Wsj shady doings

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Jeanrosz
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Wsj shady doings

#1

Post by Jeanrosz »

Love cryptics but have trouble with a one of these.. 23A Anyone help?
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Leslie
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#2

Post by Leslie »

Loved the puzzle but also didn’t get 23A!
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Richard B.
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#3

Post by Richard B. »

Jeanrosz wrote: ↑Fri Aug 25, 2023 7:04 pm 23A Anyone help?
Leslie wrote: ↑Sat Aug 26, 2023 11:39 am Loved the puzzle but also didn’t get 23A!
“Take back” is the definition, followed by wordplay using a container format.
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Joepickett
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#4

Post by Joepickett »

Need help on 4A. I have one space left. The 5th letter is missing for me and I have it starting with a difficult letter. But 4D makes sense to me.

Well I got it to work but I had to change 4D. I still need an explanation for the answer to 4A. Why do I do cryptics?
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KayW
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#5

Post by KayW »

Another gem from Hex but I am still stumped on word play for 4A, too.
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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Richard B.
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#6

Post by Richard B. »

Joepickett wrote: ↑Sat Aug 26, 2023 7:53 pm I still need an explanation for the answer to 4A.
KayW wrote: ↑Sat Aug 26, 2023 10:46 pm Another gem from Hex but I am still stumped on word play for 4A, too.
The 4A clue is “Topic for a bachelor almost in conniptions” — Definition is “topic for a bachelor”, wordplay is a container with “almost” in “conniptions” -> FI[NE AR]TS or FINE ARTS, which is a field of study for a bachelor’s degree. The entry undergoes some “insider trading” to give — FIRE ANTS.
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oldjudge
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#7

Post by oldjudge »

Thanks to Kay for pointing the puzzle out to me. I thought the C&R popped on the first Saturday of the month. Obviously, I was wrong. Fun puzzle!
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iggystan
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#8

Post by iggystan »

Another fine HEX puzzle, perhaps took a little longer than normal because of the "shady doings."

23A explanation below:
23A: Take back= Reannex. King (REX) capturing queen (ANNE)
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Barney
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#9

Post by Barney »

iggystan wrote: ↑Sun Aug 27, 2023 12:28 pm Another fine HEX puzzle, perhaps took a little longer than normal because of the "shady doings."

23A explanation below:
23A: Take back= Reannex. King (REX) capturing queen (ANNE)
My kind of hint.

I have more or less 80% of the fill, not all of which makes sense, zero clue about the shade spots, and calling it a day. Doesn’t seem to me letter rearrangements are confined to those shade spots but I could be wrong about that too.
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Barney
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#10

Post by Barney »

Amazing. Got the fill except for 16A, 19D, 20D

Once I figured out that the shaded squares weren’t the key to the switcheroos it got more clear.

33A was the tip-off.g

Would not call this easy except that I (mostly) got it so probably qualifies.

In another era there were long (and educational) discussions about these puzzles.
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ChrisKochmanski
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#11

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Got to this one late. (We were away.) Much fun. I especially enjoyed counting the changed entries as I went. “How many so far? Really?? There are twelve???”
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