XWord Muggles Forum

A place to discuss the WSJ Weekly Crossword Contest and other "meta"-style crosswords
https://www.xword-muggles.com/

"Encrypted" by benchen71

https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?t=1226

Page 1 of 1

"Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 1:00 am
by benchen71
Welcome to...

benchen71's Metas on a Tuesday (MOAT)

Can you storm the castle by getting across the MOAT? I'm really leaning into my Australian heritage now. International solvers, feel free to consult Google whenever you want to; Aussie solvers, feel free to do the same with all the Americanisms that inevitably creep in! I also trust this meta crossword isn't considered in poor taste during this time of pandemic. All the best, as you seek the answer to the meta which is a four letter word.

PM me with your submissions or submit on Crosshare. Either way, I'll compile a list of those who successfully solve the meta.

Encrypted - Online Form

Encrypted - PUZ

Encrypted - PDF

Encrypted - Excel

Nudges are here.

The solution is here.

havefun.gif

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:30 am
by whimsy
"Barbarians Rule!"
Capturesandcastle.JPG

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 12:08 am
by Darth
He said, "Looked like trouble, but just made light work of it!" :shock:

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 4:41 pm
by boharr
Need help but eventually crossed that moat. Clever puzzle.

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:12 am
by lbray53
Just waiting for the Saturday nudges. What time is it in Australia anyway? Is it even Saturday yet?

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 5:34 pm
by benchen71
Saturday morning, and here are the nudges, in order of increasing blatancy:

1. The central clue, in combination with a punny interpretation of the puzzle title suggests something.

2. Concentrate your search on four entries: the two longest across entries, and the two longest down entries.

3. Do you really need another nudge?

4. Seriously, only click on the next nudge if you are at your absolute wits end!

5. DEAD HEART suggests looking for something in the heart of DEAD

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 6:27 pm
by ChrisKochmanski
Crossed and stormed!

Came to this one late, and with my brain somewhat fried at the end of the week, I took all of Ben’s spoilers.

Fun!

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 8:05 pm
by Cinny
Crossed the MOAT!

I did use the first 2 nudges - just happy to have solved. I enjoyed this one!!

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 9:17 pm
by Laura M
Needed all of the hints to get there... I thought I had come up with all possible ways to look at this, but there was one more :-)

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 1:27 am
by woozy
benchen71 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 5:34 pm Saturday morning, and here are the nudges, in order of increasing blatancy:


2. Concentrate your search on the four long entries.

What do you mean four long entries? There are 2 that are ten letters long, 1 that is nine, and four that are 8.

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 1:59 am
by benchen71
woozy wrote: ↑Sat Oct 09, 2021 1:27 am
benchen71 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 5:34 pm Saturday morning, and here are the nudges, in order of increasing blatancy:


2. Concentrate your search on the four long entries.

What do you mean four long entries? There are 2 that are ten letters long, 1 that is nine, and four that are 8.
My bad. I mean the 2 10 letter words, and 2 of the 8 letter down words. I'll edit the nudges...

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 8:00 am
by CPJohnson
Solved, but only with an additional push from Ben. So, I've crossed the moat with water wings.

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 12:06 pm
by woozy
Nope.... with your nudges can't see anything at all.

I think there is a very large disconnect between what a constructor and what a solver would find obvious.

You non-nudges 3 and 4 It is now very obvious to apply the "heart of DEAD" to the four theme answers "Round Table" "Dud Match" "Baked Oat" and "Scaled Back" and at this point it should be completely spelled out. Nudge five is a more explicit statement of Nudge 1 and the implication is it's all spelled out. So somehow the letters EA are supposed yield key letters or point's in the theme answers "Round Table" "Dud Match" "Baked Oat" and "Scaled Back"?

Okay, no one said it had to be easy but the sarcastic non-nudges .... I don't know. I don't think they gibe with objective reality. The first and second nudges may have been valid nudges. But they are far from explicit..

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 2:35 pm
by markhr
Solved and confirmed. The spoilers helped just enough.

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 5:30 pm
by benchen71
Monday morning has come around again, so here is the solution:

Encrypted (solution).png

(WSJ regulars might recognise the mechanic from a Gaffney puzzle involving HOPE diamonds.) This puzzle was more difficult that it should have been. For some reason, I thought I had included a hint in the clue for the central entry, but it turns out I didn't. I have since gone back and added one to the puzzle on Crosshare: "Song Midnight Oil recorded for the handing back ceremony of Uluru to its traditional Aboriginal owners (with "The", and a hint to where you can find the answer to the meta)" I'm putting more and more hints like this in my puzzles, so hopefully that will make things just a touch easier for solvers!

The next MOAT will reference a key moment in Australian sport that played out on the international scene.

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 5:31 pm
by benchen71
The list of successful solvers is as follows:

whimsy
Darth
Meg
boharr
ChrisKochmanski
Cinny
Laura M
Abide
CPJohnson
lbray53
Carolyn
markhr
woozy

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 2:43 pm
by woozy
benchen71 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 5:30 pm
The next MOAT will reference a key moment in Australian sport that played out on the international scene.
Will I get any bonus points for guessing before the puzzle comes out?

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:07 pm
by benchen71
woozy wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 2:43 pm
benchen71 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 5:30 pm
The next MOAT will reference a key moment in Australian sport that played out on the international scene.
Will I get any bonus points for guessing before the puzzle comes out?
Sure! I'm all for bonus points. So what do you think the key moment is?

Re: "Encrypted" by benchen71

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:40 pm
by Dplass
benchen71 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 5:30 pm Monday morning has come around again, so here is the solution:


Encrypted (solution).png


(WSJ regulars might recognise the mechanic from a Gaffney puzzle involving HOPE diamonds.) This puzzle was more difficult that it should have been. For some reason, I thought I had included a hint in the clue for the central entry, but it turns out I didn't. I have since gone back and added one to the puzzle on Crosshare: "Song Midnight Oil recorded for the handing back ceremony of Uluru to its traditional Aboriginal owners (with "The", and a hint to where you can find the answer to the meta)" I'm putting more and more hints like this in my puzzles, so hopefully that will make things just a touch easier for solvers!

The next MOAT will reference a key moment in Australian sport that played out on the international scene.
The differences between the two puzzles was that 1. HOPE was in the same orientation on each instance so HP was visible in every answer. The DEAD letters (heh) switched around orientations.
2. The letters in DEAD feel more common in English to me than HOPE, making them blend in easier.
3. Maybe people didn't even try the HOPE mechanism because it was so recently used?

I totally didn't see the mechanism, but that doesn't mean much. Keep making metas, and thanks for the puzzles.
All times are UTC-04:00
Page 1 of 1

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited