"Swap Meet" - April 16, 2021

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.
Locked
User avatar
escapeartist
Posts: 419
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2020 12:24 am

#281

Post by escapeartist »

I really enjoyed the construction of this meta,

and admire the creativity of the meta creators to

dream up this stuff and make it work for us hapless solvers!
* 2022 WSJ Mug Winner - I bask in its Glory *
ADS
Posts: 82
Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2020 2:57 pm

#282

Post by ADS »

I’m ashore.
User avatar
sharkicicles
Posts: 798
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 12:03 pm
Location: Chicago

#283

Post by sharkicicles »

KayW wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:50 pm Pardon the interruption - but for anyone needing a virtual arts fix, The Shows Must Go On is streaming Matthew Bourne's The Car Man this weekend (free). It's a modern dance based loosely on Carmen. I just started watching, and so far it looks really good:



We now resume our regular program schedule...
Would you say watching this is a Bourne Ultimatum?
ChrisWill
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2021 8:53 am

#284

Post by ChrisWill »

After picking it up and putting it down about half a dozen times, my wife and I made it ashore. May not be too much available beach left at this point, but we’ll take what we can get!
wb93
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 6:37 pm
Location: Connecticut

#285

Post by wb93 »

S.O.S. Utterly lost at sea. No land in sight.

Would someone be so kind to run up to the lighthouse and send out a nudge beacon my way (via pm, of course). Thank you.

UPDATE: I’m saved. Thank you.
Last edited by wb93 on Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
DianeA
Posts: 101
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2021 7:58 am
Location: Southport, NC

#286

Post by DianeA »

DannyWalter wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 12:40 am I can't even find Isaac.
He had to go to the liquor locker to get more supplies. I alone emptied the last bottle of Disarono. My worksheet is a mess of scratched out attempts to make sense of this week's meta. The clock is ticking....maybe after this afternoon's round of golf (miniature, of course, on the Lido deck) i will find success.
User avatar
802puzzler
Posts: 178
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 7:21 pm

#287

Post by 802puzzler »

Still on the boat. Grid finished on Thursday but still no clue what to do with the numbers!

UPDATE: Definitely found step 1 of the mechanism, now just trying different ways to utilize the numbers!
Last edited by 802puzzler on Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Guy
Posts: 173
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 3:26 pm
Location: M87*

#288

Post by Guy »

Aaaaahhhhhhaaaaaaaa!!!!!
wb93
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 6:37 pm
Location: Connecticut

#289

Post by wb93 »

Very clever meta construction.

Always fascinating how what you need to solve is right before your eyes, but you sometimes can’t see it. I was utterly stumped until I got a little nudge.
User avatar
anaerobe
Posts: 73
Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2021 10:11 am
Location: OK

#290

Post by anaerobe »

Finished the meta Friday, but no clue what to do with the #'s. I feel like if I had done one of Patrick's puzzles in the past, perhaps I would stand a fighting chance.

I humbly request the slightest nudge.

Thanks!
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4511
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#291

Post by Bob cruise director »

Collegetowngirl wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:17 pm On shore. My first post here! That was not easy at all!!
Welcome to the family. And congratulations for making it to the shore.

Which college town?
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
User avatar
SusieG
Posts: 431
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2020 9:20 pm
Location: Arkansas

#292

Post by SusieG »

Aha! I made this much more complicated than it was. Many rabbit holes distracted me, but I am joining the shore party as we speak.
User avatar
anaerobe
Posts: 73
Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2021 10:11 am
Location: OK

#293

Post by anaerobe »

Thank you so much for the half dozen persons nudging me. I am so close and should join the rest of you on the beach soon! Some rescue breathing may be required, but I think I'm going to make it!

UPDATE: Ashore!....with nudges, but also a 'slightly' greater proportion of independence relative to my efforts with 'The Play's The Thing'. Hopefully someday I'll be the nudger instead of the nudgee!

Thank you again!
Last edited by anaerobe on Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
eagle1279
Posts: 307
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 7:00 pm
Location: Indianapolis

#294

Post by eagle1279 »

I was halfway to shore but got there only with a helpful nudge from the Cruise Director. If not for that, my Hail Mary answer would have been something like "Swap meet, what's a swap meet and what the heck am I doing here?"
User avatar
Amanda Hugginkiss
Posts: 92
Joined: Sat May 09, 2020 5:44 pm
Location: London

#295

Post by Amanda Hugginkiss »

Could I trouble one of you for the tiniest nudge? I’ve figured out everything except what to do with the numbers. I still want to solve it, but I need a little boop. Thank you!
beccacollins
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri May 01, 2020 5:12 pm
Location: Collinsville, IL
Contact:

#296

Post by beccacollins »

Been cursing the parenthetical numbers all weekend. Woke up twice last night with futile ideas. Hopelessly lost at sea. Would love if someone threw me a life preserver in the form of a nudge, please.

UPDATE: Thanks so a very helpful nudge, I found where I was screwing it up. Quick swim to shore when you go down the right path! Thank you sooo much!
Last edited by beccacollins on Sun Apr 18, 2021 12:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Amanda Hugginkiss
Posts: 92
Joined: Sat May 09, 2020 5:44 pm
Location: London

#297

Post by Amanda Hugginkiss »

Finally on shore thanks to some powerful nudges. You all are the BEST community! Have a wonderful day.
User avatar
Limerick Savant
Posts: 220
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2019 12:22 am
Location: Mobile, AL
Contact:

#298

Post by Limerick Savant »

Limerick Savant wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 2:15 pm Seems I’ve tried every possible swap
Top to bottom and bottom to top
And the meta won’t budge
So I may need a nudge
Cuz my efforts so far are a flop

The grid was a snap but I knew I was headed for trouble when I saw the major clues. I thought I found a mechanism that would work and incorporate both the title and those darn parenthetical numbers yet so far all it has yielded is gobbledygook.

I am taking a break to let my poor rattled brain rest but I would be pleased to accept a nudge from a fellow Muggle if I haven’t claimed a spot on the beach by tomorrow afternoon.

Oh, how I hate parentheses
(I’d rather fight a swarm of bees 🐝)
My market in parentheses
(Just left me heading home with fleas)

The rabbit I’d chased didn’t hop
Yet I leapt down its hole. What a drop!
What worked theoretically
Just sucked parenthetically
Now I’ll meet you ashore to talk shop

And here’s my cheers to Wendy Walker 🥂
Who isn’t just an empty talker 🗣

Wendy found me lost in a wordless warren of my own construction misled by what I consider a red herring in the puzzle title. She warned me that that track led nowhere and to look again for other connections. That little nudge was all it took. Many thanks Ms Walker! Though I won’t be claiming a mug this week, I am content to no longer be buried under a mound of gibberish and to be, if only parenthetically, (ASHORE!)
Last edited by Limerick Savant on Sun Apr 18, 2021 12:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Dedicated to no nonsense nonsense
User avatar
TPS
Posts: 721
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2020 2:19 pm
Location: Florida

#299

Post by TPS »

anaerobe wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 10:58 am Hopefully someday I'll be the nudger instead of the nudgee!
Sometimes finding a way to give a good nudge is harder than finding the solution to the puzzle!
User avatar
HunterX
Posts: 1163
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2020 9:17 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

#300

Post by HunterX »

Tom Shea wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 10:19 pm Had half of the first half for ages, then decided to have one more look see. I have finally left Isaac and heading to my other favorite bartender Russell at Ruth's Chris. Since it's not Friday, tonight is going to have to be the vodka martini, Mr. Bond. No connect four at this bar though.
No Connect Four? 'Slumming it' I see... Well, that just means no opportunity for me to take all your chips.

Unless they are made of fried, slices of potato. In which case... My, that's an interesting painting over there behind you...
Locked