A place to discuss the WSJ Weekly Crossword Contest and other "meta"-style crosswords
https://www.xword-muggles.com/
Between Meals confused me as well because I began looking for something hidden between types of ground grain (oat meal, corn meal, etc) or between b'fst, lunch, dinner, etc. but this went nowhere so I switched to the "matching pairs" clue and that led me to the solution. Thus the puzzle's title does not quite mesh with the answer as far as I can see.matthewmoravec wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:09 amSo I liked the puzzle and the answer (of course I always do when I solve the meta), and I saw how GRILLED HAM AND CHEESE was between "matching pairs." However, I was led to believe from the clue to 40A that the sandwhich letters (a t s s s o d a) would somehow correspond to bread slices, e.g. that those letters would have spelled pumpernickel or something; if not that, then they would somehow correspond to the "meals" the answer letters were "between." The title was "Between Meals" -- what are the (plural) meals that our answer was between?DrTom wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 11:13 pmGotta agree, take another look because you'll be sooooo mad if you only got part of the way there. This is one of those where there is no ADMONISHMENT, no remember the MAINE, no having to worry your MELLON, no PAGEANT to compete in, it is 100% all the way if you get the right answer.TPS wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:24 pm
It’s possible you don’t have the right answer if you aren’t sure how it all relates. This is a 100%er.
I'd say the title is always a very important hint, but that's what it is, a hint. In the beginning I had difficulty solving the meta sometimes because I was following the title, the prompt, the obvious hints etc. to a tee. Now I've learned that it's sometimes impossible -or just makes the answer too easy- for the constructors to very obviously define what the answer is going to be. Here, the title is a nice wordplay but it's better to stop at "between" and not expect a perfect match.SewYoung wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:18 amYeah - I kept looking for the letters "breakfast", "lunch", "supper", "dinner", etc. But first, I saw "ham", "beef" and "egg"; but couldn't connect them into any kind of answer. Should have latched onto "bookends" I guess, but kept trying to back to the title. The title is usually a very important hint. But - the only rule about the metas is "There are no rules"...matthewmoravec wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:09 amSo I liked the puzzle and the answer (of course I always do when I solve the meta), and I saw how GRILLED HAM AND CHEESE was between "matching pairs." However, I was led to believe from the clue to 40A that the sandwhich letters (a t s s s o d a) would somehow correspond to bread slices, e.g. that those letters would have spelled pumpernickel or something; if not that, then they would somehow correspond to the "meals" the answer letters were "between." The title was "Between Meals" -- what are the (plural) meals that our answer was between?DrTom wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 11:13 pm
Gotta agree, take another look because you'll be sooooo mad if you only got part of the way there. This is one of those where there is no ADMONISHMENT, no remember the MAINE, no having to worry your MELLON, no PAGEANT to compete in, it is 100% all the way if you get the right answer.
It's a fair point, I'm not sure the title really makes sense this week. But I get the sense that the meta is not always tied so closely to the title?matthewmoravec wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:09 amSo I liked the puzzle and the answer (of course I always do when I solve the meta), and I saw how GRILLED HAM AND CHEESE was between "matching pairs." However, I was led to believe from the clue to 40A that the sandwich letters (a t s s s o d a) would somehow correspond to bread slices, e.g. that those letters would have spelled pumpernickel or something; if not that, then they would somehow correspond to the "meals" the answer letters were "between." The title was "Between Meals" -- what are the (plural) meals that our answer was between?DrTom wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 11:13 pmGotta agree, take another look because you'll be sooooo mad if you only got part of the way there. This is one of those where there is no ADMONISHMENT, no remember the MAINE, no having to worry your MELLON, no PAGEANT to compete in, it is 100% all the way if you get the right answer.TPS wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:24 pm
It’s possible you don’t have the right answer if you aren’t sure how it all relates. This is a 100%er.
I also noticed SODA but it was at the end of ATSSSODA so I agree it was a coincidence, not to mention the fact that I usually have a soda with my favorite sandwich...yourpalsal wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:31 am I was happy to get GRILLED HAM AND CHEESE, but was slightly nervous about that SODA in the bookends. Just a coincidence, I take it?
Not to worry, you will still be a first round pick in the meta draft.Al Sisti wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:35 am Well I did it to myself again. I was in such a hurry to get on the shore, I stopped when I found GRILLED CHEESE. My streak, which went back to Dec 2017 (you remember that one, right? A little thing called PAGEANT?) is over. Serves me right. Ah well, Thursday is another day.
Exactly! Crossword/meta clues are all about looking at words and meanings in a different way. In this case, " 'between' meals" where "between" is an adjective (I guess) modifying "meals," as opposed to "between meals" where between is used more normally as a preposition.DrTom wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 1:16 am Gosh, I thought that the BETWEEN MEALS was a pretty good clue because sandwiches are between meals (a meal between tow pieces of bread).
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I love the Welsh rarebit/rabbit connection! But I agree that it would have been spoiler-adjacent to post it earlier...DrTom wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 1:16 am I said I almost posted a spoiler because I was b=gong to make a pun on the Rabbit and say "Hm, wonder if he is a Welsh rabbit?" But since Welsh Rabbit (its original name as opposed to rarebit) is a grilled cheese I thought it would be a foul.
Well, there's that... Actually I'm taking this better than the old me would have (back when the Cowboys used to lose only a couple games a year, no one could talk to me for days after a loss. In the past few years, that would have amounted to a lot of "silence"). The only thing that would be a bummer would be if this is the week that mine is the first entry they pull.oldjudge wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:50 amNot to worry, you will still be a first round pick in the meta draft.Al Sisti wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:35 am Well I did it to myself again. I was in such a hurry to get on the shore, I stopped when I found GRILLED CHEESE. My streak, which went back to Dec 2017 (you remember that one, right? A little thing called PAGEANT?) is over. Serves me right. Ah well, Thursday is another day.
So, no silence, then?
BrianMac wrote: Fri Apr 10, 2020 4:00 pmMy wife turned me onto the Yiddish term "krycek" (not sure of the spelling; pronounced "cry-check"), which I have adopted. It struck me as funny because there was an X-Files character with that name and he was a bit of a "heel." I've always wondered if that was the inspiration for his name, but have never been able to confirm it.DBMiller wrote: Fri Apr 10, 2020 2:25 pmCrusts, but heard of heels. Wife is Canadian and calls them croûtes, which translates to crusts.Bob cruise director wrote: Fri Apr 10, 2020 12:52 pm Speaking of sandwiches, another interesting discussion is what you call the ends of a loaf of bread
Nycerjohnnie wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:39 ammatthewmoravec wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:09 amI find this to be especially true with Gaffney. That's why it's sometimes difficult to get a 100% feeling with his metas. Shenk usually ties it all together very nicely (IMHO).DrTom wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 11:13 pm
... I'm not sure the title really makes sense this week. But I get the sense that the meta is not always tied so closely to the title?