"How Romantic!" - November 2019

A monthly, music-themed meta crossword published at noon on the first Tuesday of every month. The puzzles increase in difficulty each month, and at year end there is a 13th puzzle (the "Mega-Meta") that invokes each of the 12 monthly puzzles. Currently available at https://pmxwords.com/, as well as through the Washington Post website here: MMMM at WaPo
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Al Sisti
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Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:28 pm
Location: Whitesboro NY

#41

Post by Al Sisti »

Thurman8er wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:37 pm Is "A la" a three-letter word? I don't think it is.
From Matt Gaffney's writeup on Fiend, he addresses that point (plus BBQ not being an actual word) by saying "So I guess it’s most accurately described as “the three-letter lexical chunk that begins each theme entry contains two of one letter and one of another. Didn’t notice it while solving so not a big deal I think.”
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FrankieHeck
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Location: West Virginia

#42

Post by FrankieHeck »

MajordomoTom wrote: Sun Nov 10, 2019 11:38 pm
Eric Porter wrote: Sun Nov 10, 2019 11:17 pm
The only song I knew by Meat Loaf was I'd Do Anything for Love.
The best song by Meatloaf (one word) is "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". It's tremendous, needs to be played at high volume.
So we didn't make it to date night at the dive bar this weekend, so we are here now. And Paradise by the Dashboard Lights is playing.

I had looked up Meatloaf early on because of the HAM and BURGER but had a very hard time with this one.
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KayW
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#43

Post by KayW »

I also stumbled onto the double-letters and googled AINT BAD LYRICS. Bingo. A clever mechanism (aren't they all, when you get them ;) ) . But I feel a bit dense - can someone explain the connection of the title to the meta?

On a happier note, I just got the mega meta!!!! My third try. So on that score, I guess one out of three ain't bad!
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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Thurman8er
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#44

Post by Thurman8er »

I spent hours on this puzzle and I'm very frustrated by the result. I skipped over the triple letters quickly (first thing I noticed) because "a la" is two words. I worked out every "romantic" angle I could think of (languages...like Latin for "quid pro quo"...moonlight/heart...) only to see nothing pan out. I should have gotten it anyway, but it was far from elegant. A different title would have made a big difference.
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BethA
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 6:44 pm
Location: Beaver, PA

#45

Post by BethA »

KayW wrote: Tue Nov 12, 2019 12:56 pm I also stumbled onto the double-letters and googled AINT BAD LYRICS. Bingo. A clever mechanism (aren't they all, when you get them ;) ) . But I feel a bit dense - can someone explain the connection of the title to the meta?

On a happier note, I just got the mega meta!!!! My third try. So on that score, I guess one out of three ain't bad!
I think the title is kind of a sarcastic reaction to the lyrics:

I want you, I need you
But-there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you
Now don't be sad
'Cause two out of three ain't bad

That was always my reaction when I heard the song anyway.

Congrats on the mega, too!
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