"Bit Parts" - May 7, 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.
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Deb F
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#461

Post by Deb F »

Bill Bovard wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 12:44 pm
Joe Ross wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 10:54 am WARNING: PEDANTIC NERD WAR UPCOMING!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup consists of smooth peanut butter cream wrapped in Hershey's chocolate.
Product type: Chocolate
Owner: The Hershey Company
Produced by: The Hershey Company
Country: United States
Introduced: November 15, 1928; 92 years ago
Related brands:
  • Take 5 (candy)
  • Reese's Pieces
  • Reese's Fast Break
  • NutRageous
😋
Yes, I would think that Hershey is the company, Reese's is the brand, and Reese's Pieces is a product. But it had to be two words, and Reese's Pieces works so well, and Wikipedia calls it a brand.

I have to agree here, especially having spent some years in marketing. I struggled with what to submit--Hershey Company, Reeses Company, Reeses Pieces but, ultimately went with the "Bits" in the title and opted for Reeses Pieces, even though that is the product.
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Bob cruise director
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#462

Post by Bob cruise director »

Wendy Walker wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 8:37 am
Mister Squawk wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 5:34 am I got it when I looked down at my notes and saw

HAM
HERS
PO
ON
That was my first foursome, too! Then I saw HAM in the clue for 32D and searched the rest of the clues for the others -- nothing. But I knew SPOON was too good to be just a coincidence (exactly like banJO + spaHN = JOHN in the May MMMM), so I looked at HERSPOON and -- bam! -- realized that WIT would be an even better answer.
THAT FEMALES hurt this copy editor's head for a few minutes, what with THAT being singular and FEMALES (at first glance) being plural.
Wendy - a classic definition of overthinking - LOL. Something that got me in trouble on more than one math problem.
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MaineMarge
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#463

Post by MaineMarge »

eagle1279 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 7:36 am Imagine my disappointment to wake and find that the Barbra Streisand answer I was remembering was in another puzzle I'd been working through the week. Back to the drawing board.
Looks like I’m not the only one working on a degree in crossword mixology. I find this happens to me a lot.
Last edited by MaineMarge on Mon May 10, 2021 2:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Joe Ross
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#464

Post by Joe Ross »

Deb F wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 2:11 pm
Bill Bovard wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 12:44 pm
Joe Ross wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 10:54 am WARNING: PEDANTIC NERD WAR UPCOMING!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup consists of smooth peanut butter cream wrapped in Hershey's chocolate.
Product type: Chocolate
Owner: The Hershey Company
Produced by: The Hershey Company
Country: United States
Introduced: November 15, 1928; 92 years ago
Related brands:
  • Take 5 (candy)
  • Reese's Pieces
  • Reese's Fast Break
  • NutRageous
😋
Yes, I would think that Hershey is the company, Reese's is the brand, and Reese's Pieces is a product. But it had to be two words, and Reese's Pieces works so well, and Wikipedia calls it a brand.
I have to agree here, especially having spent some years in marketing. I struggled with what to submit--Hershey Company, Reeses Company, Reeses Pieces but, ultimately went with the "Bits" in the title and opted for Reeses Pieces, even though that is the product.
I'm simply stunned at the number of people willing to look behind the curtain and state out loud that Matt Gaffney was wrong. 😲
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femullen
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#465

Post by femullen »

mheberlingx100 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 12:42 pm
anaerobe wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 12:25 pm OK, I've waited almost 12 hours:

You know that actress from Legally Blonde....Walk the Line....won an Oscar.......?

Guess how she eats cereal?
God, am I a dope! I actually Googled this to get the punch line.
Well, I just googled it too, and you know what I discovered? Reese Witherspoon is an actress, not a pop singer. No wonder I never get these.
For nudges, feel free to PM me. I won't have a clue how to help you, but you might shove me ashore.
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#466

Post by femullen »

Wendy Walker wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 1:42 pm
mheberlingx100 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 12:42 pm
Speaking of how to eat cereal, I once had a breakfast meeting in the UK and a colleague poured orange juice on her cereal to eat it. She didn’t like milk. I was gobsmacked!
When I was a student in England I was eager to demonstrate that I was open to all new experiences (and trying oh-so-hard not to be an entitled American), so when a hostess offered me lemon or milk in my tea I said with enthusiasm, "Both!" Then I had to keep smiling while sipping the curdled mess.
Wendy, you must read (if you haven't) "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman," by Richard P. himself. He describes his arrival at grad school as follows:

~~~
[T]he very afternoon I arrived in Princeton I'm going to the dean's tea, and I didn't even know what a "tea" was, or why! I had no social abilities whatsoever...

So I come up to the door, and there's Dean Eisenhart, greeting the new students: "Oh, you're Mr. Feynman," he says. "We're glad to have you." So that helped a little , because he recognized me, somehow.

I go through the door, and there are some ladies, and some girls, too. It's all very formal and I'm thinking about where to sit down...and how should I behave, when I hear a voice behind me.

"Would you like cream or lemon in your tea, Mr. Feynman?" It's Mrs. Eisenhart, pouring tea.

"I'll have both, thank you," I say, still looking for where I'm supposed to sit, when suddenly I hear "Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh. Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman."
~~~

So you see, Wendy, you are in excellent company!
For nudges, feel free to PM me. I won't have a clue how to help you, but you might shove me ashore.
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anaerobe
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#467

Post by anaerobe »

femullen wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 3:40 pm Well, I just googled it too, and you know what I discovered? Reese Witherspoon is an actress, not a pop singer.
I would wear that as a badge of honor!

Full disclosure: I had to use Google to id the movies she was in. I have only seen one movie of hers and I can't remember the title. It's pretty old and it has Sam Waterston. He's one of my favorite actors.
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KayW
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#468

Post by KayW »

Joe Ross wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 10:54 am WARNING: PEDANTIC NERD WAR UPCOMING!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup consists of smooth peanut butter cream wrapped in Hershey's chocolate.
Product type: Chocolate
Owner: The Hershey Company
Produced by: The Hershey Company
Country: United States
Introduced: November 15, 1928; 92 years ago
Related brands:
  • Take 5 (candy)
  • Reese's Pieces
  • Reese's Fast Break
  • NutRageous
😋
Wow. I have eaten way too many of the cups over the years, but I always thought Reese was the name of the company and never realized Hershey was involved. I guess I'll just have to go buy a few so I can examine the wrapper more closely...

And as much as I love peanut butter, Reese's Pieces never did it for me.

EDIT: Did a little online digging. Maybe others knew this, but not me. Apparently H.B. Reese (founded by a former Hershey dairy manager) was the original and separate company but it merged with Hershey back in 1963... the things I learn from this forum!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reese%27s ... utter_Cups

But I am still going to buy some more candy. Just to get a closer look at that wrapper, of course. ;)
Last edited by KayW on Mon May 10, 2021 6:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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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#469

Post by hcbirker »

Regarding Muggle Zoom tomorrow, I may be late or a no-show. I have another Zoom at 4pm PST.
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LadyBird
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#470

Post by LadyBird »

I can't believe we've gone this far and no one has mentioned ET!
Screenshot_20210510-175310_Google.jpg
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Wendy Walker
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#471

Post by Wendy Walker »

LadyBird wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 6:55 pm I can't believe we've gone this far and no one has mentioned ET!
Screenshot_20210510-175310_Google.jpg
I forgot all about that early product placement!
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
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Wendy Walker
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#472

Post by Wendy Walker »

femullen wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 3:55 pm
Wendy Walker wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 1:42 pm
mheberlingx100 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 12:42 pm
Speaking of how to eat cereal, I once had a breakfast meeting in the UK and a colleague poured orange juice on her cereal to eat it. She didn’t like milk. I was gobsmacked!
When I was a student in England I was eager to demonstrate that I was open to all new experiences (and trying oh-so-hard not to be an entitled American), so when a hostess offered me lemon or milk in my tea I said with enthusiasm, "Both!" Then I had to keep smiling while sipping the curdled mess.
Wendy, you must read (if you haven't) "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman," by Richard P. himself. He describes his arrival at grad school as follows:

~~~
[T]he very afternoon I arrived in Princeton I'm going to the dean's tea, and I didn't even know what a "tea" was, or why! I had no social abilities whatsoever...

So I come up to the door, and there's Dean Eisenhart, greeting the new students: "Oh, you're Mr. Feynman," he says. "We're glad to have you." So that helped a little , because he recognized me, somehow.

I go through the door, and there are some ladies, and some girls, too. It's all very formal and I'm thinking about where to sit down...and how should I behave, when I hear a voice behind me.

"Would you like cream or lemon in your tea, Mr. Feynman?" It's Mrs. Eisenhart, pouring tea.

"I'll have both, thank you," I say, still looking for where I'm supposed to sit, when suddenly I hear "Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh. Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman."
~~~

So you see, Wendy, you are in excellent company!
That's hilarious! I will put that on my reading list. Thanks!
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
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#473

Post by Henry Paul »

RobM wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 10:36 am Solvers used to doing cryptic crosswords may have had a small edge on this one, since we're used to seeing (#) to denote the number of letters in the answer.
yes! I'd like to hear from fellow Muggles; how did you do from seeing these numbers in parens to understanding that the clues were somehow crossword clues themselves? And the speed that those connections are made astounds me.

Even with a nudge (thank you Wendy) that one of my substitute words (PO) was correct, I was flailing on the others...
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#474

Post by boharr »

LadyBird wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 6:55 pm I can't believe we've gone this far and no one has mentioned ET!
Screenshot_20210510-175310_Google.jpg
Originally they wanted E.T. to eat M&Ms, but Mars rejected the idea because they didn't want their candy to be associated with an alien. So E.T. switched to Reese's Pieces. This decision by Mars is know in the marketing world as a big mistake.
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hcbirker
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#475

Post by hcbirker »

Henry Paul wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 8:12 pm
RobM wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 10:36 am Solvers used to doing cryptic crosswords may have had a small edge on this one, since we're used to seeing (#) to denote the number of letters in the answer.
yes! I'd like to hear from fellow Muggles; how did you do from seeing these numbers in parens to understanding that the clues were somehow crossword clues themselves? And the speed that those connections are made astounds me.

Even with a nudge (thank you Wendy) that one of my substitute words (PO) was correct, I was flailing on the others...
I just got lucky I found the correct mechanism early. When I saw “Turin’s River” and saw the (2) I was off and running.
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#476

Post by BethA »

Henry Paul wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 8:12 pm
RobM wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 10:36 am Solvers used to doing cryptic crosswords may have had a small edge on this one, since we're used to seeing (#) to denote the number of letters in the answer.
yes! I'd like to hear from fellow Muggles; how did you do from seeing these numbers in parens to understanding that the clues were somehow crossword clues themselves? And the speed that those connections are made astounds me.

Even with a nudge (thank you Wendy) that one of my substitute words (PO) was correct, I was flailing on the others...
This one really clicked for me. Halfway through the grid, I felt pretty sure about WIT + HERS, so was on the lookout for PO + ON. Those theme answers just struck me as crossword clues. Maybe I will also credit focus on cryptics to know that the numbers in parentheses indicated length of answer. I feel strongly about completing the grid though, just in case there is more to it!
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#477

Post by steveb »

hcbirker wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 8:21 pm
Henry Paul wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 8:12 pm
RobM wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 10:36 am Solvers used to doing cryptic crosswords may have had a small edge on this one, since we're used to seeing (#) to denote the number of letters in the answer.
yes! I'd like to hear from fellow Muggles; how did you do from seeing these numbers in parens to understanding that the clues were somehow crossword clues themselves? And the speed that those connections are made astounds me.

Even with a nudge (thank you Wendy) that one of my substitute words (PO) was correct, I was flailing on the others...
I just got lucky I found the correct mechanism early. When I saw “Turin’s River” and saw the (2) I was off and running.
That was pretty much the case for me, too. After I found PO, I looked for answers to the other theme clues that were the specified number of letters. HERS and ON were easy; I decided to try WIT instead of WAG, and there on my sheet was:

WIT
HERS
PO
ON

(each word in line with its corresponding theme answer)

I'm a little old school - I usually do the puzzle first on paper using the downloaded PDF, preferably while eating lunch (I'm on the West Coast). A while ago, I realized that printing it as "Actual size" puts the puzzle into the upper-left corner, leaving plenty of white space on the page for notes.

I'll use Joe's Excel spreadsheet if I run out of space on my printed copy for notes or if my colored highlighting gets out of control with too many rabbit holes.

Edited to add: to give a more direct answer to Henry's question, what ended up in the unclued answers looked like crossword clues, but I wasn't sure they were until I started thinking of possible synonyms to see what fit. The fact that PO was two letters was the key for me. I often have to try a few (or more) different possible paths before finding the one that pays off.
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#478

Post by Inca »

DBMiller wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 11:19 am
Inca wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 3:03 am
Scott Lindholm wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 12:03 am Back in the day, AOL had a very vibrant trivia board. Scheduled daily games on various themes were held, with a very active and participating crowd. I wrote a couple of those games, and the community was amazing. Scheduled meet-ups occurred around the country, and it was pretty cool.

That was back in the day. This community is as close to anything I've seen like it since...back in the day. It's pretty cool.
I don't remember if it was AOL or not, but I remember being addicted to a game called Word Riot
Pretty sure Word Riot was on POGO. I played in one of the two "expert" rooms and it just got out of hand booting everyone that was unknown.
Right, POGO. I had forgotten. I also played in the expert rooms and I had forgotten that it did turn nasty as it went on. I stayed quiet about that but didn't like it; it spoiled the fun.
Inca
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#479

Post by Inca »

Henry Paul wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 8:12 pm
RobM wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 10:36 am Solvers used to doing cryptic crosswords may have had a small edge on this one, since we're used to seeing (#) to denote the number of letters in the answer.
yes! I'd like to hear from fellow Muggles; how did you do from seeing these numbers in parens to understanding that the clues were somehow crossword clues themselves? And the speed that those connections are made astounds me.

Even with a nudge (thank you Wendy) that one of my substitute words (PO) was correct, I was flailing on the others...
Whenever I see #s in parentheses, I always hope it will be indicating letter placement in the solution or perhaps indicating which letters to use. I think I do that because the first time I saw those #s, that's what it indicated.

Of course, I quickly realized that there weren't enough numbers there to indicate letter placement for a 2-word answer and when I saw that two of them had the same # it was confirmed, even though it didn't need that confirmation for me.

So then I ignored the #s, and concentrated on the 4 starred answers and realized that I could create synonyms from them (I realized that because it is a common mechanism in the metas...used often before).

Once I realized that the # of letters in 2 of my synonyms were equal to the # in parentheses...the jig was up.....and it all went to Pieces quickly after that. :D
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#480

Post by DrTom »

KayW wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 6:23 pm
EDIT: Did a little online digging. Maybe others knew this, but not me. Apparently H.B. Reese (founded by a former Hershey dairy manager) was the original and separate company but it merged with Hershey back in 1963... the things I learn from this forum!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reese%27s ... utter_Cups

But I am still going to buy some more candy. Just to get a closer look at that wrapper, of course. ;)
And if you want even more information on how Hershey met Reese the History Channel doe a good job:

https://www.history.com/shows/the-food- ... /episode-2

However, my favorite PB cups are Trader Joe's dark chocolate PB cups - sinful!!
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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