"What Should I Where?" December 16, 2022

[woozy]

I seem to be the only person who saw the FOOD/FOOT entry and so it as a sign that maybe my answer of FOOT could very well be wrong. It simply didn't occur to me to think of it as verification. (Submitted FOOT anyway.)

[VanVeen]

I was kinda disappointed 17 across wasn’t clued as one half of the Eurythmics. Not only do I actually know who that is, but that Dave Stewart is a great songwriter.

Fun fact: he wrote Don’t Come Around Here No More, my favorite Tom Petty song and arguably one of his weirdest.

[MikeyG]

An eventual nudge got me to where I needed to go. Wish I could've gotten this nudge-free, but time was not on my side, and things just weren't clicking. Have fun seeing my rabbit holes below, where I always have a conversation with myself on the notepad on my computer:

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1. We have the four themers, likely each one to create a letter. All four hide articles of clothing.

VEST (1)
BELT (2)
ASCOT (3)
HAT (4)

Presumably, each gets us a word, and the four spell the meta.

2. The "Where" is key in the title. Let's check births quickly.

DAVE STEWART = Oakland (USA)
ABEL TASMAN = Lutjegast, Dutch Republic (Netherlands)
MARTHA SCOTT = Jamesport, MO (USA)
AISHA TYLER = San Francisco, CA (USA)

Nothing there.

3. I was thinking place names with hidden names like that.

VEST is in GALVESTON (note the TEJANO reference).
ASCOT is in NOVA SCOTIA. (Nothing with Canada.)

Nothing at all for BELT.

4. HAT intersects AFRO in SEAFRONT.

5. Hold on, I see ALBERT + A for ALBERTA, which is a hidden province like Nova Scotia. Is there another almost-placed Texas city?

6. Clearly, there's something with places. HAT is possibility MANHATTAN or CHATTANOOGA.

Clues from thread (I know this is already basically a nudge but whatever): Classic mechanism, some people's errors in the grid influenced (maybe AVEDON or NOCK? One of the weirder entries)?

7. "Coast" (SEAFRONT) anagrams to ASCOT???

8. Where are the words located as places on the body?

HAT
ASCOT
VEST
BELT

Something about the relative placement of other words in the grid to match those? So TEJANO is the "hat"? Seems tenuous.

9. Back to the title, Mike. Why is it "where"? What is the significance of that?

Hold on. People are next to places.

10. See below.

VEST is by EVERT (US): TENNIS VEST
BELT is by ALF (Melmac): ORION'S BELT
ASCOT is by NEHRU (India): ???
HAT is by MAYIM (US): ???

11. EVERT's "vest": T, V, E, or R
ALF's "belt": B or O
NEHRU's "ascot": A, E, H, or R
MAYIM's "hat": T? Y?

12. Do the identities of the people matter? Do I need to know something about them (i.e. country of origin)? Or are they just placeholders?

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So, in conclusion:

[Barney]

Think I spotted this week’s Rabbit Hole Award winner (MikeyG).

[SHIWUTONG]

I saw the four across clues with numbers and found the articles of clothing. I noticed they all ended with a "T". So then I looked at all the four letter answers and changed them all to a four letter word ending in T and the only body part I came up with was FOOD to FOOT. So that was the answer I submitted. I never saw the words that made up SHOE.. Well, if I win the cup, do I have to give it back???

[Mister Squawk]

I completely missed the parenthesized numerals, but quickly found four four-letter words that were one letter away from a body part: NOCK, FOOD, BACH, and HEED (NECK, FOOT, BACK, and HEAD).

I started looking for articles of clothing (after a while), but troubled by finding an article it clothing for BACK.

Anyway, when I finally got the answer, I regarded the presence of FOOD in the grid not as confirmation, but a sign of error.

[PHOFER]

I seem to be the only person who saw the FOOD/FOOT entry and so it as a sign that maybe my answer of FOOT could very well be wrong. It simply didn't occur to me to think of it as verification. (Submitted FOOT anyway.)

I noted in a prior post the FOOD/FOOT confirmation as a “final elegance” that made this puzzle really amazing. One didn’t need it to be confident in the solution, but once I had the solution, I thought to myself, “I wonder if Matt. . . .” And, sure enough, he did. A little extra bow on the Christmas present.

[Dplass]

I seem to be the only person who saw the FOOD/FOOT entry and so it as a sign that maybe my answer of FOOT could very well be wrong. It simply didn't occur to me to think of it as verification. (Submitted FOOT anyway.)

No, you weren't. That was why I was only 98.6% sure I was ashore.

[Joe Ross]

I saw the four across clues with numbers and found the articles of clothing. I noticed they all ended with a "T". So then I looked at all the four letter answers and changed them all to a four letter word ending in T and the only body part I came up with was FOOD to FOOT. So that was the answer I submitted. I never saw the words that made up SHOE.. Well, if I win the cup, do I have to give it back???

No!

Fantastic solve! You should be given full place settings for 12, IMHO. NICELY DONE.

[whimsy]

And now it can be told.
It's all about the accessorizing.

[pjc]

As I mentioned earlier, I was on a REAL shore this week (in a different time zone). I finished the grid quickly and found the clothing items and figured out the corresponding body parts (although I had both CHEST and TORSO written down for VEST), but then had to leave to eat.

On returning (a bit tipsy!), the AHA moment was the word NOCK for NECK and the rest was a breeze to get to FOOT. I never noticed FOOD as a confirmation.

Back in the cold weather again and ready to start the holiday season!

[femullen]

Ah, I'd missed the confirmation @13D. Nice!

I missed it too. It's happened many times that even when I solve one of these, there's more depth to the puzzle than I recognized.

[Fogway]

The names STEWART, TASMAN, SCOTT and TYLER are all labels of various boots and other footwear products. I quickly concluded that the answer must be FOOT. But that meta didn't satisfy the "where" component. After much trudging around the grid, I eventually found the "shoe."

[linsocalm]

I seem to be the only person who saw the FOOD/FOOT entry and so it as a sign that maybe my answer of FOOT could very well be wrong. It simply didn't occur to me to think of it as verification. (Submitted FOOT anyway.)

That was me, too! I kept thinking maybe there was an additional step.

[CPJohnson]

Would someone please post the grid entry error that seemed to trip up so many muggles?

My error was in assuming, once I found HEED/HEAD, that (1) all other "finds" would use the changed letter to create a legit word (like vast), and (2) all other "finds" would cross one of the clothing items. Zoom room set me straight.

[Joe Ross]

The names STEWART, TASMAN, SCOTT and TYLER are all labels of various boots and other footwear products. I quickly concluded that the answer must be FOOT. But that meta didn't satisfy the "where" component. After much trudging around the grid, I eventually found the "shoe."

Another place setting-worthy solution!

[femullen]

Long before I saw the items of clothing in the theme answers, I saw OMAHA in 30A TOMAHAWK. This "where" blinded me for most of a day as I scrounged around for other place names. I think it was not until Saturday night after the Legion Christmas party that my unfocused eyes landed upon VEST, etc.

I also had one heck of a time just solving the grid. Of the four theme personalities, I'd only ever heard of Abel Tasman.

[MatthewL]

Count me in the group that didn't see the FOOD/FOOT confirmation. Nice little extra depth to the puzzle!

[RobM]

If there weren't parenthetical numbers in the theme clues, there would be an alternative answer. The same four letters could make HOSE, making LEGS a correct response.

[EmilyW]

I learned an important lesson this week - reread the contest instructions before submitting. I got it in my head that I was looking for a four letter article of clothing and submitted SHOE.