#652 - "Solved in Full"

[lbray53]

Needed help to get to the correct answer. I am surprised that do many found this easy. Maybe because I read that it was easy before starting instead of treating it like week four out of the gate.

[Bird Lives]

I remain baffled by 65A. I have all the letters. I just don't see how it's answer to the clue.

You must not be a shareholder.

True, though I was once. Even at that time, I did not consider my shares to be "pieces." And that's only one of my reasons for disliking this clue.

[burak]

After last week's puzzle this almost felt like a Week 1, but I thought it was a very proper Week 3 puzzle.

[higgysue]

Finally. Beam me up. I was so close last night but had one mistake. The answer came to me in my sleep!

[cbarbee002]

After a nudge, sooooo close. Pretty sure I know the answer but can’t get a minor portion to work. Another cuppa Joe should do the trick.

[ky-mike]

After a nudge, sooooo close. Pretty sure I know the answer but can’t get a minor portion to work. Another cuppa Joe should do the trick.

Double check your spelling. I had one answer off that stumped me, initially.

[cbarbee002]

After a nudge, sooooo close. Pretty sure I know the answer but can’t get a minor portion to work. Another cuppa Joe should do the trick.

Double check your spelling. I had one answer off that stumped me, initially.

Had that “duh” moment. All good.

[KayW]

Waiting for an update to confirm, but this has to be it. Wow, did I make that harder than I needed to. And then made the same extra last detour (I'd bet) that others have mentioned.

[MatthewB]

Got it... It's clear when you do...

[Joe Ross]

Energize.

[mpmanning]

Once again, after submission, I waited for an update on the leaderboard but my name has not appeared near the bottom after an update. Oh well, another learning experience. I shall wait for the enlightenment.

I don't see your name under the "Overall" tab. Are you using a different screen name there? If you're not on that Overall list, Matt hasn't processed your submission yet. Either it will come with the next update or it was lost in cyberspace.

If you're sure he's updated since you submitted and you're not on that Overall list, you could try submitting again or send him an email at crosswordcontest@gmail.com

Thanks for your concern. I do use the same screen name on Matt's website. I think the simpler answer is that I, as a novice, am not yet up to speed on the proper approach to the metas Matt offers on the MGWCC site. As I have only submitted two answers - last weeks and this weeks - and since the level of difficulty is well above the ones I typically get on the WSJ contest puzzles, I think my answers have simply been wrong and I need to up my game.

[EmilyW]

Yay I got it!

[Laura M]

Once again, after submission, I waited for an update on the leaderboard but my name has not appeared near the bottom after an update. Oh well, another learning experience. I shall wait for the enlightenment.

I don't see your name under the "Overall" tab. Are you using a different screen name there? If you're not on that Overall list, Matt hasn't processed your submission yet. Either it will come with the next update or it was lost in cyberspace.

If you're sure he's updated since you submitted and you're not on that Overall list, you could try submitting again or send him an email at crosswordcontest@gmail.com

Thanks for your concern. I do use the same screen name on Matt's website. I think the simpler answer is that I, as a novice, am not yet up to speed on the proper approach to the metas Matt offers on the MGWCC site. As I have only submitted two answers - last weeks and this weeks - and since the level of difficulty is well above the ones I typically get on the WSJ contest puzzles, I think my answers have simply been wrong and I need to up my game.

Interesting! There seems to be a loophole with the "Overall" tab: If you've never submitted a correct answer, then your name won't show up there when you submit. There aren't any 0s for number of puzzles solved.

Anyway, I expect this problem will resolve with the next (Week 1) puzzle :-)

[Big Mac]

Submitted! Quite confident I'll see my name on the board.

I have an addition to this meta I wish Matt would have included but I'll wait for tomorrow to discuss... very fun overall.

[SusieG]

I must either be stuck in a dead end rabbit hole or I am not “familiar” with this 5 letter proper noun.

[joequavis]

Team-solved in full.

[bhamren]

For some reason, this is just the right tricky for me. I solved the grid on Friday and pulled it out for the meta tonight after having an inkling which direction to go. Then to find the next step and finding the perfect fit answer is very gratifying. I like to spend some time on puzzles, but not my weekend. Week 1 is nice to do but goes too fast. Week 2 and 3 are very nice, like this one. Last weeks was too much time for me so I passed. The recent Chutes and Ladders one was definitely way too much time. This one just hit the spot. I haven't looked to see if I am on the board, but I have to be - it is a 100 percenter!

Edit - I am on the board in the 280's

Blair

[DrTom]

FINALLY! I really should be ashamed of myself because with work today and now spending the evening beating myself up I am well into the wee hours. BUT I do think I have it, it can be noting else I believe and it was a long slog getting here. I did get a well appreciated nudge that set me towards finding the first step, but boy the ones after that came really slowly and with much invocation of strange beings and liberal use of the vocabulary I picked up in the Navy.

Still it feels good and I am hoping to be confirmed. Getting ready to step into the transporter beam....

EDIT: Home for the Holidays, I was confirmed. BRUTAL one for me, I'll look forward to the post-mortem

[tonyrobots]

Yeah, have what must be the first step but drawing blanks from there. Got about an hour to sort it out. Wish me luck!

[ricky]

Submitted an answer before noon but I don't feel great about it. One issue was that I recalled another MG fairly recently in which he had specified the answer was a noun but the word in question could also be used as a verb, and I thought I recalled he had also once specified "proper noun" for an answer that could also be used as a common noun.

I had an overly simple answer, and then two more answers reached by a different method - anagrams of each other - neither of which seemed to satisfy a strict definition of "proper noun," but were proper-noun-ish. I finally ruled them out because they didn't seem to have any interplay with the title, the significance of which I could never figure out. I ended up submitting an answer that shares 4 of the 5 letters of those two answers and is at least a very well-known proper noun.