"You Don't Say" - January 21, 2022

[DCBilly]

On shore. Very enjoyable despite the fact that it took me a lot of staring and hunting to get on the right track.

[Kris Zacharias]

On shore!

[Dave C]

I just got to it this morning, but it was a quick trip to shore.

[auee89]

Ashore! Grid tough for me, but got to the meta in about 2-3 minutes. After about a year of consistent solving, some things are coming easier. But as @DrTom said on our Tuesday call, some weeks just don't click while others are blindingly obvious.

Thanks again Muggles for the fun ride!

[halseymac]

On the beach listening to a little 54 Down...... And it's shaping up to be a crowded beach as well!

[SusieG]

Ashore early (for me) this week. Insomnia last night, so gave up on sleep and did the crossword. Quickly solved the meta early this morning. Lots of head scratching over the answer, but I am always happy to learn new words. Will treat myself with extra mugs of coffee today.

[HunterX]

On page four. Please pour from your store of Cahors before hundreds more Muggles galore come ashore.

Ah... from the classic Dr. Seuss book, "One drink, Two drinks, I'm not as thunk as you drink!"

Or that old classic:

I will drink Gewürzt with Ham,
I'll drink it I don't give a damn,
but then I'd drink some Riesling too,
I'd even drink it from my shoe.
I'd drink it off the tabletop,
I wouldn't even try to stop

But what would you then have with game?
Why a Cote du Rhône if its all the same.

I'd have it in a pretty mug,
I'd drink it right out of a jug.
I'd drink it from a cardboard box,
I'd love to drink it with a fox

Dr. Souse

Ah yes. And there was the adaptation of the movie Sideways by Dr. Souse:

I will not drink them here or there,
I will not drink them anywhere.
I do not like Merlot or Chard,
I do not like them Sam the bard.

[DrTom]

Sideways delivered quite a blow,
To a lovely wine, Merlot
His rants filled up with expletives,
Showed he did not know how to live
It's really funny in the end
When his angst with wine he tried to mend
The wine he swore he never drank
Is more than half of Cheval Blanc
So I'd tell this flighty Papillion
"Then don't drink St. Emilion"

[JPMalone]

Ashore, one of those weeks where I got lucky and got it on my first idea

[DrTom]

This Meta is lovely and friendly but it is NOT easy. It does not have as many steps as some, and the mechanism - once you see it - is indeed pretty much of a "DOH!". But until you do, and believe me a year or two ago I would not have because I was not attuned to the ways of the Meta gods, it is as hard as any Week 5 MGWCC. I mean driving in rush hour traffic on an intercity Interstate is easy now, but you would not want to have been with me the first time I tried it (well actually my wife STILL does not want to be with me when I do it...).

So to those out there still struggling, keep at it the light will come on in time, there are plenty of opportunities for enlightenment. As for me, as a constructor and a solver, I'm just happy I didn't end up in the weeds somewhere and count ANY solve as a good one. I am more often than not the one saying "Easy, how can this be EASY!!!"

[DannyCincinnnati]

Guinness me; I'm ashore.

[RichA2]

Joining the crowd on shore after a couple of weeks with Isaac.

[sf592000]

On the Beach! Quick Meta, grid gave me a little trouble at first.

[Lyman]

Ashore. Not for the first time, the mechanism came to me when I was doing something other than trying to solve the puzzle. For the first time, I laughed out loud when I used the mechanism and found the solution.

[MajordomoTom]

This Meta is lovely and friendly but it is NOT easy. It does not have as many steps as some, and the mechanism - once you see it - is indeed pretty much of a "DOH!". But until you do, and believe me a year or two ago I would not have because I was not attuned to the ways of the Meta gods, it is as hard as any Week 5 MGWCC. I mean driving in rush hour traffic on an intercity Interstate is easy now, but you would not want to have been with me the first time I tried it (well actually my wife STILL does not want to be with me when I do it...).

So to those out there still struggling, keep at it the light will come on in time, there are plenty of opportunities for enlightenment. As for me, as a constructor and a solver, I'm just happy I didn't end up in the weeds somewhere and count ANY solve as a good one. I am more often than not the one saying "Easy, how can this be EASY!!!"

agree - if you have the right perspective on this, it's blindingly obvious, but that's me with two years of frustrating work on these, it's not obvious until it is.

keep trying and eventually we'll all see Betty White everywhere.

[Cinny]

Wasn't able to get working on this until now. Ashore!

[Katiedid]

Fun! I was going to say it was easy, but I'll say instead that it was obvious to me this time.

[EmilyW]

Ashore. I struggled a lot with the grid but the meta came quickly. Ever since I discovered metas, I haven't done many non-meta crossword puzzles. It might be time for me to brush up on my regular grid solving skills.

[RDaleHall]

Safe and ashore on the beach. Down south so a local brews in the works to celebrate: Big Beach Hundred Daze IPA

[drbockel2]

Well, I for one am still swimming in circles. I'll think I have a bright idea and then it's just a brain fart. The thing I've found about these meta solutions is that the mechanics and solutions can seem blindingly silly...until you realize that they're not and the answer is what you thought.

But alas, I may need a life boat.