"Dude, Where's My Car?" - April 22, 2022

[GTIJohnny]

I submitted EDSEL, based on the grille theme and the fact it is sorta suggested at 22A & 25D "ish". The solution took up a bunch of space in the print edition of Monday's WSJ.

With Matt's next one, here's hoping the "Eds el"ect to shrink the font rather than resorting to a separate page to lead readers through a lengthy explanation.

[joequavis]

Though I solved the puzzle, it took a while to figure out what to submit. The Dodge Daytona is NOT a car of the present (production years 1984-1993), but the Dodge Charger Daytona is a past and present car. So I ended up submitting "Dodge (Charger) DAYTONA". In this instance, the "Daytona" is a modifier for the Dodge Charger model. In the end, I'm not pleased with the prompt, but I do think the puzzle and metanism are solid.

[boharr]

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When the mechanism revealed Daytona, it made perfect sense. The Daytona is notable for being the first NASCAR ever to hit 200 miles per hour which was a big milestone at the time. The name being taken from Daytona Beach, Florida, fits the pattern of cars being named for places. Lastly, Daytona Beach was an early center for auto racing and still hosts the Daytona 500.

Not to mention the little nod to NASCAR in the clue for 7A. That immediately made me think Dodge Daytona (later Charger) before I began my struggles to arrive at the same parking spot.

[ship4u]

"Before you criticize someone, first walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when they get angry, they will be a mile away and barefoot."
Deep thoughts

[spotter]

I wanted the answer to be Delorean as well. With the prompt mentioning past and present, I had my mind on the future as well. I thought the dates in the clues were somehow going to play into a time travel theme.

[Dplass]

The answer is EDSEL

“Where’s My Car?” indicates that the key lies in the cars’ locations in the grid. Highlight those locations, and the solution becomes obvious.
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Car puzzle 500.jpg

For this very reason, we knew it had to be a DELOREAN. The grill perfectly matches the DMC Motor Company logo. For those who may object that it was built in Belfest, DMC HQ was located in Detroit. AND the clue "...a noted American car of the past OR present" seemed oddly worded. Why not past AND present. That's when my son revealed that 3 weeks ago the new DMC announced a new Delorean to be built in San Antonio. OR is the perfect choice to draw a distinction for a newer version which may or may not ever be built. Lastly we had pursued the mail code trail much earlier and rejected the inclusion of NM for reasons earlier cited - a seemingly random decision to allow the letters of hyMN to be reversed. DELOREAN was pure genius.Screenshot_20220425-074941_Chrome.jpg

"of the past OR present" -- BECAUSE IT'S A TIME MACHINE!!!

[MikeM000]

Kudos to all who got it! I thought about both state abbreviations and car manufacturer, but never together! I also couldn't help but keep circling back to the “America car” I found in the puzzle…
9621ABA7-40B9-41E1-9A0D-80381501A255.jpeg

That's empirically awesome, and way better than my figuring it had to be a Chevrolet to see TH' USA in. It was centered and everything!

[cbarbee002]

Was never going to get this one. Like many, I figured that it had to involve state abbreviations (since all the models in the grid were place names), but didn't get the connection with the first letter of the manufacturer.

[TMart]

Didn’t spend enough time on this to get it, trying to do it while on a golf weekend with some buddies. I’m disappointed that I didn’t, because I thought it was a really good meta.

I got as far as car models and state codes, and looked for anagrams in the grid - with two Arizonas and two Z’s in the grid it was a pretty good hint to the letter extraction mechanism. I went first letter of model plus state code and found a couple, but never made the leap to car make rather than model.

Anagram + 1 is a pretty common letter extraction mechanism, so I think the meta was complicated but fair.

[ship4u]

Was never going to get this one. Like many, I figured that it had to involve state abbreviations (since all the models in the grid were place names), but didn't get the connection with the first letter of the manufacturer.

Exactly! That was the most difficult part, IMHO.

[Barney]

My first guess, Day One, was Daytona. But I learned long ago not to submit a reach or a WAG.

Turned out my anagram was Not Today. Missed it by that much.

[OliviaL]

For those traveling or who can’t print, you can use the mark up feature in the photos app on iPhone to solve. Just take a screenshot of the completed grid and crop it. Then click the mark up tool in the top right corner and you can use the marker and the highlighter to solve. Plus there’s an eraser so no need to start over. You can also use the notes app to type out words, etc. and then flip back and forth between the two apps. I solve every week using this method since we are on the road and it works great!

[lacangah]

Given the two NYC clues, I was angling for “PARK AVE” for a few hours. Then I found ‘car’ in four clues - the first letter of the corresponding answers included M, A, T, and S, so I was thinking ‘Mustang,’ but couldn’t close the deal. Was a little surprised that our friends ‘REO’ and ‘GTO’ weren’t really in the mix. In any case, hope you all had fun tilting at this meta-mill (and congrats to those who solved it)! See you all later this week - cheers,

[woozy]

I still call shenanigans and claim it is not "rock solid". It doesn't matter that once one knows the mechanism it is unambiguously solvable. It matters that there should a mechanism that is appears to be more than just possible random noise. If the key is based on only three letters and the may be anagrammed in any order with an additional letter thrown in the result will be indistinguishable from noise.

That's why it is shenanigans.

After all, We could space the the letters of the meta in position of the Fibonnaci numbers and that'd yield an unambiguous result and it wouldn't break any "rules" about the letters don't need to be "where the solver expects them". But unless we hinted that the solver should think about the Fibonnaci numbers it is unreasonable to expect the solver to look for them.

[billkatz]

I was pleasantly surprised to not only see my name in the grid (I'm not related to the deli owners, but I've eaten many pastrami sandwiches there) but then to see it as part of the meta mechanism.

[Joe Ross]

I still call shenanigans and claim it is not "rock solid". It doesn't matter that once one knows the mechanism it is unambiguously solvable. It matters that there should a mechanism that is appears to be more than just possible random noise. If the key is based on only three letters and the may be anagrammed in any order with an additional letter thrown in the result will be indistinguishable from noise.

That's why it is shenanigans.

After all, We could space the the letters of the meta in position of the Fibonnaci numbers and that'd yield an unambiguous result and it wouldn't break any "rules" about the letters don't need to be "where the solver expects them". But unless we hinted that the solver should think about the Fibonnaci numbers it is unreasonable to expect the solver to look for them.

To this end, all future metas shall be exactly like the very first WSJCC meta, using initials in clearly delimited 2-word theme entries, where the answer will be everything "good" and certainly not "random noise". We will call all future metas "elegant" & "fair." Everything else will be right out. Everyone will be happy. Nobody will be challenged. The expert and master constructors' efforts won't be publicly denigrated by those taxed by said "random noise." We will all earn stickers. We will rotate who brings the orange slices to the beach each week.

[katnahat]

For those traveling or who can’t print, you can use the mark up feature in the photos app on iPhone to solve. Just take a screenshot of the completed grid and crop it. Then click the mark up tool in the top right corner and you can use the marker and the highlighter to solve. Plus there’s an eraser so no need to start over. You can also use the notes app to type out words, etc. and then flip back and forth between the two apps. I solve every week using this method since we are on the road and it works great!

Do you use an iPhone? Mine only gives me the option to download the pdf. I am unable to see or fill in the grid on WSJ.com. Any suggestions?

[boharr]

Seems as if there is quite a bit of sour grapes this week. And, to mix metaphors, much shooting of the messenger (constructor). When I get stumped (which is often), I get chagrined, sure; but I don't get angry at the puzzles' creators. They aren't trying to be mean, or to be unfair, or to trick us. They're trying to challenge us and to entertain us, and it's not easy. We are a picky group, but we should remember thank them. I do.

[BarbaraK]

For those traveling or who can’t print, you can use the mark up feature in the photos app on iPhone to solve. Just take a screenshot of the completed grid and crop it. Then click the mark up tool in the top right corner and you can use the marker and the highlighter to solve. Plus there’s an eraser so no need to start over. You can also use the notes app to type out words, etc. and then flip back and forth between the two apps. I solve every week using this method since we are on the road and it works great!

Do you use an iPhone? Mine only gives me the option to download the pdf. I am unable to see or fill in the grid on WSJ.com. Any suggestions?

You can use the Across Lite version
viewtopic.php?t=671
Solve with Puzzazz, then hide the keyboard and take your screenshot.

[Joe Ross]

Seems as if there is quite a bit of sour grapes this week. And, to mix metaphors, much shooting of the messenger (constructor). When I get stumped (which is often), I get chagrined, sure; but I don't get angry at the puzzles' creators. They aren't trying to be mean, or to be unfair, or to trick us. They're trying to challenge us and to entertain us, and it's not easy. We are a picky group, but we should remember thank them. I do.

The creators are as much a part of this community as everyone else, even if they don't post often.

To deride a creator incorrectly & ignorantly for creating a fantastic puzzle is beneath this community, Bre'r Fox.