I solve on my iPad with my Apple Pencil. The ruler function came in handy came in handy for this one.
"Connect The Dots" - June 11, 2021
- FirstMax
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- mheberlingx100
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I drew the lines freehand, and came up with GRRPH. That told me: 1) I was close, and 2) I needed a straight edge.
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Can anyone explain why the answer to 50A letters above 6 is "MNO"? I was thinking 6 must be a "P" but that didn't make sense.
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MNO are the letters above the six on a telephone dial. Or below the six, if you have an I Phone.
- CPJohnson
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- Joe Ross
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An interweb image search showed most letters alongside or below the numbers!
Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024
PLATELET 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 ENORMOUS 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
𝟰𝟬% 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰,
𝟯𝟬% 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰,
𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮. 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘!
PLATELET 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 ENORMOUS 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
𝟰𝟬% 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰,
𝟯𝟬% 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰,
𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮. 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘!
- FrankieHeck
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I was drawing my (wildly inaccurate) star freehand with the Web Paint extension. Fortunately my son was walking by and reminded me there is a "straight line" tool on there too!
- TeaJenny
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I initially thought the "dots" might be the O's, as they seemed to form a pattern, but highlighting them all led nowhere. Then 70A prompted me to look at E's, and I realized there were only 5 in the entire grid. I played around with various things using the across and down answers, but nothing worked. In desperation, I decided to try literally connecting the DOTs with a ruler: first with a pentagon, then with a STAR. (Not sure how visible my pencil lines are in the photo.) NODE gave me the final push to find GRAPH. It seemed an odd construction to me, but it was too much of a coincidence, so I went with it. Glad I did.
You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis
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Ayup, British cryptics are more devious than American, because they don't always follow the "two definitions" rule. American cryptics almost always do (except when they end in an ! or ?, which is the commonly accepted way to indicate there's only one -- or one and a half -- definitions)boharr wrote: ↑Sun Jun 13, 2021 8:55 pmI'm convinced that the only way to learn to do cryptics is to get some tips from folks here about a few that are not impossible. Then wait until the solutions are available. Then go over each clue until you understand the answers. Then if you still don't understand a clue and answer, ask a friendly muggle to parse it. Then repeat this process for, say, 100 years. Then if you are still baffled, move to England to see what they are really like.sanmilton wrote: ↑Sun Jun 13, 2021 4:55 pmThere are online resources for this, like this one: https://www.dummies.com/games/crossword ... n-edition/.
Clues almost always involve two parts: (1) a definition of the entry, and (2) a way to get to the entry involving wordplay.
The wordplay part of the clue is almost always one (or more) of several set types: anagrams, puns, rebuses, reversals, hidden (embedded) words, etc. It could even be a second definition.
But the resultant clue often reads like nonsense. The trick is to sort out the definition from the rest of it. To do that, you typically have to ignore punctuation (and sometimes even capitalization).
Feel free to bounce cryptic clues off me, and I'll happily parse them for you!
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I also thought maybe the O's were the dots and the filled squares dashes to spell out the answer via Morse Code. Alas, I found the E's and went to Excel to assist with the lines.
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- Kas
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Aaaaaauugh! KAS 3.
I had it…I WAS SOOO CLOSE. I got the “star” hint, was even circling around the “crossed lines” nudge…but I didn’t know “E” = “dot” in Morse Code.
My puzzle looks like a ven diagram done by a caffeinated squirrel, after trying 17 ways to draw a star through (first) all of the “i’s”, (then) all of the “o’s”, (and finally) trying to figure out how to balance a 5-Pointed Star in an even/symmetrical grid.
On the bright side, Isaac and I are gettin’ real friendly, these days….
I had it…I WAS SOOO CLOSE. I got the “star” hint, was even circling around the “crossed lines” nudge…but I didn’t know “E” = “dot” in Morse Code.
My puzzle looks like a ven diagram done by a caffeinated squirrel, after trying 17 ways to draw a star through (first) all of the “i’s”, (then) all of the “o’s”, (and finally) trying to figure out how to balance a 5-Pointed Star in an even/symmetrical grid.
On the bright side, Isaac and I are gettin’ real friendly, these days….
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Um. "E" = "DOT" in Morse Code was the last clue...Kas wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:28 am Aaaaaauugh! KAS 3.
I had it…I WAS SOOO CLOSE. I got the “star” hint, was even circling around the “crossed lines” nudge…but I didn’t know “E” = “dot” in Morse Code.
My puzzle looks like a ven diagram done by a caffeinated squirrel, after trying 17 ways to draw a star through (first) all of the “i’s”, (then) all of the “o’s”, (and finally) trying to figure out how to balance a 5-Pointed Star in an even/symmetrical grid.
On the bright side, Isaac and I are gettin’ real friendly, these days….
- Bob cruise director
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First pass through I was looking at the dots in the I's (in yellow). Then I missed/ignored the "star" and connected the E's so I had a five letter word "house" since pentagon had too many letters. Then I connected the E's in a star and was not particularly accurate so my nodes include the O above the R. (have you stopped laughing yet?)
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Bob Stevens
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- femullen
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I chased the diagonal O's, the dotted I's, and the two together. I was reviewing the clues for perhaps a mention of "DASH," so maybe I could make some Morse code word of the dots and dashes. That's when the Montreal daughter, who is a complete meta newbie, called me on the phone. She said she hadn't yet finished the grid, and she was finding it difficult. I told her that I'd done the grid, and I described to her my misadventures with O's, I's, and such. She asked, "Did you try connecting the E's?"
"Oh, that's brilliant," I said, "and that's just how Shenk thinks." Found the five E's, connected them, and told my young Canadienne that they made not quite a regular pentagon. She said, "What if you make a star? There's a clue about a star."
If my average improves, you Muggles will know why.
"Oh, that's brilliant," I said, "and that's just how Shenk thinks." Found the five E's, connected them, and told my young Canadienne that they made not quite a regular pentagon. She said, "What if you make a star? There's a clue about a star."
If my average improves, you Muggles will know why.
For nudges, feel free to PM me. I won't have a clue how to help you, but you might shove me ashore.
- Cindy N
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Like our Cruise Director, I also started with HOUSE. So glad I wasn't the only one! And yes, I was able to find the rest and avoided the ARBOR in the middle.
- TMart
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I solved this on my phone, on the beach, three rum drinks deep. I’m shocked that my lines are so straight.
- Wendy Walker
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WOW! You two make a formidable team! Make sure she joins the Forum.femullen wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:46 am I chased the diagonal O's, the dotted I's, and the two together. I was reviewing the clues for perhaps a mention of "DASH," so maybe I could make some Morse code word of the dots and dashes. That's when the Montreal daughter, who is a complete meta newbie, called me on the phone. She said she hadn't yet finished the grid, and she was finding it difficult. I told her that I'd done the grid, and I described to her my misadventures with O's, I's, and such. She asked, "Did you try connecting the E's?"
"Oh, that's brilliant," I said, "and that's just how Shenk thinks." Found the five E's, connected them, and told my young Canadienne that they made not quite a regular pentagon. She said, "What if you make a star? There's a clue about a star."
If my average improves, you Muggles will know why.
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
- SReh26
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Anyone else google the morse code alphabet first? I did but quickly abandoned it as it didn’t seem to lead anywhere.
- Bob cruise director
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And I am sure that your daughter had the normal eye roll with "do I have to teach my father everything?"femullen wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:46 am I chased the diagonal O's, the dotted I's, and the two together. I was reviewing the clues for perhaps a mention of "DASH," so maybe I could make some Morse code word of the dots and dashes. That's when the Montreal daughter, who is a complete meta newbie, called me on the phone. She said she hadn't yet finished the grid, and she was finding it difficult. I told her that I'd done the grid, and I described to her my misadventures with O's, I's, and such. She asked, "Did you try connecting the E's?"
"Oh, that's brilliant," I said, "and that's just how Shenk thinks." Found the five E's, connected them, and told my young Canadienne that they made not quite a regular pentagon. She said, "What if you make a star? There's a clue about a star."
If my average improves, you Muggles will know why.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
Cruise Director
- Wendy Walker
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I am finding this an especially entertaining postmortem this week!
Good luck, fellow Muggles!