"Dude, Where's My Car?" - April 22, 2022

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.
Locked
pipster
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2021 8:36 pm

#361

Post by pipster »

I think this puzzle was difficult and fair, but not elegant. I would describe it instead as a bit forced. Most of the time, whether I get the meta myself or see the solution on Sunday night, I am amazed at how the constructor was able to create something so ingenious (and beautiful?) out of such a small grid. But when you have to take one letter from this thing, two letters from that thing, stir them up, and use words like HAZA and COCA to get to where you want to be, it doesn't have that same feeling of amazement at what the constructor pulled off.
User avatar
JoeS
Posts: 175
Joined: Sat Feb 08, 2020 11:57 am
Location: Pearland, TX

#362

Post by JoeS »

I hope to win a sticker next week. Natasha says she knows exactly where to put it.
User avatar
mikeB
Posts: 236
Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2021 1:50 pm

#363

Post by mikeB »

Two thoughts on the (for me) toughies. First, in my early days at this, I found that nothing beats the AHA moment. It is a great experience -- some have called it a rush. But where does that energy come from? I believe it comes from the very real possibility that I will not be able to solve a given week's puzzle. So, for me at least, it is the ones I can't solve that energize the reward for the ones I can. Second, most of the toughies teach me a lesson about the approach to solving. Put another way, they add to my experience base. I have great respect for those who are adept at solving the toughies, and I speculate that some of their ability arises from experience. Experience and Aha-energy are two benefits that accrue from the metas I cannot figure out, and I am grateful for them.
Suzeq
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 7:41 pm

#364

Post by Suzeq »

How many submissions and correct answers were there for the Daytona puzzle?
flyingMoose
Posts: 1046
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2020 2:35 pm

#365

Post by flyingMoose »

Suzeq wrote: Mon Apr 25, 2022 7:06 pm How many submissions and correct answers were there for the Daytona puzzle?
That info is not posted yet. @MikeMillerwsj will do so when the Mug winner is verified - sometimes Monday, sometimes Tuesday.
Inca
Posts: 839
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:55 pm

#366

Post by Inca »

ship4u wrote: Mon Apr 25, 2022 4:36 pm It seems to me that feelings of discontent and frustration are common when we are involved in any challenge, and especially in meta solutions. The question is, is it beneficial to the community to express them? Some people like to complain that a meta is "too easy" when I am struggling. That can be discouraging.

One of the things that I greatly admire about this group, as a whole, is that complaints and negative remarks are rare. I think the overall positive attitude and comraderie are what makes this group special.
I agree with keeping comments as positive as possible and I do try to keep things that way. Having said that, I do understand when someone is frustrated, they feel the need to let off steam and express themselves....and where better than here with their friends. The part that is troubling is that we know the creators are on this forum as well...so it is not just a venting to your friends but the creators may take it as criticism and that is not fair. Whether I personally enjoyed the meta or not (of course I, like probably many others, have my preferences) the ideas and construction are amazing every time. And, the amount of solvers we always have here regardless of difficulty or "fairness" is equally amazing.
robertyseward
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2022 1:39 pm

#367

Post by robertyseward »

Like many others, I looked at the state abbreviations and the car brand, but didn't put the two together. So, late on Sunday, I went for a Hail Mary. My reasoning was that the answer was a car that was also an American city and was seven letters long (because there were seven car entries in the grid). There were three that I found, one being Daytona, and that is what I picked.

I haven't decided how I feel about a wild guess being right. Not really that satisfying. But I would still keep the mug if I got it ;)
User avatar
Mister Squawk
Posts: 275
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2020 9:15 am
Location: Boston

#368

Post by Mister Squawk »

Some of my unsuccessful rabbit holes:

- Look for the names of the nearest national park to each city ("Dude, where's my car [parked]".)
- Look at the compass headings between each city pair
- Note that all of the theme clues include a temporal reference, either a year, range of years, or "recently". Try multiple combinations of constructions in numerical order. Did you know that "since 2005" comes after "in 2005" when doing this?
- Various ways to construct parking spaces from the pattern of the answers in the grid.
- Grill designs, like the Jeep.
- Many, many, many attempts to find the elusive postal codes in the grid. Saw both A-Z pairs, WA, NM, and numerous CO and CA but never made the connection with the manufacturer name.

I thought this was a great, challenging puzzle, and of course I'm irritated to have FAILED in my attempt to solve it.

But I do have a sour grape: The Dodge Daytona was not in any way a noteworthy car from past or present. It was a crummy K-car derivative sports coupe from the 1980s.

The noteworthy car to which which the puzzle answer refers is not a "Dodge Daytona" but a "Dodge Charger Daytona". That is, the car was a special variant of the Dodge Charger with a different nose and a big wing on the trunk lid.
User avatar
pjc
Posts: 269
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:12 am

#369

Post by pjc »

Never did get this one; never occurred to me to do the manufacturer initialism.

I felt the numbers (mostly years) in the clues HAD to mean something, but I couldn't get anything from them. I got excited when adding them together got me five digits and I thought it HAD to be a zip code; but no luck :-D

Was it fair? Well, people got it, so it was on some level. Too much of a leap for me, though.
User avatar
Ben B
Posts: 200
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2021 11:50 pm
Location: Houston

#370

Post by Ben B »

Argggggh. KAS 4 for us. We like so many others had all the pieces just could not find that click. Loved the puzzle and congratulations to all the solvers. This is why we come back each week.
User avatar
mheberlingx100
Posts: 573
Joined: Sun Jul 14, 2019 11:39 am

#371

Post by mheberlingx100 »

On one of my worksheets, I had the state abbreviation and the manufacturer side by side, but I never made the connection.

I also gave a hard look at dock - coda (Dakota) and want - path (Pathfinder?), but directions indicated a car specifically so I abandoned these.
User avatar
AnswerPfinder
Posts: 122
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2020 9:49 pm
Location: Hadley, MA

#372

Post by AnswerPfinder »

Wouldn't you know it, I found myself driving behind a Hyundai Kona this afternoon and all I could think was: [Line famously shouted before "Silver! Away!"]
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.
MikeMillerwsj
Posts: 319
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:46 pm

#373

Post by MikeMillerwsj »

The contest answer is the Dodge DAYTONA. Seven cars in the grid are also cities; for each, find a four-letter grid answer using its make’s first letter plus its state’s postal abbreviation. For example, the H from Hyundai TUCSON plus AZ for Arizona leaves an A from HAZA. The others are MALIBU (CA+C=O: COCA); SANTA FE (NM+H=Y: HYMN); TELLURIDE (CO+K=D: DOCK); DURANGO (CO+D=A: CODA); SEDONA (AZ+K=T: KATZ); TACOMA (WA+T=N: WANT). The extracted letters, in order of the four-letter words’ grid numbers, spell the contest answer.

If you were stumped by this one, you're not alone! This was one of our most challenging contests ever. We had 953 entrants, and just under 30% correctly found their way to the solution, well below our usual level around 75%. (Your correspondent was among the other 70%.).

A lot of guesses for MUSTANG (75) and TAHOE (74), plus TOWN CAR (42), PACIFICA (28), CONTINENTAL (18), DELOREAN (15) and many others.

Congrats to all the clever Muggles who cracked this one, and to this week's winner, June Vogel of (appropriately) Santa Fe, NM!
User avatar
Joe Ross
Moderator
Posts: 5655
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:46 am
Location: Cincinnati

#374

Post by Joe Ross »

MikeMillerwsj wrote: Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:20 am Congrats to all the clever Muggles who cracked this one, and to this week's winner, June Vogel of (appropriately) Santa Fe, NM!
🤔HYMN... Something doesn't seem 'right' about that.... 😉


CORRECTION:
🤔HMMM... Something doesn't seem 'right' about that.... 😉
User avatar
ship4u
Posts: 1062
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2021 7:00 am
Location: At Wit's End, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Contact:

#375

Post by ship4u »

Inca wrote: Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:12 pm I agree with keeping comments as positive as possible and I do try to keep things that way. Having said that, I do understand when someone is frustrated, they feel the need to let off steam and express themselves....and where better than here with their friends. The part that is troubling is that we know the creators are on this forum as well...so it is not just a venting to your friends but the creators may take it as criticism and that is not fair. Whether I personally enjoyed the meta or not (of course I, like probably many others, have my preferences) the ideas and construction are amazing every time. And, the amount of solvers we always have here regardless of difficulty or "fairness" is equally amazing.
I've never been a fan of public ranting as a way to "let off steam." I also don't like when parents allow their kids to "express themselves" with public tantrums. I prefer not to watch commentators ranting on TV. I think we should try to express ourselves with intellect rather than raw emotion.

It is one thing to point out that, say, the puzzle constructor should have added a clue to suggest that we consider the car manufacturer as part of a mechanism. It is entirely different to say the solution was not "fair," or to suggest that the constructor was up to something nefarious.
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!
JeanneC
Posts: 676
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2020 11:25 am
Location: Florida

#376

Post by JeanneC »

Congrats to the mug winner and all who solved.
PS-What brain food do you guys eat for breakfast in the morning? 😁
“I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year’s fashions”. Lillian Hellman
User avatar
ship4u
Posts: 1062
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2021 7:00 am
Location: At Wit's End, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Contact:

#377

Post by ship4u »

It's one thing not to win when the odds are 2,000 : 1 but quite another not to win when the odds are 285 : 1! Doggon it. Well, Thursday will be here before ya know it.......
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!
madhatter5
Posts: 673
Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:48 pm

#378

Post by madhatter5 »

ship4u wrote: Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:39 am
Inca wrote: Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:12 pm I agree with keeping comments as positive as possible and I do try to keep things that way. Having said that, I do understand when someone is frustrated, they feel the need to let off steam and express themselves....and where better than here with their friends. The part that is troubling is that we know the creators are on this forum as well...so it is not just a venting to your friends but the creators may take it as criticism and that is not fair. Whether I personally enjoyed the meta or not (of course I, like probably many others, have my preferences) the ideas and construction are amazing every time. And, the amount of solvers we always have here regardless of difficulty or "fairness" is equally amazing.
I've never been a fan of public ranting as a way to "let off steam." I also don't like when parents allow their kids to "express themselves" with public tantrums. I prefer not to watch commentators ranting on TV. I think we should try to express ourselves with intellect rather than raw emotion.

It is one thing to point out that, say, the puzzle constructor should have added a clue to suggest that we consider the car manufacturer as part of a mechanism. It is entirely different to say the solution was not "fair," or to suggest that the constructor was up to something nefarious.
If I may chime in here for a sec, as a constructor I would definitely prefer people gave me their honest opinion of a puzzle rather than always say it was fun regardless of whether it actually was. It helps me improve as a constructor, and it makes the true praise far more enjoyable as I know it is truly deserved.
https://pandorasblocks.org/crosswords-for-cancer
Barney
Posts: 1163
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2020 4:12 pm

#379

Post by Barney »

JeanneC wrote: Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:42 am Congrats to the mug winner and all who solved.
PS-What brain food do you guys eat for breakfast in the morning? 😁
I eat rabbit pellets.
User avatar
DrTom
Posts: 4309
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:46 pm
Location: Jacksonville, FL

#380

Post by DrTom »

Wow! People please let's all be friends. This was a good puzzle but certainly not a great puzzle. There was far too much wiggle room. It was very noticeable that Arizona and HAZA had to be related, I had several of the 4 letter words chosen, BUT I could not whittle it down to 4 letters because I did not think to use the manufacturers (I used the models). Why did I not, because there were duplicates and that is VERY uncommon. I also looked for a different Telluride for the same reason. I've skied there so I know the one in Colorado, but unfortunately in my "solve the meta" panic I googled and Telluride Wyoming came up - don't know why.

Anyway yes it all came together, but it was not as neat as usual.

I also agree with Madhatter. One of the worst things one can do is give false praise. If we were leaving the house and my wife had on something unflattering and she asked and I said "Looks fine!" and it wasn't and someone noticed (or worse I agreed with them) I would never hear the end of it. On the other hand, the time to tell her that is not as we walk through the door of the event "Hey that dress really makes you look frumpy".

There is an old saying that I really like: If you like what I did tell others, if you didn't, tell me!"

Don't bash the constructor or the puzzle in an online forum because the anonymity allows you to be more cutting. PM or e-mail the constructor and tell them what you did or did not like. If it is a valid complaint (and believe me many are) then they can make sure it doesn't happen again. I've had some early "oops" moments and because they were pointed out they didn't happen again. I have also had some "artistic license" moments and if people did not like them I chalk that up to them. Be honest, but be fair, and have those conversations with the maker not the collective.

Tom
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!
Locked