#663 - "Three in a Row"

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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DrTom
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#61

Post by DrTom »

I HATE it when these are supposed to be "easy" because that invariably means I am going to struggle, and this only a week #2. ARRGGGGHHHHH!
I guess this is one more time my musical deficiencies are going to haunt me. Ah well, I'll keep trying. maybe there will be a post-post enlightenment.
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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sharkicicles
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#62

Post by sharkicicles »

Finally got around to this one. A little easier than a normal week 2 IMO.
mflaminio
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#63

Post by mflaminio »

Beam me up as well. Kind of shocked, to tell you the truth, but my name is on his leaderboard, albeit 500 or so down.
EmilyW
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#64

Post by EmilyW »

Took me a while but beam me up! I usually try to avoid googling a list of possible meta answers because I usually find something I want to be the answer and try to make it work and miss the mark. But this time looking at a list of 80's #1 hits did the trick. I had my aha moment when I saw the song title.
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Thurman8er
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#65

Post by Thurman8er »

I got the 4 and 5 from last month and find myself just staring at this one. Funny how that works sometimes....
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Thurman8er
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#66

Post by Thurman8er »

Thurman8er wrote: Mon Feb 15, 2021 3:32 pm I got the 4 and 5 from last month and find myself just staring at this one. Funny how that works sometimes....
Nevermind. There it is. Energize!
JennyByrd
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#67

Post by JennyByrd »

Thurman8er wrote: Mon Feb 15, 2021 3:34 pm
Thurman8er wrote: Mon Feb 15, 2021 3:32 pm I got the 4 and 5 from last month and find myself just staring at this one. Funny how that works sometimes....
Nevermind. There it is. Energize!
I’m in the same situation, except without the Aha! I have an idea/earworm, Funny thing is that I’m pretty concerned about breaking my streak. Back to print another blank grid and see if I get some inspiration by filling it in a 4th time...
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DrTom
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#68

Post by DrTom »

Well FINALLY, but not without a nudge I'm embarrassed to say. I too went through all 710 #1 hits of the 80's singing them (my wife promises to return in a few days, and the cats are hiding) and still did not catch on...DESPITE THINKING OF THE RIGHT TITLE TWICE BECAUSE IT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITES!1 DUH.

It's like I say, the easy ones always seem to be hard for me because I just sometimes cannot think far enough outside of the box, despite being told what to do by the puzzle darn it. Ah well I believe I am now up to 2!!!
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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rexthree
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#69

Post by rexthree »

Solved. Beam me up.
Big Mac
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#70

Post by Big Mac »

Well I guessed it at 11:59 with half the grid filled in. Gotta improvise when life gets busy. :lol:
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Streroto
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#71

Post by Streroto »

I can ask now. For those of you who have done MGWCC a long time when did Matt last do a rebus? I don’t recall seeing one.

The funny story may not be all that funny now but will share anyway. My 7 year younger brother had come back from a high school party a bit intoxicated and my mother said “you’re pie-eyed!!” None of us older sibs and our girlfriends had ever even heard the expression but we immediately started singing “turn around pie-eyes!!” And this stuck on him for a long long time.

Stay well all
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ajk
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#72

Post by ajk »

Agree that rebus is not usually in the bag of tricks. But the bag has enough stuff in it that I'm not surprised to find that there too. :D
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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MikeM000
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#73

Post by MikeM000 »

MikeM000 wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:25 pm I'm looking forward to ... the WELL ACTUALLY comment going up on crossword fiend at 12:08 PM on Tuesday explaining in great detail why the answer is wrong.
I was off by 29 minutes!
February 16, 2021 at 11:37 am
I think I’d have done better on this one if it was SUN EARTH HEART. I’d say the lunar eclipse configuration is more appropriate for an eclipse of the heart than the solar eclipse configuration, since the heart doesn’t produce its own light.
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KayW
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#74

Post by KayW »

MikeM000 wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 1:35 pm February 16, 2021 at 11:37 am
I think I’d have done better on this one if it was SUN EARTH HEART. I’d say the lunar eclipse configuration is more appropriate for an eclipse of the heart than the solar eclipse configuration, since the heart doesn’t produce its own light.
I thought the same thing, at first. But on second thought, I :heart: this meta as is. In this grid, we EARTHlings can't see the :heart: because it is eclipsed by the MOON. Fantastic meta!
Streroto wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 12:45 pm I can ask now. For those of you who have done MGWCC a long time when did Matt last do a rebus? I don’t recall seeing one.
Agreed. If I was shown this puzzle and asked to guess the creator, I probably would have said Pete Muller.
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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MikeyG
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#75

Post by MikeyG »

Deadline has passed, so now you get regaled with:

Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit closer
And the answer's coming round
Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit tired
Of thinking that this all will take years

Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit nervous
That the best of all my solving's gone by
Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified
And then I see a meta tonight

Turn around, wise guys
Every now and then it falls apart
Turn around, wise guys
Every now and then it falls apart

Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit stressed out
And I dream of other clues
Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit helpless
And I'm really not sure what else to do

Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit angry
And I know I probably should go outside
Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified
It might be right in front of my eyes

Turn around, wise guys
Every now and then it falls apart
Turn around, wise guys
Every now and then it falls apart

And I'm puzzling now tonight
And I'm puzzling more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We'll be solving every meta
And we'll only submit if it's right
'Cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of week five
These puzzles, they are baffling me
All of the time

I don't know what to do
And I'm always in the dark
I lose and I cry sour grapes
And claim it's too hard

I'll really get it tonight
The solving's gonna start tonight
The solving's gonna start tonight

Once upon a time, clues were coming to me
Now I'm only coming apart
There's nothing I can do
A meta that trips up my smarts
Once upon a time I was solving it all
Now only cross words in the dark
Nothing I can solve
A meta that trips up my smarts
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 89. That's Not Right!
EmilyW
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#76

Post by EmilyW »

Maybe not as good as MikeyG's version, but the literal music video of this song is pretty good too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsgWUq0fdKk
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ajk
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#77

Post by ajk »

EmilyW wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:14 pm Maybe not as good as MikeyG's version, but the literal music video of this song is pretty good too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsgWUq0fdKk
Saw that yesterday after following the link from Fiend. Literally LOL'ed multiple times. The ninjas and Fonzie were my favs I think. :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
Laura M
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#78

Post by Laura M »

My husband is a big fan of the Cracking the Cryptic YouTube channel, which usually features Sudoku and cryptic crosswords. However, there's a new video with Mark Goodliffe solving this past week's MGWCC:

https://youtu.be/7vdlB_Vwn54

It's pretty fun to watch!
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Al Sisti
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#79

Post by Al Sisti »

Laura M wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:33 pm My husband is a big fan of the Cracking the Cryptic YouTube channel, which usually features Sudoku and cryptic crosswords. However, there's a new video with Mark Goodliffe solving this past week's MGWCC:

https://youtu.be/7vdlB_Vwn54

It's pretty fun to watch!
Love that you can actually see the "aha" moment...
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