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.
Joe Ross wrote: Sat Jan 15, 2022 6:52 pm
Had a muggle (whom I won't out) present a very cool "2nd half mechanism." Looking forward to their exposé Monday. It isn't needed & my guess is it's unintentional, but it's wickedly clever of the muggle to find it.
Now you've done it. Just when I thought I could put this to rest and enjoy Sunday doing something else!!!!
REMINDER: Due to tomorrow's holiday, Martin Luther King Day, the official Golden Years contest crossword answer will be published with Tuesday's crossword puzzle, soon after 4 PM ET, tomorrow.
The deadline for this contest remains 11:59 PM ET, tonight. Solutions, comments, spoilery questions, and their answers may be posted after midnight ET.
I've been doing laps around the island since I found the mechanism on Thursday. Alas, I premetatated the *wrong* celebrity and couldn't make the mechanism agree with me. Once I realized the error in my original assumption, the correct answer was obvious. Like many others, I've spent lots of time trying to find the other half of the name, but I finally decided to just submit my answer and move on.
After all, there are two kinds of people in this world:
1.) Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.
You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis
Have been ashore with two perfectly good answers. (Okay, maybe that's cheating to get out of the bar!) Still searching for the Holy Grail of mechanisms, but if forced, I will submit the "half less traveled!"
ReB wrote: Sat Jan 15, 2022 10:43 pm
Late start, but quickly found my way ashore once I solved the grid. Good restart to January after last week's wipeout. You never know when something in the grid will grab you. This week it happened right away. Other weeks...
Bob's Excel worksheet was very helpful this week.
I would like to take credit for it but.....
Each week Joe Ross, among his many, many other things he does for this forum, creates the excel spreadsheet and, using his moderator powers, pastes it into the first posting, not wanting to be accused of a POE by "she who will not be named"
NOTE - if you missed Joe's posting, the official answer on the WSJ page will not come out until Tuesday's crossword is posted, Monday after 4 PM ET. However it will be posted here and open to discussion
First a welcome to our newest muggle - PhantomPhan (and from his posting, his mom and dad). Great to have more new muggles
And we have 11 on the ship and 191 on the shore
Joining Isaac on the ship are
Jedimaster
relic (and Maggie)
And making their way to shore are
Kas
JeanneC
Deb
Annabelle
Barbara K
PQ63
auee89
mattythewsjpuzzler
katnahat
Ben B and son
Colin
sphorning
TeaJenny
TomandDenise
regfish
barney
JaneGummy
jimmyd
cinny
CAe39
Kris Zacharias
Susan G
Jeremy
bread-girl
Puzzle mom
Mary F
Jackie88
Ann
ReB
Colin&Chuck
Dennis
PhantomPhan
lbray
Are most people declaring on shore with half of it solved? If so I guess I count in that tally. Can anyone confirm there is a definitive solution for the other half?
Finally on shore. Like many others, I thought I knew the answer right away, but it took too long to confirm. I had to fight the rip tide here in Florida, where I am vacationing, to get to shore...
I smell a rat and a pageant on this one here. If it wasn't for the 10-letter clue that Matt kindly provided us most of us would be as lost as an Amish electrician. Too late to change what I submitted.
Flying_Burrito wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 12:34 pm
... as lost as an Amish electrician.
Chuckling softly to self.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
On shore. Got a late start due to traveling this week, but finally figured out the mechanism to confirm the insta-solve that came with the title and prompt.
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
Ashore. Submitted final answer and will probably regret going against the grain, but there were enough things to justify me being a rebel on the beach. If anyone else submitted a 'different' one or are leaning towards there being more than the 'half' mechanism, open to chatting!
...Remember there are worse things than a shattered chandelier...
If you see I'm ashore and need a nudge, feel free to message me.
Flying_Burrito wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 12:34 pm
I smell a rat
Bwahaha, says Mr. Gaffney?
Don & Cynthia
We are always happy to get to know other muggles and help in any way! PM's are always welcome. The next best thing to winning a mug is helping a fellow muggle win a mug!
Was 90% sure of 100% of the answer. Then got to 100% sure of 50% of the answer. Now 90% sure of the mechanism for the last 50% of the answer Multiply... take half... carry the one... round... I'm now "pretty sure".
PhantomPhan wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 2:06 pm
Ashore. Submitted final answer and will probably regret going against the grain, but there were enough things to justify me being a rebel on the beach. If anyone else submitted a 'different' one or are leaning towards there being more than the 'half' mechanism, open to chatting!
There is a reasonable argument to be made, in weeks where there will probably be a ton of submissions, that it's a good strategy to submit a less likely answer. Even if you think there's only a 10% chance that the alternate answer is correct, the number of people submitting it will be low enough that your chance of winning the mug is actually higher that way.
If you want help with a meta, feel free to PM me. The more specific you are about what you have and what you want, the more likely I can help without spoiling.
(And if I help you win a mug, I’ll be especially delighted.)
Then got to 100% sure of 50% of the answer. 
Now 90% sure of the mechanism for the last 50% of the answer 
