#671 - "This Stays Between Us"

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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hashbrown
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#81

Post by hashbrown »

Beam me up! Looking forward to the Tuesday write up, because not 100% sure on how one or two pieces work.
-HB
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rexthree
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#82

Post by rexthree »

beam me up. i enjoyed this one.
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Bird Lives
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#83

Post by Bird Lives »

Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:13 pm I needed a lot of help on this one especially 116A because I have never ...... (full explanation on Tuesday)
Oh boy, we're going to play Never Have I Ever. I'm not sure that the crossworders' version will be as interesting as others, but you never know..
Jay
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ricky
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#84

Post by ricky »

Just outside the top 25 on this one. Seemed like the difficulty level I'm best suited to - sprinted through the puzzle itself as quickly as possible, stared, stared, took some useless notes, stared some more, saw a thing, saw another thing, stared, saw two more things, got the mechanism, started making little organizing lists, done!

On to weeks 3-5 when my MO is staring, staring, staring, staring, staring *fast forward 24 hours* staring, staring
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mflaminio
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#85

Post by mflaminio »

Beamed up and confirmed. Some what challenging but doable.
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Thurman8er
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#86

Post by Thurman8er »

Yeesh! That's cutting it close! Beam me up though.
Dplass
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#87

Post by Dplass »

Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:13 pm I needed a lot of help on this one especially 116A because I have never ...... (full explanation on Tuesday)
Do tell!
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Hector
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#88

Post by Hector »

... been to a Starbucks?
EmilyW
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#89

Post by EmilyW »

Dang it. I saw the VENUSMARS right away which made me think the 2 things would appear next to each other in the answers. I saw ORECAL in 23 across and thought it had to do with something between Oregon and California but that didn't really make sense. And then using google I found a Harry Eugene Black, so thought that one was Eugene.
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ajk
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#90

Post by ajk »

Took me a while to get EYE-Nose-EYE, and despite (at least) daily Starbucks visits 116A was the last one I got. :)
Matt posted a bonus theme entry that didn't fit over at Fiend:
[Hitting the trails on Monday or Thursday evening?] for WEEKNIGHT HIKING yielding a B
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Jacksull
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#91

Post by Jacksull »

I probably looked at this one five or six times over the weekend. I even did the grid twice.

LEO and LIBRA appeared to me just before bedtime on Monday. I already had 3 letters so the V from Virgo gave me VE—T—N—. It was too late to search for the missing letters so I submitted VENTING and went to bed. Turns out I was 552 out of 564 on Matt’s list.

It’s never too late.
Last edited by Jacksull on Thu Apr 15, 2021 2:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jack Sullivan
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Streroto
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#92

Post by Streroto »

Bonus one is good. I too was stumped by EYE-NOSE-EYE for the longest time!!! I had the answer a full day before I figured this out, even though I had seen the eyes even as I filled the grid!

I was able to do this one without copying to paper and a good thing that was because the blank grids I printed out to use while I am away w/I a printer were 20x20!!!! (though my kind wife who is patient with my meta addiction offered to tape up a bigger one!)

Stay well all
Dplass
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#93

Post by Dplass »

EmilyW wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:23 pm Dang it. I saw the VENUSMARS right away which made me think the 2 things would appear next to each other in the answers. I saw ORECAL in 23 across and thought it had to do with something between Oregon and California but that didn't really make sense. And then using google I found a Harry Eugene Black, so thought that one was Eugene.
Same!
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BarbaraK
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#94

Post by BarbaraK »

So did anyone know all of these sequences? I knew Earth and Ike and of course Nose. Theta was my guess, but I wasn't nearly confident enough not too google to be sure. Didn't have a clue about Virgo, Niger, or Grande.
minimuggle
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#95

Post by minimuggle »

I got a nice nudge on the mechanism so I got Virgo, Earth, Niger, Theta, Nose and Grande. I saw Harry and jack and assumed there would be a name beginning with "i" but didn't think of the presidential angle. I came up with "venting" but didn't submit because I got the nudge. Once I was helped on the mechanism it was a lot of fun. And in a first, I drew my own grid since my printer would not accept the grid. I give myself 2 stars on the difficulty of drawing the grid. Have a great day everyone.
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Meg
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#96

Post by Meg »

minimuggle wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:54 am I got a nice nudge on the mechanism so I got Virgo, Earth, Niger, Theta, Nose and Grande. I saw Harry and jack and assumed there would be a name beginning with "i" but didn't think of the presidential angle. I came up with "venting" but didn't submit because I got the nudge. Once I was helped on the mechanism it was a lot of fun. And in a first, I drew my own grid since my printer would not accept the grid. I give myself 2 stars on the difficulty of drawing the grid. Have a great day everyone.
The MGWCC is the one place where you can happily declare that you did not solve by yourself. That way you can submit without feeling guilty.
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ajk
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#97

Post by ajk »

Earth, Ike, Nose, Grande were gimmes, once I saw the container words and figured out what group was involved. Probably would have come up with Theta and Niger if I'd tried, but I don't have any qualms about straightforward googling for the meta because it's definitely necessary some of the time and to me seeing the mechanism is the fun part rather than any associated trivia. Never would have gotten Virgo (except by backsolving I guess).
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
TRidgway
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#98

Post by TRidgway »

BarbaraK wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:34 pm So did anyone know all of these sequences? I knew Earth and Ike and of course Nose. Theta was my guess, but I wasn't nearly confident enough not too google to be sure. Didn't have a clue about Virgo, Niger, or Grande.
I had to google the zodiac, a map of Africa, and alas even the Greek alphabet. I teach math, so many Greek letters are good friends of mine - it was a little surprising to realize that I can't really put them in order after the first four or five. :?
I also fell for the alphabetical interpretation of Harry and Jack. I knew that there would be something more to it, but it was good enough to submit. (Thanks to ky-mike for clarifying afterward!)
I'm tardy, wig askew.
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MikeyG
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#99

Post by MikeyG »

MALI/CHAD, of all of them, was the first thing I saw (although that was the first themer I got!). Fun one!
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