Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:35 pm
Count me ashore!
XWord Muggles Forum
A place to discuss the WSJ Weekly Crossword Contest and other "meta"-style crosswords
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"Jewel Case" - August 13, 2021
Page 17 of 23
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:36 pm
On the beach just under the gun....with some very helpful nudges!
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:55 pm
I would respond with a picture of my probable-Angora George, but the MEOW forum is a couple doors down and I don't want to wear out my welcome here.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:00 am
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:00 am
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:02 am
I waited up for the solution…knew I was looking for diamonds, but missed the HOPE clue. I saw it, just didn’t use it. Good luck to those of you who solved!
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:04 am
Spent so much time trying to make something out of HIGHSPEED/LIGHTPEN/JOHNPAUL/OVERHYPED. 
Also tried to find various jewels in a diamond pattern in the grid. Wasn't until I was helpfully refocused on Hope DIAMOND that it finally clicked.
Also tried to find various jewels in a diamond pattern in the grid. Wasn't until I was helpfully refocused on Hope DIAMOND that it finally clicked.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:07 am
The original comment was “You would have to have been high to miss this one!! LOL.” To be honest, that comment went over my head and I didn’t think much of it. Another poster also seemed to miss what fuggedaboudit was going for and commented “that’s harsh.” Fuggedaboudit replied to this poster, “I'm sorry. I should have said "really really high" LOL”.
By doubling down, fuggedaboudit made obvious he was intentionally hinting at the meta answer (i.e., being high = “stoned”). This forum literally has only one rule: do not post answers or hints before the deadline. Oblique references to the meta answer are always removed when they are clearly intentional.
This had nothing do to with the “use of humor,” the “completely uncontroversial subject matter” or the “staid views of the complainer(s) or moderator” (brother, if you only knew…). It simply broke the only rule we have.
Some spoilers are intentional and some are accidental. We try to remove them all to preserve the purest solving experience for everyone. People often question why their post was removed and they sometimes disagree with the decision. If this happens to you, you can always send me a PM, and I will be happy to discuss it. Or you can launch a public diatribe, but then you should really ask yourself who the “uptight” one is.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:11 am
I had HOPE that most of you got this one 
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:13 am
I was fixated, also, on the four 2-word answers and needed a helpful push away from them. But 4 of the 5 letters in the puzzle answer were in those 2-word answers. I am hoping that someone can explain the significance (if any) of the last letter not being a part of a 2 word answer.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:14 am
I found and submitted STONY, but I had only seen the letters as being sandwiched between H and P, and I spent way too much time after submitting trying to figure out what HP (Harry Potter? Hewlett Packard?) had to do with diamonds. It wasn't until the next day that I went back and found the O and E, thus spelling HOPE, which made the click.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:18 am
Congratulations to those who saw the solution. I did not see the mechanism. As always, had fun chasing those wabbits. It’s all good.
Thank you to those who give of their time to provide this forum and the resulting camaraderie.
Thank you to those who give of their time to provide this forum and the resulting camaraderie.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:25 am
When I saw DIAMOND in the middle, I immediately thought of Squeeze Play from Sept 2019. My problem was that I was looking for diamonds that were too big and hadn't realized to look for HOPE. Next I noticed that there were an unusually large number of 'P's in the grid, including in all of the 'theme' answers. After looking some more, I was able to put 2 and 2 together.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:26 am
Here's how it went for me. I hope you find this entertaining; it is NOT meant to be smug or self-congratulatory.
Looks at title: "Jewel Case. Ok, the parts of the meta will probably be encased in rectangles formed by other letters."
Starts completing grid...
Gets to 40A: "Well, that's a huge blinking sign telling me that the shapes will be diamonds instead."
Finishes grid.
"Now, what am I looking for, jewels? Maybe I can find OPAL -- does that count as a jewel? -- or RUBY in a diamond pattern."
Scans grid, strains eyes.
Eventually notices one of the HOPEs: "Or am I looking for different kinds of diamonds? Wait, there's another HOPE. Lemme find three more."
I did all this in the kitchen while making a late lunch (Pacific Time).
During lunch: "Hmm, I can't remember how 40A was clued. It wasn't a baseball diamond, it wasn't playing cards, it wasn't a girl's best friend."
Looks at clue for 40A again: "Oh, good grief. That would have been helpful."
I was a newbie a year ago, but doing lots of puzzles has helped me recognize the tricks. If you're new to this, you can get there!
Looks at title: "Jewel Case. Ok, the parts of the meta will probably be encased in rectangles formed by other letters."
Starts completing grid...
Gets to 40A: "Well, that's a huge blinking sign telling me that the shapes will be diamonds instead."
Finishes grid.
"Now, what am I looking for, jewels? Maybe I can find OPAL -- does that count as a jewel? -- or RUBY in a diamond pattern."
Scans grid, strains eyes.
Eventually notices one of the HOPEs: "Or am I looking for different kinds of diamonds? Wait, there's another HOPE. Lemme find three more."
I did all this in the kitchen while making a late lunch (Pacific Time).
During lunch: "Hmm, I can't remember how 40A was clued. It wasn't a baseball diamond, it wasn't playing cards, it wasn't a girl's best friend."
Looks at clue for 40A again: "Oh, good grief. That would have been helpful."
I was a newbie a year ago, but doing lots of puzzles has helped me recognize the tricks. If you're new to this, you can get there!
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:26 am
For those who print out the pdf, could that have been a huge hint in the answer to the previous days puzzle: an oval of circled letters (TABLES? STABLE?) surrounding pairs of letters.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:27 am
I just saw the H and P and inserted the letters to get to "stony" assuming that a CD was inserted into an HP computer.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:32 am
I had to ask someone how there was a second way to solve this (there were several posts referencing this) where the answer wasn't 100% and was told exactly this.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:36 am
I guessed a 5 letter word before started solving. My word was 3/5=60% correct
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:38 am
Thanks Brian. It probably wouldn't have helped me, but was clearly a reference to the answer. Here's HOPE-ing the poster reconsiders upon reflection and FUGETS about it. Peace out.BrianMac wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:07 am
The original comment was “You would have to have been high to miss this one!! LOL.” To be honest, that comment went over my head and I didn’t think much of it. Another poster also seemed to miss what fuggedaboudit was going for and commented “that’s harsh.” Fuggedaboudit replied to this poster, “I'm sorry. I should have said "really really high" LOL”.
By doubling down, fuggedaboudit made obvious he was intentionally hinting at the meta answer (i.e., being high = “stoned”). This forum literally has only one rule: do not post answers or hints before the deadline. Oblique references to the meta answer are always removed when they are clearly intentional.
This had nothing do to with the “use of humor,” the “completely uncontroversial subject matter” or the “staid views of the complainer(s) or moderator” (brother, if you only knew…). It simply broke the only rule we have.
Some spoilers are intentional and some are accidental. We try to remove them all to preserve the purest solving experience for everyone. People often question why their post was removed and they sometimes disagree with the decision. If this happens to you, you can always send me a PM, and I will be happy to discuss it. Or you can launch a public diatribe, but then you should really ask yourself who the “uptight” one is.
Re: " Jewel Case " August 13, 2021
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:46 am
I’m similarly interested in hearing about this. While I should obviously have noticed the HOPEs, it’s exactly this^ kind of . . . *inconsistency* isn’t the word I’m looking for, but I’m writing this on my way to bed, so it’s the best I can do for now . . . that has me feeling so frustrated with these metas sometimes. (Also, when the answer only loosely fits with the rest of the meta and/or when the answer’s definition conflicts with the way it’s presented/defined via the meta; I’m still a little bitter over “paragon” from earlier this summer.)rosiegirl wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:13 am I was fixated, also, on the four 2-word answers and needed a helpful push away from them. But 4 of the 5 letters in the puzzle answer were in those 2-word answers. I am hoping that someone can explain the significance (if any) of the last letter not being a part of a 2 word answer.