A place to discuss the weekly Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle Contest, starting every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Please do not post any answers or hints before the contest deadline which is midnight Sunday Eastern time.
I just posted this too! where is his explanation? Cut Matt some slack
sharkicicles wrote: Mon Mar 10, 2025 10:44 am
After reading Matt’s explanation it makes a bit more sense.
“I was looking at it like “here are five states” and then “UMIAK tells you which one of those to choose.” It’s a little different from the usual process but I didn’t think it was missable.
”
I contemplated too long and forgot to submit the correct answer. I thought maybe there was something to do with a poem or other such thing that may have given more assurance, but it was always Alaska. Oops!
mommyX4 wrote: Mon Mar 10, 2025 10:48 am
I just posted this too! where is his explanation? Cut Matt some slack
sharkicicles wrote: Mon Mar 10, 2025 10:44 am
After reading Matt’s explanation it makes a bit more sense.
“I was looking at it like “here are five states” and then “UMIAK tells you which one of those to choose.” It’s a little different from the usual process but I didn’t think it was missable.
”
I got the states and therefore UMIAK but didn't think it was a word...now I know to always check the dictionary before giving up. And here I thought I had a decent vocabulary.
Well I guess I took advantage of everybody's hesitation to get myself on page one lol. Basically, I looked at it and said it can't be anything else, Matt is human, I'm going with it. I then perseverated about it for most of the rest of the weekend, taking it with me to my son's house in Maine where my daughter-in-law likes to look at these and she and I pored over it for quite some time. Ultimately came to the same conclusion that Alaska was the only thing that would work. Then when I saw the post by @MMe I got very very nervous.
sharkicicles wrote: Mon Mar 10, 2025 10:44 am
After reading Matt’s explanation it makes a bit more sense.
“I was looking at it like “here are five states” and then “UMIAK tells you which one of those to choose.” It’s a little different from the usual process but I didn’t think it was missable.
”
I got ashore then pondered through the weekend b/e submitting Alaska. 3 alternative routes took my time:
1) "O Ship" from the title - what happens if I add the letter O to the state abbreviations (oUT, oME, oIA, oAK, oKS) since that "OKSO" answer kept bothering me
2) "Sail on" from the title -> look for the letters that precede an answer that includes the letters 'ON' and then add the state letters (to also play with the 'score b/n -1 and + 1' grid definition). Too bad, only 4 answers with 'ON' in them
3) saving the best one for last as I really wanted this one to work (as it took me through the meanders of the ethernet.). Each state ship has an abbreviation in front (for instance the Iowa is BB61 to denote it was a battleship and that it was the 61 battleship authorized for construction by congress, the Alaska is CB1 (CB is for large cruiser), and so on. Then I looked at the grid the same way you would if you ever played Battleship back in the days, with numbers on x axis, and letters on y axis, using the BB61, CB1 etc to pull the corresponding letters from the grid.
Was it a waste of time?? Not at all, as I learned so much about these ships that I am sure one day I will share it in an interesting conversation with my dog.
JoeFlanders wrote: Mon Mar 10, 2025 11:42 am
I got the states and therefore UMIAK but didn't think it was a word...now I know to always check the dictionary before giving up. And here I thought I had a decent vocabulary.
Thank you to the Friday Zoom Room crew. Last week was my first visit and I recommend it for anyone who is in need of a nudge. Your fellow Muggles are genial, happy to talk you through what you have thus far and will even teach you how to raise your hand in the meeting if your Zoom skills are nonexistent or rusty. If you would prefer to lurk and listen, that is fine too. I am appreciative that we are in the midst of a kind community!
phykos wrote: Mon Mar 10, 2025 7:51 am
Certainly, UMIAK was derived from replacing a single letter at the beginning of a state name, but did nobody else then consider adding ARK (a ship) to the front of -ansas to get ARKANSAS?
I mentioned this on the Zoom call as my alternative to Alaska. ARK can be found as the last three letters of 35a A WALK IN THE PARK
I was on vacation in Alaska and there were a bunch of kayaks for rent at one of the stops. I started chatting with a cute girl and asked her if she wanted to go on a kayak trip with me. What I heard her say was, "You? Me? Ack!" I walked away dejectedly.
Only after this puzzle did I realize that she was just correcting my use of the word "kayak"
If I have solved the Puzzle,feel free to ask for a nudge. Always willing to pay it forward.
I'm ashore, but not because I was clever enough to see the meta. I made a hail mary guess it was Alaska because the puzzle answer "I'll ask around" sounded like the state's name. Lol, talk about dumb luck!
"If the little grey cells are not exercised, they grow the rust." Hercule Poirot
mommyX4 wrote: Mon Mar 10, 2025 10:48 am
I just posted this too! where is his explanation? Cut Matt some slack
sharkicicles wrote: Mon Mar 10, 2025 10:44 am
After reading Matt’s explanation it makes a bit more sense.
“I was looking at it like “here are five states” and then “UMIAK tells you which one of those to choose.” It’s a little different from the usual process but I didn’t think it was missable.
”
My first thought was that the answer was Maine because the poem was written by Longfellow and he was born there.
For whatever reason I couldn't see "Iowa" but it finally jumped out at me during the Sunday zoom chat.
I had never heard of "Umiak" before but now I will probably never forget this word.
