#688 - "Heart of the Matter"

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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Hector
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#688 - "Heart of the Matter"

#1

Post by Hector »

This week's contest answer is a cable TV channel.
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Joe
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#2

Post by Joe »

I'M
STUMPED
ON
A
WEEK
ONE
Happy to give nudges. If you notice I've solved, please tell me about avenues you've explored so I can nudge you in the right direction and not off a cliff.
Leslie
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#3

Post by Leslie »

This is supposed to be week 1, right?
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MikeyG
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#4

Post by MikeyG »

I was like, "Oh, sure, I'll blitz through a Week 1 no problem."

It's summer - and pride cometh before the fall. I know I should wait for the people to reply who were beamed up first but...too bad, haha. Definitely will need to chew on this one for a while.
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 89. That's Not Right!
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Cindy
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#5

Post by Cindy »

And I even figured out the first step before I finished the grid! Then stuck.

15 correct and 6 incorrect 45 minutes in.
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Hector
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#6

Post by Hector »

I jumped the gun with a wrong guess. My streak of 0 stands!

I know the answer, though, after googling. Not a cable TV person...
Last edited by Hector on Fri Aug 06, 2021 12:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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ajk
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#7

Post by ajk »

As one of the incorrect answers, I can say that mine's a little artificial because I did it before the correction. More details after Tuesday. But agree that this seems hard for a Week 1 (not that I know the real answer).
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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hcbirker
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#8

Post by hcbirker »

Beam me up!
Heidi
Domini
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#9

Post by Domini »

Oh thank goodness!! I thought I was going to be alone in being stumped on a Week 1. My misery loves this company!!
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KayW
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#10

Post by KayW »

Do I get extra credit? I found the typo before Matt published it. But still no meta answer. Hmmm. Will ponder some more after online bridge...
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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MikeM000
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#11

Post by MikeM000 »

Cindy wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 12:45 pm And I even figured out the first step before I finished the grid! Then stuck.

15 correct and 6 incorrect 45 minutes in.
And that's the heart of the matter, isn't it? Week 1 shouldn't involve a 2nd step!
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Streroto
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#12

Post by Streroto »

KayW wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 1:04 pm Do I get extra credit? I found the typo before Matt published it. But still no meta answer. Hmmm. Will ponder some more after online bridge...
Me too! (Beam me up)
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Wendy Walker
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#13

Post by Wendy Walker »

I know less about cable TV channels than I do about circa-2000 pop tunes.
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
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ajk
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#14

Post by ajk »

KayW wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 1:04 pm Do I get extra credit? I found the typo before Matt published it. But still no meta answer. Hmmm. Will ponder some more after online bridge...
The pro move is to notice the typo, misinterpret it as intentional, use it to generate a half-way plausible (but in retrospect clearly wrong) answer, and submit it. :lol: :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
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Toby
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#15

Post by Toby »

I'm often disappointed when week one is too easy. Not a problem this week. I got the obvious first step as I did the grid. I have followed a plausible path (and google) to an extremely obscure and now defunct channel, so I'm assuming it's not that.
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RPardoe
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#16

Post by RPardoe »

I don't even have a plausible path to start to attempt to google.
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Amanda Hugginkiss
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#17

Post by Amanda Hugginkiss »

I would normally have trouble with this kind of meta, but I got it.
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sharkicicles
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#18

Post by sharkicicles »

Wow, this might be the first week 1 I don’t get. Step 1 seems obvious then… nothing.
Laura M
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#19

Post by Laura M »

Beam me up! This required more thought than I was expecting for a week 1.
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RPardoe
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#20

Post by RPardoe »

RPardoe wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 1:56 pm I don't even have a plausible path to start to attempt to google.
Post and solve at play perhaps, but my original thought which I couldn't make work did in fact work once I altered by thinking (point of view).
Solved and submitted.
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