"Finishing The Story" September 2, 2022

[Bob cruise director]

I must have missed something along the way. It's too darned hot (Kiss me Kate) to be back-reading previous posts.
Who is the XWord Rabbit?
We know who our other fearless leaders are plus Mike Miller who grants wishes.
Did I miss it or is this a big secret?

@pookie Guffman has been amused by the strange way our brains work - himself included - that reflected themselves in the rabbit holes that we go down. So Guffman created the rabbit hole award, not to make fun of anyone but to bring levity to the group. As we have found out from the zoom calls, if you think that you are the only one to go down a rabbit hole, there are others.

So each Monday, Guffman goes through the writeups of the rabbit holes and selects one or more for the Rabbit Hole of The Week award.

If you want more send a pm to @Guffman and Ed will be more than happy to fill in what I missed

My personal rabbit hole this week was after I got the five books, I noticed on the left side by 43A and 51D, it spelled out C_rol so I started following that down to see if there was missing letters from each of the five titles which would spell out something. Another rabbitless hole. As we have all said, the worst rabbit holes are those which lead you on and on and on. As was the winner this week

Bob

[BarbaraK]

I must have missed something along the way. It's too darned hot (Kiss me Kate) to be back-reading previous posts.
Who is the XWord Rabbit?
We know who our other fearless leaders are plus Mike Miller who grants wishes.
Did I miss it or is this a big secret?

The XWord Rabbit officially introduced himself here: viewtopic.php?p=101649#p101649

[pookie]

THANK YOU Bob and Barbara K!
I would have thanked you both sooner, but I was sitting in a chair outside in 101 degrees for an hour waiting to see if my car passed the smog test. (gulp)
It did.
I doubt if I'll ever be in the running for the Rabbit award.
Just like when I right a wrong somewhere deep in the innards of my computer and I can't remember what steps I took to fix it, I never keep track of the ludicrous thoughts I have while trying to find the solve method.
Thanks again!

[HunterX]

I doubt if I'll ever be in the running for the Rabbit award.
Just like when I right a wrong somewhere deep in the innards of my computer and I can't remember what steps I took to fix it, I never keep track of the ludicrous thoughts I have while trying to find the solve method.

I completely relate to this. When I find something isn't working, I toss it and move on. Can't waste my limited brain capacity on fruitless endeavors, after all!

Some just happen to stick around in my head longer than others, against my will. Like a bad earworm from a cheesy song or something. (Why do I KEEP looking at all the double-letters in the grid???)

[Bonnibel]

I would love to know how many correct submissions there were and of course who won that mug!

[Inca]

Happy belated birthday @Wendy Walker Wishing you a wonderful year ahead.

[Joe Ross]

Like a bad earworm from a cheesy song or something.

This is my quest,
To foLLow that star
No maTTer how hopeleSS,
No maTTer how far.

To fight for the right
Without question or pause,
To be wiLLing to march
Into heLL for a heavenly cause.

And I know if I'LL only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will be peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest.

And the world wiLL be beTTer for this,
That one man scorned and covered with scars
StiLL strove with his last ounce of courage.
To fight the unbeatable foe.
To reach the unreachable star.

[MikeMillerwsj]

The contest answer is ATHOS. The five theme answers are characters from works (“Pride and Prejudice,” “A Christmas Carol,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Crime and Punishment,” “The Sun Also Rises”) whose initials plus one added letter are grid answers (PAPA, ACCT, BATH, CAPO, TSARS). The added letters spell the contest answer.

This was quite a brilliant one, we thought. (Imagine the step-by-step process required to make this work!). We had fewer entries than usual, 1349, but a higher success rate, 82%.  Incorrect answers included PROTAGONIST (23), TOM SAWYER (8), ALICE (5), and lots of ones and twos.  

Congrats to this week's winner, Daniel Gilmore!

[Flying_Burrito]

Congrats to this week's winner, Daniel Gilmore!

i noticed that over the past 3 to 4 weeks the WSJ has stopped including the winner's town and state. While I speculate that this reason is legal and likely tied to privacy concerns I do miss those days where some homegrown partisanship was shared among the forum members.

[Cruciverbalisticexpi]

Interesting the location of the mug recipient was left off. Are these people in danger? "A string of MUGgings has been reported across the US..." LOL

[Adajeo]

Thought that I would post this beautiful photo for @Adajeo

The movement captured in this shot is lovely! Thank you for sharing.

[P1h3r1e3d13]

The contest answer is ATHOS. The five theme answers are characters from works (“Pride and Prejudice,” “A Christmas Carol,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Crime and Punishment,” “The Sun Also Rises”) whose initials plus one added letter are grid answers (PAPA, ACCT, BATH, CAPO, TSARS). The added letters spell the contest answer.

Since I had a bear of a time searching for this solution from my notes, here are the relevant clues and steps.

Code: Select all

16A: ELIZABETH BENNET  → Pride and Prejudice    → PAP  → PAPA  (13A) → A
24A: JACOB MARLEY      → A Christmas Carol      → ACC  → ACCT  (35A) → T
41A: CAT               → Breakfast at Tiffany's → BAT  → BATH  ( 9A) → H
51A: RASKOLNIKOV       → Crime and Punishment   → CAP  → CAPO  (43A) → O
61A: LADY BRETT ASHLEY → The Sun Also Rises     → TSAR → TSARS (38D) → S

Very clever puzzle. Far too clever for me this time!