"Tense Situation" February 21, 2025

[DBMiller]

I don't know if this sort of post is okay on this forum. It has to do with a problem I've been having the last couple months doing the WSJ Xword puzzles on my phone. The format is nearly impossible to navigate. I can see only part of the grid, have to scroll to see the the clues and to enter letters into the grid, and the font is tiny! It's as if I'm on the website, but I don't see an option anywhere to switch to the good ol' mobile mode I adored (where the whole grid is visible and clues pop up when tapping on the grid, etc.). Any ideas? The puzzle isn't much fun to do and takes forever to complete when the format is so clunky. I use an Android, Samsung Galaxy S22+. Thank you!!!

Make sure the browser is using the mobile site and not the desktop site. For Android devices and Chrome, tap on the vertical ellipsis in the upper right corner and near the end of the list of options will either be "Desktop site" or "Mobile site". If you see "Mobile site", tap it and that will put you back to the smaller mobile window.

[Ann]

On the shore since Friday but forgot to brag about it

[Bob cruise director]

Good evening muggles. Our final count is one keeping Isaac in business and 248 on the shore.

Getting to the shore this afternoon are

3rdOf4
Brian K
AveryL
regfish
JerryF
iblinked
DannyWalter
Kris Zacharias
Inca
garnermoney
ZazooD
Hidden in 3D


Good luck winning the mug and have a safe week.

[Belle]

Solved this one Thursday evening but didn’t post because we had company all weekend. Thought this was another great puzzle.

[ZazooD]

To DBMiller: Wow! So simple. Thank you so much. I have no idea how it got switched in the first place.

[BarbaraK]

Stopped by after a long break, spent about 5 minutes clicking through 14 pages of posts almost all saying essentially the same thing. Being that I'm here, I guess I'll join in: REDACTED

I notice this post has five likes: Bob cruise director, BarbaraK, mommyX4, 3rdOf4, and KayW. Wonder what was here . . . .

It was exactly this when I saw it. I like seeing Inca, a very long time muggle, back again after her break.

[KscX]

Ashore.

[shays]

Ashore but I’m not as certain about my submission as most others seem to be about theirs. Fingers crossed! Good luck everyone!

[hcbirker]

[hcbirker]

[SometimesStumped]

Eek. I still have a lot to learn. I was nowhere near shore but I still enjoy the view.
-Julie

[Faust]

So did anyone else think that “Left” matched up with “Sinister Sign”? That had me confused for a good 30 minutes before I reread all the clues and finally got it…

[BarbaraK]

Eek. I still have a lot to learn. I was nowhere near shore but I still enjoy the view.
-Julie

Even though you're out of the running for a WSJ mug this week, if you post the story about how you came up with your answer, you could win a rabbit hole mug! (Why, yes, that is one in my avatar:)

[Mirage]

So did anyone else think that “Left” matched up with “Sinister Sign”? That had me confused for a good 30 minutes before I reread all the clues and finally got it…

Knowing that sinister comes from the Latin for left, I gave thought to “Sinister Sign” for a time as well.

[mikeB]

The Title and the six theme entries join forces right off the bat to point us in the right direction. Each theme entry is a phrase beginning with a verb. This pattern, coupled with the Title’s double entendre TENSE, focuses the quest: We’re dealing with verb tenses, and we know where the verbs are. The first and simplest approach to try is change their tenses. Aha! Each of those past-tense verbs is itself a double entendre, made possible by the absence of any “-ed” suffixes – the regular form of past tense. A group of double entendres conjures up the idea of Alternate Entries. It is easy to identify six clues satisfied by the “other meaning” of those six double entendres. Now we need to harvest letters using the Primary Entries. Initial letters are a good first choice. Place those clue order, and you have the solution. The final click comes from the format of the answer: A phrase whose first word is an irregular past-tense verb (no “-ed” suffix) – just like the six we discovered along the way. This meta is somewhat more uncomplicated than many we have seen, but it showcases beautifully the concept of metas and the creativity that goes into their design.

[JeanneC]

So did anyone else think that “Left” matched up with “Sinister Sign”? That had me confused for a good 30 minutes before I reread all the clues and finally got it…

I thought let was the prompt for 17 across and the puzzle answer would be 60d adin. But it just didn’t work so I languished until I figured out the proper response had to be 43a for left.

[The XWord Rabbit]

The XWord Rabbit wasn’t planning on taking the week off, but a distinct lack of stories worth nominating has left him at loose ends. Not only that, the answer to Mr. Gaffney’s “Tense Situation” puzzle was “Made It”. MADE IT? Really? You can’t be serious, Matt.

For a few brief moments your Rabbit actually considered posting a video of Barry Manilow singing “Looks Like We Made It”, but he soon came to his senses.

How about something classical instead? No problemo. Enjoy and see you next week!

[Bob cruise director]

The XWord Rabbit wasn’t planning on taking the week off, but a distinct lack of stories worth nominating has left him at loose ends. Not only that, the answer to Mr. Gaffney’s “Tense Situation” puzzle was “Made It”. MADE IT? Really? You can’t be serious, Matt.

For a few brief moments your Rabbit actually considered posting a video of Barry Manilow singing “Looks Like We Made It”, but he soon came to his senses.


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How about something classical instead? No problemo. Enjoy and see you next week!

@The XWord Rabbit How about going with a song by Nancy Sinatra? Maybe Bang Bang

[ReB]

Well, MADE IT certainly is the explicit answer, I suppose.

But would any Muggle actually exclaim this without adding a third word...MADE IT ASHORE?

[MikeMillerwsj]

The contest answer is MADE IT. Each theme answer begins with a verb that has an irregular past form: LEAVE/LEFT, SPEAK/ SPOKE, RISE/ROSE, FEEL/FELT, DRAW/ DREW, STEAL/STOLE. Those past forms are alternative answers for other clues; for example, LEFT could satisfy 43-Across’s clue “One of the four directions on a joystick” (DOWN). The others are SPOKE/TIRE, ROSE/ IRIS, FELT/MOIRE, DREW/ETHEL, STOLE/ ASCOT. In grid order, the first letters of these alternate answers spell the contest answer.

A quick report during a busy week: This clever puzzle had a large and successful turnout! 1751 entries, 95% correct. And congrats to this week's winner: Blair Seelinger of Wake Forest, NC!