"Jazz Combos" - July 2020

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
Laura M
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#21

Post by Laura M »

damefox wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 4:36 pm Who is Judyrose and how do they have 53 points on the 2020 leaderboard??
All I can figure is that this has to be someone who guessed the mega really early but didn't submit a leaderboard name until now. Honestly I'm not complaining, I actually hate being singled out so I don't want to win, but as of last month I didn't see how anyone could get ahead of me at this point unless/until I missed a monthly meta! I didn't think of this possibility though. Congrats to Judyrose, whoever she may be :-)
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C=64
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Location: PDX

#22

Post by C=64 »

Got it! Strategy tip for newbies from a fellow newbie: I printed out a clean copy and entered only the parts of the grid I thought were relevant. I then sussed out that I had the wrong number of relevant pieces, et voila!
damefox
Posts: 477
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2019 2:18 pm

#23

Post by damefox »

Laura M wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 5:10 pm
damefox wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 4:36 pm Who is Judyrose and how do they have 53 points on the 2020 leaderboard??
All I can figure is that this has to be someone who guessed the mega really early but didn't submit a leaderboard name until now. Honestly I'm not complaining, I actually hate being singled out so I don't want to win, but as of last month I didn't see how anyone could get ahead of me at this point unless/until I missed a monthly meta! I didn't think of this possibility though. Congrats to Judyrose, whoever she may be :-)
Yeah, that's what I thought was weird too! After about April I definitely lose track of the scoring, but it did seem impossible that anyone could have more points than you. It didn't occur to me you could create a username midway through the year and have your past scores count, but that seems like the only explanation.
Laura M
Posts: 1384
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:49 am

#24

Post by Laura M »

damefox wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:02 pm
Laura M wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 5:10 pm
damefox wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 4:36 pm Who is Judyrose and how do they have 53 points on the 2020 leaderboard??
All I can figure is that this has to be someone who guessed the mega really early but didn't submit a leaderboard name until now. Honestly I'm not complaining, I actually hate being singled out so I don't want to win, but as of last month I didn't see how anyone could get ahead of me at this point unless/until I missed a monthly meta! I didn't think of this possibility though. Congrats to Judyrose, whoever she may be :-)
Yeah, that's what I thought was weird too! After about April I definitely lose track of the scoring, but it did seem impossible that anyone could have more points than you. It didn't occur to me you could create a username midway through the year and have your past scores count, but that seems like the only explanation.
After some more thought, I was forgetting something a little significant. Since the red herring counts the same whenever you get it, anyone who hasn't gotten it yet could still shoot forward by 5 points if they don't lose too many points guessing. That's probably what happened with LL, though of course it doesn't explain Judyrose's sudden 11-point lead. So there's still a close contest, though now only for second place!
LesY
Posts: 678
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 4:21 pm

#25

Post by LesY »

Great puzzle! This was a “slow emerger” for me - which in some ways is more satisfying. Saw what turned out to be half of it last night, then the rest this morning. I’m also starting to psych myself out a little on the difficulty level - it usually gets harder from here.

Solved the red herring what seems like decades ago, but I’m still nowhere on the mega meta. Alas and alack! Good to have a puzzle in the inventory though.
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ChrisKochmanski
Posts: 2157
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:51 pm
Location: Saline, Michigan

#26

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Hummin’ the tune! (lame attempt at “on shore”-like indication of “I solved it” for MMMM)

Really enjoyed this one. Just hard enough for solving during free moments while on the road.
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Hector
Posts: 1297
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 8:15 pm
Location: San Francisco
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#27

Post by Hector »

Solved the red herring what seems like decades ago, but I’m still nowhere on the mega meta.
Same.
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Cindy
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:39 pm
Location: Matthews

#28

Post by Cindy »

Solved
damefox
Posts: 477
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2019 2:18 pm

#29

Post by damefox »

If anyone cares, Judyrose has dropped back down to 34 points on the leaderboard, so there must've been some weird error in the scores that gave them 53 points for a couple days!
Dplass
Posts: 1739
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:09 am

#30

Post by Dplass »

KayW wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 3:30 pm
I am still a "paper dinosaur" so I save each month's printed puzzle. After I complete the latest, I go back and review all of them in hopes of seeing a pattern. But this mega is feeling like one of those darn "magic eye" pictures that were so popular a few decades ago. Everyone else is oohing and aahing, and I see meaningless squiggles :?
For me, this META is feeling like one of those darn "magic eye" pictures that were so popular a few decades ago. Everyone else is oohing and aahing, and I see meaningless squiggles.
damefox
Posts: 477
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2019 2:18 pm

#31

Post by damefox »

I finally understand the mega meta! (I got it mostly by coincidence back in March.) And I found the red herring! (Thanks to Laura M for answering my question for me as Mr. G proved almost useless.)
pmxwords
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2020 12:16 am

#32

Post by pmxwords »

damefox wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2020 4:43 pm If anyone cares, Judyrose has dropped back down to 34 points on the leaderboard, so there must've been some weird error in the scores that gave them 53 points for a couple days!
We had a bug in the scoring algorithm that didn't pick up that Judy submitted the correct answer twice - thanks for letting us know!
LaceyK
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2019 5:10 pm
Location: San Diego

#33

Post by LaceyK »

Hummin' the tune. As I (successfully) puzzle through the week, I'm off the couch, hummin' the tune, and swimming to shore. Great meta life! :)
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ky-mike
Posts: 1942
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 4:22 pm
Location: Near Louisville Ky

#34

Post by ky-mike »

Took me a while to get there, but on the leaderboard. 5/7 this year, so not in contention for any prizes. Haven't spent a lot of time looking for the red herring or mega meta, but hope to find more time soon to do so.
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Eric Porter
Posts: 466
Joined: Sun May 05, 2019 2:19 am
Location: Nashville, TN

#35

Post by Eric Porter »

This one is causing me problems. I see a few things, at least one of which is probably a part of the solution, but I can't find anything at the end of the rabbit hole. I've been learning about jazz a little, but I can't make any solid connections.
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Cindy N
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Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2019 12:55 pm
Location: Wisconsin

#36

Post by Cindy N »

All I can say this month is thank goodness for classic jazz!
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Thurman8er
Posts: 393
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Location: Fresno, CA

#37

Post by Thurman8er »

Pretty easy, but I liked it a lot.

Sad to say that the red herring apparently got me and I'm looking for a new way in to the mega-meta.
Dplass
Posts: 1739
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:09 am

#38

Post by Dplass »

Eric Porter wrote: Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:28 pm This one is causing me problems. I see a few things, at least one of which is probably a part of the solution, but I can't find anything at the end of the rabbit hole. I've been learning about jazz a little, but I can't make any solid connections.
Same. Gave up and submitted something, just to stop thinking about it.
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Eric Porter
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Location: Nashville, TN

#39

Post by Eric Porter »

Dplass wrote: Thu Jul 09, 2020 9:50 pm
Eric Porter wrote: Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:28 pm This one is causing me problems. I see a few things, at least one of which is probably a part of the solution, but I can't find anything at the end of the rabbit hole. I've been learning about jazz a little, but I can't make any solid connections.
Same. Gave up and submitted something, just to stop thinking about it.
I'm now definitely on the right track, but I can't get from what I have to an answer. It's frustrating being 80-90% done (I think) but I can't get a jazz performance category out of it.
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anjhinz
Posts: 123
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:35 am
Location: Dallas, TX

#40

Post by anjhinz »

On the board!
Locked