#700 - “FACEBOOK Is Now META”

[Barney]

MGWCC #700 — Saturday, October 30th, 2021 — “FACEBOOK Is Now META”

IMPORTANT NOTE: TODAY’S META IS NOT A TENTH MONTH PUZZLE. Tenth Month ended last week; I had planned on doing five puzzles for it but was overtaken by events when, as you may have heard, Facebook renamed its parent company “Meta” earlier this week.

This week’s contest answer, which is eight letters long, is something that’s often useful in solving metas.

NOTE: Due to the delayed post, the deadline for this puzzle is NOON ET on Wednesday, November 3rd.

Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.



-------------PREVIOUS POSTPONING POST-------------

MGWCC #700 — POSTPONED Until Saturday, October 30th at Noon ET

Dear Solver,





The usual palindromic suspect struck with a vengeance this week. First tooth coming in meant little sleep for this guy, so I’ll need to delay Week 5 for a day.

Apologies for the wait, and I’m told the Shenk WSJ meta is lovely, so consider giving that one a shot if you haven’t already.

Until tomorrow,

–Matt

“L-o-v-e-l-y” is a most peculiar way to spell horrid.

[MamaE]

I believe I'm close to the end but missing the final step. Seems like it might be a common path this week. Could I PM someone what I have and get some guidance?

I sent you a PM

[markhr]

Despite some degree of uncertainty, I went ahead and submitted. Turns out I earned my badges after all.
Between this and WSJ there were some interesting challenges.

[MajordomoTom]

Thanks to multiple PMs which showed me that I took this as a week 5 and it wasn't really a week 5 puzzle.

I forced an answer which I justified by the answer itself and ... well, FACEPALM. (which isn't the answer, but is apropos here).

[KayW]

[Eckless]

Finally beamed up - thank you for the assistance, fellow Muggles!

[runart]

Would anyone be interested in trading WSJ help (if anyone still hasn't solved) for a MGWCC nudge? My rabbit holes are a dark, dark place right now.

[ricky]

Could I share what I have for a likely small nudge? I think I see the whole mechanism but the last set of pieces isn't fitting together and I suspect I made a mistake along the way that isn't jumping out at me.

[HeadinHome]

Would anyone be interested in trading WSJ help (if anyone still hasn't solved) for a MGWCC nudge? My rabbit holes are a dark, dark place right now.

I’ll take that deal… pm me if you still want to trade decoder rings.

[MamaE]

Beam me up Scotty!

[ky-mike]

No idea where to start. I still have plenty of solve time, I might just miss out on the Halloween badges for a solve today. Right now, the WSJ seemed much easier to get a foothold on than MGWCC.

[Katiedid]

Just like the Astros, I'm striking out - on both the MGWCC and the WSJ. Arrgh.

[NoFeetMcGee]

OK, I give up. I don't want to miss the badges because I couldn't see only the last 5%. Anyone willing to help me take the last step?

[MikeyG]

OK, I give up. I don't want to miss the badges because I couldn't see only the last 5%. Anyone willing to help me take the last step?

I'm in here as well - I do want those stinkin' badges, and as much as I would love-love-love to manage a Week 5 solve on my own, there's some critical step I'm missing. After about three hours today, I can't quite pull it off.

[ajk]

Got there with some much appreciated kindly and helpful nudges.

[joequavis]

Submitted and awaiting a refresh. 90% certain, just like wsj.

Edit: looks like the 10% won out. Bummer
Edit 2: Found the correct answer... I've been anti-pageanted.

[Teddybear]

Got there with an excellent nudge (and an offer for a nudge that came just before I had a breakthrough and got it).

[Cinny]

Beamed up on Halloween .

[Joe Ross]

[higgysue]

Ugh. I’m close. Anybody out there?