"He's Good" - July 5, 2019

A place to discuss the weekly Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle Contest, starting every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Please do not post any answers or hints before the contest deadline which is midnight Sunday Eastern time.
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Dennis
Posts: 104
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 4:58 pm

#61

Post by Dennis »

As many have noted, wonderful construction! I just drop my jaw and shake my head at the cleverness of the authors! In terms of the meta solutions, I do continue to think, "You either see it or you don't." I also suspect, and know, there are many here who have skills, insight, and IQ's that far exceed mine and who are consistent solvers (my own unverified statistics are probably one solution per month). I have tended to post only when I have successfully solved the grid and the meta, but need to be more "transparent" re: my ship/shore status. Editor Mike's math background deserves the best statistics we can give him, so i will promise to be more up front with the failures.
Scooby
Posts: 86
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2019 2:30 pm

#62

Post by Scooby »

Sigh...of relief. On shore, after 'Marie Kelly' took me on a 14-day cruise.
Bill Harts
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 8:23 am

#63

Post by Bill Harts »

Got it! On shore (and headed for the fireworks!)
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EdStrong
Posts: 155
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 11:37 pm

#64

Post by EdStrong »

Ashore - good one!
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KayW
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Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 12:10 am
Location: Chicago

#65

Post by KayW »

On shore! And yes "he" - Matt Gaffney - is VERY good.

This one was tougher for me than for most others who already posted. I stared at this blankly for a good long while without any ideas whatsoever. But a second coffee break gave my brain the jolt it needed.

Now I can go back to staring at MMMM for a few more hours. Tho I think I need to give my brain some more time to let go of the dead-end rabbit holes I've been burrowing into on that grid.
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Bob cruise director
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Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#66

Post by Bob cruise director »

An early report from sunny York Maine. I got to the puzzle late as we were playing Settlers of Catan (remember that one from either Matt or Marie). Grid came easily but meta is still not there.

So far we have 48 on the shore including our newest muggle "steroto" and a welcome back to muggles who have been missing for a while.

Stay safe everyone and if you do dabble with fireworks, be even safer. Last night two houses in Boston burned as a result of fireworks.

Avatar this week was my grandson a few weeks ago on Long Sands Beach in York
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
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Janet P
Posts: 553
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 6:29 pm

#67

Post by Janet P »

Made it to the shore! Thoroughly enjoyable puzzle.
Good lo all on winning the mug :-)
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Deb F
Posts: 426
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 4:02 pm
Location: Hilton Head Island

#68

Post by Deb F »

On shore--first time in a couple of weeks. Slept on it and, voila, popped right up. Well done!
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billkatz
Posts: 344
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 6:46 pm

#69

Post by billkatz »

On Shore - got distracted yesterday and printed and solved the WSJ while waiting for the MGWCC to arrive.
Tony S
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:14 pm

#70

Post by Tony S »

Made it to shore after several weeks at sea. This is a 100%er when you get it; I think the shore will be crowded this week. Hats off to Mr. Gaffney for another intricate masterpiece.
cinemagical
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2019 12:03 pm
Location: NYC

#71

Post by cinemagical »

Hello, folks.

I'm new to the forum but not to the weekly meta.

I'm really digging the community here. Lots of fun!

Happy to report that I figured this one out pretty quick. I think that means I'm "on shore," "drinking a pina colada" or some such? :geek:
~ Adam 8-)
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Bob cruise director
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Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#72

Post by Bob cruise director »

cinemagical wrote: Fri Jul 05, 2019 12:05 pm Hello, folks.

I'm new to the forum but not to the weekly meta.

I'm really digging the community here. Lots of fun!

Happy to report that I figured this one out pretty quick. I think that means I'm "on shore," "drinking a pina colada" or some such? :geek:
Welcome to the group. Under Come Aboard there are a few topics that might help. The first one is Welcome Aboard where you can find out some background on each of us. The second FAQ-Community tells the background on our ship/shore and other in comments. Also included under Community are some experiences in solving metas in general and the trends of Matt Gaffney and Mike Shenk.

Good luck and welcome to the group
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
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Kris Zacharias
Posts: 232
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 2:05 pm
Location: Reading, PA

#73

Post by Kris Zacharias »

On shore wearing sunglasses after two weeks of darkness, having been unable even to get out of the cabin to visit Isaac.
balshetzer
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 9:56 am

#74

Post by balshetzer »

Got it! Managed to do it all while the little one is napping.
narniabug
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2019 8:03 am

#75

Post by narniabug »

New subscriber to WSJ. [Long-time NYT crossword aficionado.] Today's is my first time getting to shore with the WSJ Puzzle Context. At least I hope I'm ashore. Could be at the wrong shore...
Geoduck
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:40 pm
Location: Somewhere Nawth of Bangaw, or on The Other Cape

#76

Post by Geoduck »

Woot! I think I finally got one! This is only my third of these puzzles. I was getting a bit discouraged after the first two.

I believe I'm supposed to say I'm "on shore? Scary thing for a subtidal mollusk like me.
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Jim and Anita
Posts: 241
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 2:56 pm
Location: State College, PA

#77

Post by Jim and Anita »

We were enjoying the fireworks with Isaac last night so we didn’t get started on the puzzle until this morning. As the sun came up, we were happy to see the light. The sunrise is beautiful from the beach. We are amazed as always at the tight construction of this puzzle which is so well done and hidden in a perfectly ordinary looking crossword. Kudos to Matt!
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STL-D
Posts: 105
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2019 8:04 pm
Location: Chesterfield, MO

#78

Post by STL-D »

A lovely puzzle. Which is what I say when I get the meta, not so much if I don't. Always good to get a Gaffney challenge!
Guy
Posts: 183
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 3:26 pm
Location: Gaia BH1

#79

Post by Guy »

grid done, now to see if I can make it to this mythical (at least it has been for many weeks for me) shore ya'll speak of...
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Bob cruise director
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Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#80

Post by Bob cruise director »

Geoduck wrote: Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:06 pm Woot! I think I finally got one! This is only my third of these puzzles. I was getting a bit discouraged after the first two.

I believe I'm supposed to say I'm "on shore? Scary thing for a subtidal mollusk like me.
Geoduck
Welcome to the shore. For the background of the ship and shore look under Come Aboard/FAQ-community. There are also a lot of tips for solving these metas.

Congratulations on your first solve and good luck winning the mug
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
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