"Starting Positions" - August 20, 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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Hidden in 3D
Posts: 379
Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2019 11:42 pm

#241

Post by Hidden in 3D »

Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Aug 22, 2021 8:42 pm
hcbirker wrote: Sun Aug 22, 2021 7:58 pm A3BDE48D-AEC6-421D-A8D6-3E52F7492A00.jpeg
Hidden in 3D wrote: Sun Aug 22, 2021 3:24 pm On shore! (Whether it's the right shore remains to be seen, but I've only found one answer and I'm goin' with it!)

My last post was on August 7 because I've been having way too much fun with our granddaughter! She loved the fairy garden I created before her arrival, especially the notes she received from the two fairies who live there. (She named them Glitter and Sparkle, BTW.) She also loved the beach at Hilton Head Island where we've vacationed for the last week, as you can see below. Now I have to design another fairy garden for her next visit. I've been told this one must have a beach theme with conch shells as fairy houses!

Elise HHI 8.20.21.JPG
This is a fairy garden I made for my school.
For those of us who are less informed, what is a fairy garden?
Everything you ever wanted to know about fairy gardens and more: CLICK HERE
Sara
JeanneC
Posts: 616
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2020 11:25 am
Location: Florida

#242

Post by JeanneC »

sf592000 wrote: Sun Aug 22, 2021 7:05 pm We’ll my Thursday crossword plans were thwarted by a trip to the ER for an emergency appendectomy! I’ve returned home and feeling better — would like to say the same about the meta, but am going to chalk this week up as a big L. Here’s to next week!
You are a MUGGLE!!
“I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year’s fashions”. Lillian Hellman
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Thurman8er
Posts: 393
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:05 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

#243

Post by Thurman8er »

I'm with many of you in that I wouldn't have gotten to shore without a nudge.

I'm submitting, but I want you all to know that if I win the mug, I'll feel guilty about it. I'll keep it. But I'll feel guilty about it.
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DaveKennison
Posts: 238
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:28 pm

#244

Post by DaveKennison »

Damn! I fell off the boat early on and I’ve been dog-paddling in circles for so long that most of me is totally pruned, but … I finally ran aground on a sand bar, started crawling in the direction of loud sounds of celebration … and suddenly realized I was about to be run down by a cabana boy!

So … I’m ashore! … and, man oh man, am I thirsty!
PHOFER
Posts: 157
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 9:20 pm

#245

Post by PHOFER »

Aha! On shore at last. Something gnawing at me finally bit hard. I also see a way to a second answer but I agree it is not within the theme.

Great puzzle, Mike!
mindle
Posts: 66
Joined: Sun Jul 25, 2021 9:49 pm
Location: Bay Area, CA

#246

Post by mindle »

Thurman8er wrote: Sun Aug 22, 2021 9:51 pm I'm with many of you in that I wouldn't have gotten to shore without a nudge.

I'm submitting, but I want you all to know that if I win the mug, I'll feel guilty about it. I'll keep it. But I'll feel guilty about it.
On shore, also with a nudge! Not submitting...couldn't handle the mugguilt if I won ;-P
EmilyW
Posts: 238
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2020 10:03 pm

#247

Post by EmilyW »

Lost at sea and looking forward to finding out what the heck it is in a couple hours.
Susan Goldberg
Posts: 379
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 7:16 pm
Location: Wellesley, MA

#248

Post by Susan Goldberg »

Streroto wrote: Sun Aug 22, 2021 8:38 pm Accepting defeat for the second week in a row, it’s killing me.

Stay well all
Right? Two weeks in a row is a hard pill to swallow. Last weekend, I promised myself I would never spend another weekend obsessing on it. Yet, here I am.
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DannyWalter
Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2021 1:14 pm

#249

Post by DannyWalter »

With aplogies to Arthur C. Clark, "My God, it's full of rabbit holes". Just amazing. For the longest time seeing nothing, and then suddenly seeing way too much.

Finally a 5 letter word. But I'm thinking it's the same one others don't like because, well, I don't like it, even though it seems "justifiable".
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Jeremy Smith
Posts: 971
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:45 pm
Location: Tampa Bay area

#250

Post by Jeremy Smith »

Pageant in less than one hour?
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TeaJenny
Posts: 272
Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2021 11:44 am
Location: Stamford, CT

#251

Post by TeaJenny »

I'm ashore. I think. Found and submitted an answer I can justify, but I'm not happy with it.
You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis
clueless_solver
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2020 6:49 pm

#252

Post by clueless_solver »

:cry: Don't know if anyone is online at this time, I'd appreciate another nudge (don't think my original nudger is online). I need some closure before I go to bed. At this point I am just making up ridiculous incorrect mechanisms, plugging letters into an anagram finder, and seeing if any results are 5 letters long
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TeaJenny
Posts: 272
Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2021 11:44 am
Location: Stamford, CT

#253

Post by TeaJenny »

Scott M wrote: Sun Aug 22, 2021 9:36 pm Pulling the plug on this one. My 34 week streak is at an end. Here's to starting a new one next week.
34 weeks?! Wow. This is what I aspire to. My longest streak so far has been 5.
You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis
Magistra
Posts: 84
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2021 7:14 pm

#254

Post by Magistra »

Tossing a Hail Mary toward shore as I doggy paddle in the heartless waves. Eager to see what I missed!
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Joe Ross
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Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
Location: Cincinnati

#255

Post by Joe Ross »

Image
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Joe Ross
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Location: Cincinnati

#256

Post by Joe Ross »

Image
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Colin
Posts: 546
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 11:57 pm

#257

Post by Colin »

That is just beautiful! My hat is off to all solvers. There is not enough space here to describe my path to failure, but let’s just say it had a lot of ZEEs in it!
One world. One planet. One future.
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SReh26
Posts: 763
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2021 10:48 pm

#258

Post by SReh26 »

I just heard a big Charlie Brown aaaaarrrgghhh! going across the land!
Last edited by SReh26 on Mon Aug 23, 2021 12:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Cindy N
Posts: 985
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2019 12:55 pm
Location: Wisconsin

#259

Post by Cindy N »

To all of those who had SCARE as their answer - this was a lather/rinse/repeat solution. Using the order to pull the letters, and then again to order them for the solution - which then fits with the title.
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mntlblok
Posts: 324
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2021 6:13 am
Location: The Villages, FL
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#260

Post by mntlblok »

Joe Ross wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 12:00 am Image
That is really cool and we were nowhere close. :-)

Sorta almost came close to having "poles".
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