"Eton Must Change" January 10, 2025

[Bob cruise director]

Good Saturday morning muggles

An interesting challenge from Mr. Gaffney with a little bit of controversy. My suspicion is that the WSJ will hope that they pull the answer they want first and then accept the alternate answer.

First thing first is to welcome our newest muggles @basic_brad, @flandangle and @jskalitz. It is always great to have more muggles.

So far we have 5 on the ship and 157 on the shore.

Enjoying the ship's lounge and Isaac's company are:

SewYoung
jskalitz
Zach
Janet
Doug C

While on one of two or three shores are:
MikeyG
docison
Kay
Wendy
streroto
paige
Meg
michaelm
oldjudge
Mike H
Mme
Al
Joe R
Dannyvee
ELSavage
DCBilly
scrabbler
ajk
VanVeen
mattythewsjpuzzler
MatthewL
Beth A
Heidi
Merry Potter
charliewentling
Georgeall
boharr
Sheila
Brainbow
darth
Onaquest and Tim
Peter
JimJim
Alvibu67
minimuggle
Eric P
hoover
will j
D B Miller
Cindy
lxpeterson
Schmeel
NebFaninCA
Jeremy
Don and Cynthia
JoeFlanders
Al Laubenstein
DavyGravy
Mister and Mrs. Squawk
Brian K
Bird Lives
DelanQ
MajorDomoTom
straffin
Trey , Jill, Marion and Mitch
MileHighSolver
ky-mike
elvanya
Ergcat
Commodore
M and M
olev
pjc
Laura
Jkj
Barbara K
Les
BoomerBanker
Harbo
Barnhart6
CptnCodon
girubato1
Jace54
joe
Chris
newbymar and brothers
Tina
Joepickett
sjm
Beth C
LittleGood
Flying_Burrito
cbarbee
Cinny
TeamDoubleTow
chriscross
TeaJenny
Rad26
benchen71
Gman
Mbutterfly
RobM
SamKat9
Don and Lisa
Ron
HeadinHome
ladybird
Berto
Fred
BrennerTJ
JerryF
BigPear
EmilyW
JeanneC
dudeski
Jim and Anita
Jean
Cruise Director
Acarl
Dickie_Dunn
Libbypibby
DaveG
CPJohnson
Birdbrain
DrTom
Zagman49
Sleepy
schmidzy
Scoopdave
lbray
ImOnToo
woozy
Char
femullen
Laurab
avian
Bill
escapeartist
PlymouthRock
Mirage
turbotron
Nlobb
jimbo1
Ann
powerpuffgirls
InAJelly
Jarrod
scooby
chopkins828
H and J
Jayboy1
WSJosh
dancedad17
Kaykay
flandangle
basic_brad
Tom Wi
whimsy
clonefitz
batfella
Steve M
Katiedid
Ben B and son
Cindy N
DennyB
Debbie
eagle1279

Good luck winning the elusive mug and stay safe.

[bread-girl]

I think I’m on the shore, submitting anyway

[rjy]

Late start. Took a couple of minutes to see the path.

On shore. Maybe a Midwinter’s Night Dram as a nightcap in front of the fireplace on this cold evening.

You’re speaking my language!

And ashore too, after a late start (after more shoveling)

[Penny_Keatley]

Ummm…I think I’m on the beach…maybe. I’m feeling 70% confident so I’ll go ahead and submit. All the smoke here in LA might be affecting my brain.

[Adajeo]

I like this puzzle - a straightforward mechanism brought me right to the beach.

[Henry Paul]

Well well well. While certainly energized from getting the celebratory email from last week's Meta and then thinking "ok, on to #2" we ran into this strange puzzle. We got the first part, and have found another part that I *think* I'm going to submit so count us on "A" shore, and agree that this one's a little weirder than others.

Dry January, so just plain water.

Stay safe all, especially those dealing with the LA conflagration (it's so sad..)

[SingleMalt]

Ashore!

[HunterX]

Okay. Declaring myself ashore, after too much deliberation.

Got to the answer after doing step 2, though there was uncertainty due to the fact that.... Well, those of you who know, know. We'll discuss Monday.

But then thought, "But this is a Gaffney puzzle," and worried about the PAGEANT. (Well, not exactly a PAGEANT. More like another step.) Quickly came up with two other answers. But, much as I stare and stare, I don't find any support for either of the other two. So I'm calling it and sticking with the initial answer.

[HunterX]

To all those in the L.A. area, be safe. Our thoughts are with you. The footage we are getting here in the east looks devastating and heartbreaking.

To those of you in Alabama and South Carolina having to drive through the unusual snow, feel free to send some up here to the Pocono mountains. I woke up this morning to see only about an inch (okay, maybe only 3/4 of an inch) and thought, "No reason to rush to the slopes for that." Was hoping for more.

[hcbirker]

Fire update. We’re safe and housing friends who had to evacuate Encino area. More Santa Ana winds coming tonight, but hopefully blowing away from us.

[Susan Goldberg]

I see the two possible answers for sure; but I am submitting the one I am fairly confident MUST be the right one!!! Can’t wait for Monday morning! (Well actually I can…)

[Hidden in 3D]

I am on a shore but will not submit since I got some help from a rather unexpected source.

Prayers for all of you in the path of the wildfires. And commiseration for those in the mid-Atlantic with the snow and sleet. We got mostly sleet here so yours truly won't be doing any driving until the roads are clear. Being in one accident caused by icy-road conditions has convinced me that I never want to have that experience again.

[CopperRiver]

On the ship.

[JRS51]

I am declaring myself ashore! I certainly see the two potential answers but I have a strong opinion which one is the intended answer. And yet . . . have I got the right one??

[RDaleHall]

Late start (due to lots of college football attention!) but on shore. Like the range and creativity of this one… with a little bit of the meta under the nose. Buckeyes in the national championship! Time for some classic Georgetown Brewing Johnny Utah.

[ZazooD]

On shore!

[3rdOf4]

I *think* I’m on shore.

[Aragorn]

Ashore with 100% lock! Found the first step very quickly and thought it was going to be easy, then took me a long time to figure out where to go from there. Finally found it after exploring many different options.

I’m curious as to what the “alternate” answer is. Could someone please PM me what you’re seeing as the second possibility?

Edit: received messages on alternate answer but still think 100% lock on the one I submitted.

[halseymac]

I just had the opposite of an Archimedes experience. My wife, Michele, and I had wrestled with this one all day ---I gave up and got in the shower. A few minutes later, she came bursting in, fully clothed and waving her worksheet about to share her observation. She had indeed found the rabbit and gotten soaked in the process. The rest of the pieces fell into place shortly thereafter. Fun one! Red for her, white for me!

[Colin]

Step one seems quite clear,
But step two… well… nowhere near!
Isaac please… a beer!