THE SAME ROW AS THE THEMERS. I actually brute-force tried just about every four-letter grid word into every themer until they all made sense (and backed into a few using the numbers in parentheses). Great puzzle, and pretty elegant once you see it all.
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FrankieHeck
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#87

Post by FrankieHeck »

TMart wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:18 pm I made this a lot harder on myself by not realizing until after I submitted that the four-letter replacement words for the typos were ALL IN THE SAME ROW AS THE THEMERS. I actually brute-force tried just about every four-letter grid word into every themer until they all made sense (and backed into a few using the numbers in parentheses). Great puzzle, and pretty elegant once you see it all.
Same here! I had already written out all the grid answers in columns by word length, and I plugged all those 4-letter words in every time :lol:
Laura M
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#88

Post by Laura M »

TMart wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:18 pm I made this a lot harder on myself by not realizing until after I submitted that the four-letter replacement words for the typos were ALL IN THE SAME ROW AS THE THEMERS. I actually brute-force tried just about every four-letter grid word into every themer until they all made sense (and backed into a few using the numbers in parentheses). Great puzzle, and pretty elegant once you see it all.
I shot myself in the foot too :-) I'm not much of a pen-and-paper solver, and for metas I generally have an virtual notepad going with the theme entries and anything else that seems important. For this one I typed in all of the 4-letter words from the puzzle so that I could "easily" try out replacements, doh!
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ajk
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#89

Post by ajk »

Duane Suarez wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:02 pm Can someone please explain to me the purpose of the parenthetical numbers?
I did not get a good grasp of this even after reading the write-up.

Duane
They indicate the length of the grid entry that answers the new clue obtained by fixing the typo. So 16A gets a (4) because PARISLANES clues RUES, 20A gets a (5) because SIXANDSUCH clues EVENS, etc.
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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Duane Suarez
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#90

Post by Duane Suarez »

ajk wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:38 pm
Duane Suarez wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:02 pm Can someone please explain to me the purpose of the parenthetical numbers?
I did not get a good grasp of this even after reading the write-up.

Duane
They indicate the length of the grid entry that answers the new clue obtained by fixing the typo. So 16A gets a (4) because PARISLANES clues RUES, 20A gets a (5) because SIXANDSUCH clues EVENS, etc.
Thank you.
"Barbecue Sauce"
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Al Sisti
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#91

Post by Al Sisti »

I might have made it easier for myself... I never even noticed that there were parentheses!
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Bird Lives
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#92

Post by Bird Lives »

MG typo 1 600.jpg
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MG Typo 900.jpg
Jay
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