A place to discuss the WSJ Weekly Crossword Contest and other "meta"-style crosswords
https://www.xword-muggles.com/
As a mug winner, I can tell you that when I received my “winner” email, I was as excited as if I had won cash money! I was looking through email before I got up for work. Read my notification email and sat bolt upright in bed, hit the mattress next to my sleeping husband and exclaimed, “I won the mug!”BillKos wrote: Sun Aug 04, 2019 2:45 pm"the mug"? You mean to say that this bastion of capitalism is giving away *one* coffee mug as a reward? I would expect an iPad at least. You'd probably wind up with a better prize at church bingo. Just sayinBob cruise director wrote: Sun Aug 04, 2019 1:24 pm an interesting sojourn to Alice's Restaurant (thankfully it is not a chain so we don't have to worry about an inadvertent spoiler)
We have had a steady stream of traffic to the shore and now have 6 on the ship and 95 on the shore
New to the ship since yesterday are
Ed s
Jenekirstine
Gwyneth
and getting to the shore are
Jim and Anita
your humble Cruise Director
Cynthia J
Anita
HowardH
Beth C
Deb F
Susan G
Ann
LLinNC
Richart
ImOnToo
and Dennis
Good luck to everyone winning the mug
Congratulations!Troysail wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:45 pm Wow! I never thought I would win a mug! I have been doing these puzzles for about 18 months ever since my brother in law, Bill Healy, turned me on to meta puzzles. He has got to be the smartest man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!
If I had not been able to solve, I was going to guess Arby’s or Sonic because they have 5 letters. Burger King has 10.MikeMillerwsj wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:28 pm Happy August to the large crowd that successfully completed this contest: 91% of 1,366 entries in total. As you might expect, incorrect submissions included lots of other big fast-food chains, led by Arby's (!7, any idea why that was so popular?) and Burger King (13, ditto?), along with Wendy's (4), McDonald's (3), Sonic (3), and many many others. Honorable mention to the four solvers who submitted "Chicken Guy," a restaurant I hadn't heard of (there seem to be just two outlets so calling it a "chain" might be a stretch).
And congrats to this week's winner: Troy Stephens of Pittsboro, N.C.
Guy Pearce's performance in Memento is unforgettable.HowardHuddleston wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:07 pm As for Guy Pearce, I have rewatched "LA Confidential" several times just to see the face he makes when James Cromwell says the name "Rollo Temazzi"
Despite numerous submissions I have never won the WSJ contest. However, I was a winner in the Financial Times Saturday Cryptic contest this past May the 1st time I entered. I was overjoyed. There is hope.ImOnToo wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 8:08 pmAs a mug winner, I can tell you that when I received my “winner” email, I was as excited as if I had won cash money! I was looking through email before I got up for work. Read my notification email and sat bolt upright in bed, hit the mattress next to my sleeping husband and exclaimed, “I won the mug!”BillKos wrote: Sun Aug 04, 2019 2:45 pm"the mug"? You mean to say that this bastion of capitalism is giving away *one* coffee mug as a reward? I would expect an iPad at least. You'd probably wind up with a better prize at church bingo. Just sayinBob cruise director wrote: Sun Aug 04, 2019 1:24 pm an interesting sojourn to Alice's Restaurant (thankfully it is not a chain so we don't have to worry about an inadvertent spoiler)
We have had a steady stream of traffic to the shore and now have 6 on the ship and 95 on the shore
New to the ship since yesterday are
Ed s
Jenekirstine
Gwyneth
and getting to the shore are
Jim and Anita
your humble Cruise Director
Cynthia J
Anita
HowardH
Beth C
Deb F
Susan G
Ann
LLinNC
Richart
ImOnToo
and Dennis
Good luck to everyone winning the mug
I then texted my son and told EVERYONE at work!
At the weekly Friday meeting, I showed EVERYONE my name as the winner!
It’s the sense of pride and, yes, luck of the draw that makes winning so awesome!
I initially was expecting it to be Arby's just because it's five letters long, and there were five theme answers.MikeMillerwsj wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:28 pm Happy August to the large crowd that successfully completed this contest: 91% of 1,366 entries in total. As you might expect, incorrect submissions included lots of other big fast-food chains, led by Arby's (!7, any idea why that was so popular?) and Burger King (13, ditto?), along with Wendy's (4), McDonald's (3), Sonic (3), and many many others. Honorable mention to the four solvers who submitted "Chicken Guy," a restaurant I hadn't heard of (there seem to be just two outlets so calling it a "chain" might be a stretch).
And congrats to this week's winner: Troy Stephens of Pittsboro, N.C.
As one who submitted Arby's, I first concluded that there were only three five letter fast food chains: A and W, Arby's and Jacks. When I looked at 53 across, I substituted Y for F to get Guy Fawkes which pointed me in the direction of Arby's. So I was looking for fictional criminals (the chain gang). I then got Itachi by adding an A between Spirit and Chief and substituted R for the first I to get Frerin. At that point I ran out of time and interest since it took a lot of googling to get Itachi and Frerin.MikeMillerwsj wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:28 pm Happy August to the large crowd that successfully completed this contest: 91% of 1,366 entries in total. As you might expect, incorrect submissions included lots of other big fast-food chains, led by Arby's (!7, any idea why that was so popular?) and Burger King (13, ditto?), along with Wendy's (4), McDonald's (3), Sonic (3), and many many others. Honorable mention to the four solvers who submitted "Chicken Guy," a restaurant I hadn't heard of (there seem to be just two outlets so calling it a "chain" might be a stretch).
And congrats to this week's winner: Troy Stephens of Pittsboro, N.C.
Woo hoo! Another muggle with a mug! Congratulations!Troysail wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:45 pm Wow! I never thought I would win a mug! I have been doing these puzzles for about 18 months ever since my brother in law, Bill Healy, turned me on to meta puzzles. He has got to be the smartest man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!
Many congratulations! and thanks for acknowledging the person who invited you to the cruise!Troysail wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:45 pm Wow! I never thought I would win a mug! I have been doing these puzzles for about 18 months ever since my brother in law, Bill Healy, turned me on to meta puzzles. He has got to be the smartest man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!
I admit I had to google Lucas Carton -- can you elaborate on this?Bird Lives wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 10:33 pm Disappointed that Mike MIller didn't mention my wrong entry: Lucas Carton.
I didn't submit a guess at all, but it *does* have 5 letters and since the pretty obvious clues numbered 5, I guess that was the reasoning of some desperate souls out in meta-land.MikeMillerwsj wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:28 pm Happy August to the large crowd that successfully completed this contest: 91% of 1,366 entries in total. As you might expect, incorrect submissions included lots of other big fast-food chains, led by Arby's (!7, any idea why that was so popular?) and Burger King (13, ditto?), along with Wendy's (4), McDonald's (3), Sonic (3), and many many others. Honorable mention to the four solvers who submitted "Chicken Guy," a restaurant I hadn't heard of (there seem to be just two outlets so calling it a "chain" might be a stretch).
And congrats to this week's winner: Troy Stephens of Pittsboro, N.C.
The hunt was for "fast food", not "junk food".KayW wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:10 amI admit I had to google Lucas Carton -- can you elaborate on this?Bird Lives wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 10:33 pm Disappointed that Mike MIller didn't mention my wrong entry: Lucas Carton.
The hunt was for "fast food", not "junk food".KayW wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:10 amI admit I had to google Lucas Carton -- can you elaborate on this?Bird Lives wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 10:33 pm Disappointed that Mike MIller didn't mention my wrong entry: Lucas Carton.
Lucas Carton is about as far from a chain fast-food joint as you can get. In the late 20th century and a few years thereafter it was the Paris resto. It now has one star, and the menu is cheaper. You can still get a meal for €100-200. Add another €100 for a decent red. They might have five chefs but probably not named Guy.KayW wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:10 amI admit I had to google Lucas Carton -- can you elaborate on this?Bird Lives wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 10:33 pm Disappointed that Mike MIller didn't mention my wrong entry: Lucas Carton.
...and if they did have one with that name, he would pronounce it differently.Bird Lives wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 11:44 amLucas Carton is about as far from a chain fast-food joint as you can get. In the late 20th century and a few years thereafter it was the Paris resto. It now has one star, and the menu is cheaper. You can still get a meal for €100-200. Add another €100 for a decent red. They might have five chefs but probably not named Guy.KayW wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:10 amI admit I had to google Lucas Carton -- can you elaborate on this?Bird Lives wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 10:33 pm Disappointed that Mike MIller didn't mention my wrong entry: Lucas Carton.