XWord Muggles Forum

Hector wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 12:58 pm This seems like a really difficult construction, not that I know much about constructing. For each n from 1 to 10 there has to be an entry naturally associated with n and with the 11-minus-nth letter of NOISEMAKER in position n. That seems like a lot to ask for, but it was done with basically zero artificiality.

My guess is that with the number of words in the grid, you could relatively easily spell out other 10 letter words associated with New Year's. Creating the clues with the appropriate number in each one, I would think would be fairly easy.

That is easy to say but may be more difficult. Maybe I will try it this afternoon since we have sleet/snow/rain/freezing rain northwest of Boston

and I read through your n and 11-n without batting an eyelasth.

MaineMarge wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 8:34 am At first glance I was struck by the NYC related references- Hudson, Apple, Tribeca, SOHO, thinking Times Square countdown. NOGO there.

Early on I always spend a lot of time with the clues, and this time it paid off. I didn’t even try anagramming the resulting 10 first or last letters, as I remembered someone posting that the meta is never an anagram ( almost never?) Luckily I next tried the correct method.
10 stars for you on this one, Mike!

Happy New Year to all you Muggles friends!
And may you never hear, nor utter, any cross words in 2020.

Not to mention TIME and HOUR can be found in 2x2 squares in the lower middle of the grid!
CHEERS!

Thanks Mike, Matt and the occasional guest contributors for a great year of metas. this one made for a great finish to the year.


I failed this time, losing myself in various rabbit holes. One started with the fill-in clues: TOS APAR TEA. Two's a party? I even had NOISEMAKER among my futile backsolve attempts (along with champagne, ball drop and fireworks). I should have remembered those two important meta solving rules: 1.) if you can't find anything in the grid, go back to the clues, and 2.) go back to the clues again.

I thought it was "A Party" because of the words "Apar" and "Tea" were next to each other and had fill in the blank clues.

I got NOISEMAKER but spent time trying to back-fill RESOLUTION (also ten letters) and struggled with FISH TRICKS for a while.

Last I checked, the movie with Richard Gere did not involve a fish.

MajordomoTom wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 5:43 pm I got NOISEMAKER but spent time trying to back-fill RESOLUTION (also ten letters) and struggled with FISH TRICKS for a while.

Last I checked, the movie with Richard Gere did not involve a fish.

I actually tried to backsolve RESOLUTION because of the central NEUME... i. e. “New Me”.

yes, thanks, that was one thing that made me think RESOLUTION was a possible answer.

First of all, apologies for a holiday gremlin printing error! Wrong puzzle ran in today's print paper. The correct puzzle is online, so you can see the solution to this (brilliant) contest.

We had 1176 entries, about 80% correct. 33 of you worked with the theme entries' initial letters (sort of) to come up with FIRST KISS. Another 41 submitted TIMES SQUARE or variants (TIMES SQUARE BALL, TIMES SQUARE COUNTDOWN, etc.). Plus another 14 COUNTDOWNS, RESOLUTION (8), TOAST (and variants, 5), among others.

Congratulations to this week's winner: Joel Berghoff of San Rafael, Calif. And a very happy 2020, with solutions to all your puzzles!

Hello all!

It's been a long time since I was here. I'm sorry, but I can't remember how to find the meta solution. It wasn't in this morning's paper. Could someone please guide me?

Thank you,
Bee

Hi Bee,

Here you go:

Bee wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 9:58 pm Hello all!

It's been a long time since I was here. I'm sorry, but I can't remember how to find the meta solution. It wasn't in this morning's paper. Could someone please guide me?

Thank you,
Bee

Bee
I am not sure why it was not in today's print edition but the answer was in the PDF on line.

Bob

Thank you, Bob and Hector. I *thought* the numbers had something to do with it, but didn't follow that rabbit hole far enough. Oh well, maybe next year....

Happy New Year, all!
Bee

MikeMillerwsj wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 9:32 pm First of all, apologies for a holiday gremlin printing error! Wrong puzzle ran in today's print paper. The correct puzzle is online, so you can see the solution to this (brilliant) contest.

We had 1176 entries, about 80% correct. 33 of you worked with the theme entries' initial letters (sort of) to come up with FIRST KISS. Another 41 submitted TIMES SQUARE or variants (TIMES SQUARE BALL, TIMES SQUARE COUNTDOWN, etc.). Plus another 14 COUNTDOWNS, RESOLUTION (8), TOAST (and variants, 5), among others.

Congratulations to this week's winner: Joel Berghoff of San Rafael, Calif. And a very happy 2020, with solutions to all your puzzles!

Wow - someone from my city! Congratulations!

Hector wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 12:58 pm This seems like a really difficult construction, not that I know much about constructing. For each n from 1 to 10 there has to be an entry naturally associated with n and with the 11-minus-nth letter of NOISEMAKER in position n. That seems like a lot to ask for, but it was done with basically zero artificiality.

Hector - please do not think I was being snarky with the "math major" comment. I do use math in my profession of course, but I do not think in mathematical constructs so what you said made sense even if I would not have been able to follow it or repeat it if I had seen it outside the context of the puzzle.

Mathematicians impress the heck out of me because I never could seem to grasp the "real number" idea and though I understood the golden rule I did not get the golden ratio. As for numbers in general I never found them amicable, friendly or social and though I have told a fib or two in my time I never told a Fibonacci (though loved it in DaVinci Code!)

I thought perhaps they hadn't wanted to put that Monday print edition puzzle online to avoid traumatizing certain muggles during the holidays. If it ends up online tomorrow evening (as I suspect it will) solve at your own risk.

Does anyone use the WSJ app to solve crosswords? I just installed it on my iPhone, wondering if it would give me a way to see the whole puzzle at once while I'm solving or working on the meta. I can't find the current puzzle anywhere in the app. When I search on "crossword" I get a random selection of older ones, and when I click one of those, I only see an option to get the PDF.

BarbaraK wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 6:27 pm I thought perhaps they hadn't wanted to put that Monday print edition puzzle online to avoid traumatizing certain muggles during the holidays. If it ends up online tomorrow evening (as I suspect it will) solve at your own risk.

Does anyone use the WSJ app to solve crosswords? I just installed it on my iPhone, wondering if it would give me a way to see the whole puzzle at once while I'm solving or working on the meta. I can't find the current puzzle anywhere in the app. When I search on "crossword" I get a random selection of older ones, and when I click one of those, I only see an option to get the PDF.

Click on Menu in the upper left, then Crosswords in the lower left, and a list should come up! I use it sometimes, but never for metas!

I don't have a Menu in the upper left. I've got "Sections" there, and there is no Crosswords on the list of options.

This is just the regular "The Wall Street Journal" app, right? Not something special for puzzles?

BarbaraK wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 7:21 pm I don't have a Menu in the upper left. I've got "Sections" there, and there is no Crosswords on the list of options.

This is just the regular "The Wall Street Journal" app, right? Not something special for puzzles?

I think it’s the regular app. Just a big WSJ on the icon on a white background. I’m stumped!

Ps. I’m looking at my iPad though, not iPhone.

BarbaraK wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 6:27 pm Does anyone use the WSJ app to solve crosswords? I just installed it on my iPhone, wondering if it would give me a way to see the whole puzzle at once while I'm solving or working on the meta. I can't find the current puzzle anywhere in the app. When I search on "crossword" I get a random selection of older ones, and when I click one of those, I only see an option to get the PDF.

Search on "CROSSWORD CONTEST", which will give you a sorted-by-relevance (whatever that means) list of the latest 13 CC puzzles, or search on a specific title.

Like you, Barbara, I only get links to the PDFs. It seems the phone app doesn't support the solving software.

These results are on an android phone.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, MUGGLES!

MAKE NOISE
MAKE NOISE
MAKE NOISE