"Keep Current" May 2, 2025

[shays]

On shore!
Good luck everyone!

[CdnMG]

Ashore. Can't count the number of times I have been to the answer!

[hcbirker]

[Cindy N]

So many different versions of this, but this is the one I thought of first.

[woozy]

So.... what kind of meta veteran thinks "ah. Seven rivers with the last letters falling into the rows below; so is it the letters in the crook of the bends? ITKAOEY. No, that did seem too easy. So the letters in the crook spell a phrase 'ASIAN TSK DEAS...' no. Okay. Maybe we see the letters falling down past the letter on the lower row... eone... n .... and then some key to how many to take and what to do if they're on top of each other like the N below the final I in MIAMI but there being nothing below the final A in SUSQUEHANNA... Well, we don't go to left of the last letters or below the last letters in any consistent way so there probably some hint somewhere in the grid what to do with the last letters..."

[Joe Ross]

[martimeryard]

I submitted Niagara Falls, but why this instead of, say, Niagara River? It still fits the theme since the Niagara River flows into what becomes Niagara Falls. Since we're told that the answer is supposed to be "a place,"I'm guessing that Niagara Falls is the better choice. I don't really think of a river as a place, but I suppose it could be.

[Flamel616]

I submitted Niagara Falls, but why this instead of, say, Niagara River? It still fits the theme since the Niagara River flows into what becomes Niagara Falls. Since we're told that the answer is supposed to be "a place,"I'm guessing that Niagara Falls is the better choice. I don't really think of a river as a place, but I suppose it could be.

I think "Falls" because the letters have fallen. Though, to be honest, I submitted without ever noticing that the last letters of the river names were below the ends. I just kept track of the missing letters in my head and never considered that Niagara River was an option. I suppose the popularity of the place helped me "fall" into the right answer.

[KscX]

Am I missing something, or why was the length of each river listed in the clues?

[LadyBird]

Am I missing something, or why was the length of each river listed in the clues?

I don't know, but it caused a quick rabbit hole. I thought the end letters might go in river length order.

[sjm]

I submitted the correct answer, but somehow never noticed that the missing letters were in the rows below... I just thought they had "fallen off" the puzzle's grid altogether!

[MathandMusic]

Am I missing something, or why was the length of each river listed in the clues?

Perhaps to disambiguate which river in that geographic swath?

[NuYear68]

Am I missing something, or why was the length of each river listed in the clues?

At first I thought the rivers' lengths were shortened to explain why the last letter was missing. A quick check of the Volga put that theory out to pasture.

[mikeB]

This meta’s theme plays an unusual and very creative role in the solve. Solvers often refer to the structural components of a meta – title, prompt, clues and entries – vis-à-vis their contributions in the solve. Themes are typically more ephemeral in nature, often in the backs of our minds providing overall context as the solve unfolds. In this case, the theme plays a crucial role in closing the deal. But what is the theme of this meta? (If you were to ask 100 solvers, you’d probably get three different answers.) Once we start working the grid, the seven similarly constructed clues suggest the theme is rivers, reinforced by the title’s double-entendre “current”, suggesting a river’s current. The corresponding seven entries (river names, albeit with missing final letters) fall into line as well. It’s looking a lot like rivers, isn’t it? Fast-forwarding to the end game, we find that we’re dealing with seven missing letters that spell N-I-A-G-A-R-A. Hmmm. The prompt specifies a place name, but it also insists on 12 letters. A common solution at this point might be to append the word FALLS, forming the name of a well-known location, and submit the (correct) answer. The problem is, the Final Click may not be sufficiently clicky for some. However, reflecting back on the theme, many will have already noticed that the missing seven letters aren’t really missing at all; they simply appear below the penultimate letters of the respective river names. How is that relevant? Due to clever construction of the grid and the seven themed entries, each of those entries is a pictograph of the named river flowing left to right and then dropping over a waterfall. Arguably the theme of this meta isn’t rivers, but waterfalls. And, for good measure, what is collectively going over the falls is the seven-letter sequence N-I-A-G-A-R-A. (A resulting news headline might be “Niagara Falls.” Imagine that.) So we have a major waterfall and a nearby location that share the same (12-letter) name, which includes Niagara and is the puzzle’s answer – hence a resounding Final Click. Regardless of when during the solve we discover those waterfall pictographs, it’s a beautifully designed construction that makes wonderful use of an imaginative theme expressed by some highly creative artwork in the grid. Hats off to Matt for reminding us that there is no such thing as a standard, normal, or usual meta design – always something new!

[Bobj]

I initially read "Keep Current" as the rivers would hold / keep the answers within them. And when I started the grid to find YUKON held "ASI" and MIAMI held "ANT" I thought I was on to something: ASIAN T....... Went to the lower corners and found rivers holding "ENE ENY." Where the heck is "ASIAN TENEENY"? Tried googling it, and even anagrammed with some missing letters in case I had an incorrect grid entry.

Finally decided I was on the wrong path and finished the grid to find the other rivers and the meta.

[Dickie_Dunn]

I think "Falls" because the letters have fallen. Though, to be honest, I submitted without ever noticing that the last letters of the river names were below the ends. I just kept track of the missing letters in my head and never considered that Niagara River was an option. I suppose the popularity of the place helped me "fall" into the right answer.

100% missed the falling letters - but I thought the letters fell off the grid completely so it was a justified answer as the letters that fell off (but actually remained in plain sight) spelled something that made sense. Once it was clear that the last letters weren't there for a couple of the rivers, I solved the others with that as the rule! Hope it does not decrease my chances on winning the mug!

[woozy]

I submitted Niagara Falls, but why this instead of, say, Niagara River? It still fits the theme since the Niagara River flows into what becomes Niagara Falls. Since we're told that the answer is supposed to be "a place,"I'm guessing that Niagara Falls is the better choice. I don't really think of a river as a place, but I suppose it could be.

Because Niagra "falls" into the next line.

[woozy]

Am I missing something, or why was the length of each river listed in the clues?

Don't know either. Just a way to recognize the themer. It was a bit of a distraction. Can't say a "rabbit hole" as I couldn't find anything to do with it but I figured it might have some mechanism but couldn't find it.

Anyone notice the length for the 63A was incorrect?

[Red Inker]

I didn't realize that the missing letters had "fallen" to the row below... But I figured "falls" was an apt description for having missing letters.

Besides, once you see "NIAGARA" so obviously part of the solution, knowing you're missing 5 more letters, it simply has to be "FALLS".

[Aaron]

I pondered a different answer for a while, enough to give me pause. I found Niagara, then asked if the "Keep Current" title alluded to a power station that would keep the current running. Google led me to "Niagara Parks," where one can tour an old power station at Niagara Falls. But since it's no longer operating to keep any current going, I went with "Falls" instead.