"Pre-Order Your Copy Now" - March 11, 2021

[escapeartist]

I tried looking at similar letters in each answer early on, but my difficulty with 17A prevented that pathway

It wasn't until tonight that I was able to arrive at OEUVRE (seriously?!)

Even if I had this early on I would never have gotten this.

So random.

(pun intended)

[anaerobe]

full disclosure-I got the HOUSE part but I got RANDOM because I thought the jumbled up letters that spelled HOUSE in each of the answers was....you know....random. IOW, I never even saw RANDOM in the grid. If I win the mug, I'll only fill it half full when using it-since I only got half the puzzle. Or maybe half gin, half tonic.

[Bird Lives]

[Tony S]

Submitted the correct answer but never saw the letters that spelled random --- I just figured the various mixings of H-O-U-S-E was sufficient to justify RANDOM HOUSE. This meta was even more clever than I thought.

[FrancesY]

Anyone else submit Publishers Clearing House?

[BarbaraK]

WSJ got the Monday puzzle posted on time the first day after the time change? Wow!

[Abide]

Submitted the correct answer but never saw the letters that spelled random --- I just figured the various mixings of H-O-U-S-E was sufficient to justify RANDOM HOUSE. This meta was even more clever than I thought.

Yes, that's the extra "elegance", which gives the word “pre-order” in the title a double meaning.

[lacangah]

While books are pre-ordered, so are houses, so we went with SEARS ROEBUCK (although one could argue it’s no longer a classic company).

Congratulations to everyone who solved it! See you Thursday

[Jeffrey]

Enjoyed the meta. Only issue is that Random House is a subsidiary of Bertelsmann, a European conglomerate, in contrast to a "classic American company".

[Gman]

I too only saw the HOUSE letters mixed and guessed RANDOM HOUSE, since I was reminded of SLOPPY JOE from a while back. If I win the mug, I will only fill it halfway, but I will still gladly accept it .

[sharkicicles]

On another topic, I was so excited and thankful to get my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday! Second shot already scheduled for 4/2 - Good Friday - which in my book will be EXCELLENT Friday this year.

And overly impressed with myself that this geezer managed to take a left-handed selfie while someone jabs a needle into my right (dominant) arm:

shot.jpg

(I opted for shot in dominant arm because I usually sleep on my left side. But so far I haven't had any soreness or other side effects.)

Hey dere, I see yer gettin' yer shot over dere at the Jewel's.

Hoping they open up the United Center for everyone soon, as I'm a 10 minute bus ride away from there. But I won't be eligible until everyone and their cat gets it first.

Since you're also in Chicago: this was a pop-up vaccination site, co-hosted by my alderman (Hopkins) and "the Jewels". They held it in the long-vacant Treasure Island location on North Wells. I found out about this because I'm on his email list, which I highly recommend if you live in the second ward. Even if you don't. This is one of those very rare times where I give thanks and praise to a local politician - Hopkins seems to be very pro-active on this issue. The event was well-organized and all the volunteer staff were most helpful. They also required you sign up for both shots at the same time, which I thought was fantastic because I know people who got the first shot and then really had to scramble to schedule the second dose in the proper time frame.

Best luck to you and everyone else still hunting!

And this also gives me an excuse to amuse Chicagoans and non-Chicagoans alike with a map of my ward. No, it's not a lobster or a space-invader. This is a map of Chicago's 2nd ward. Conveniently located right next to the definition of gerrymandered in the dictionary.

chicago-second-ward-map.jpg

Believe it or not (and, believe it, due to that map...) I am in the 2nd ward! I do get the Hopkins newsletter, but I will say I don't always READ it.

Count me in as one of the people who got the meta but didn't see the RANDOM before the HOUSEs. Very elegant.

[Dplass]

I didn't even see the word random spelled out...

[ScottOBX]

full disclosure-I got the HOUSE part but I got RANDOM because I thought the jumbled up letters that spelled HOUSE in each of the answers was....you know....random. IOW, I never even saw RANDOM in the grid. If I win the mug, I'll only fill it half full when using it-since I only got half the puzzle. Or maybe half gin, half tonic.

Same here; I never saw the RANDOM. But the random HOUSE letters got me there.

[Wendy Walker]

For those of you who avoided the red herring syndrome this week, count yourselves lucky. As soon as I finished the grid I saw how readily HARSH OEUVRE could be transformed into HORS D'OEUVRE and spent hours trying to similarly alter the other theme answers. Thank goodness some other Muggles did an intervention and got me off that fruitless path.

[802puzzler]

I'm going to finish the weekend with Isaac. I got the grid done Thursday night, but haven't been enlightened in the days since! I can wait for the head-slapping moment when i read the solution tomorrow morning!

Yup! Doh! That was a great meta, which I totally missed! Congrats to all who saw it!

And yes, I was waylaid at the hors d'oeuvre table!

[Ergcat]

While books are pre-ordered, so are houses, so we went with SEARS ROEBUCK (although one could argue it’s no longer a classic company).

Congratulations to everyone who solved it! See you Thursday

I thought the same thing! I was sure that SEARS was the answer at first. I was stuck on justifying that answer for a couple of days then eventually saw the “random” letters though and figured it out. Good puzzle!

[TeamDoubleTow]

We were also at the hors d'oeuvre table for quote some time!

[NuYear68]

Remained on the ship with Isaac and the fellow muggles too busy eating the free hors d'oeuvres, made with delicious red herring. If I don't solve the meta by Friday, all is lost (at sea) as my weekends tend to run away from me.

[Tom Wilson]

My mind originally went to "Waffle House," what with those letters going all back-and-forth, and because I always seem to be craving a big ol' breakfast.

[MaineMarge]

On seeing the title I had researched publishing companies, so when my solving buddy helped me see all those mixed up houses, I was primed for the aha moment.
Before that I had gone the “sounds like” route. Thinking oeuvre sounded like “Hoover”(all those double o’s!), I almost got sucked deeper into the vacuum cleaner hole.
Never saw the oh-so-clever downward random confirmation, but I knew it had to be right. Either that, or Matt was channeling me that my house was a mess, so time to get out the Hoover.