"Dirty Pool" - May 27, 2022

[MajordomoTom]

Agree, I'd spent most of these days trying to find 6 winding "pockets" in the various corners of the grid.

[Joe Ross]

But I don't understand. What do the red herrings spell?

I was pretty sure that both those clues would be relevant but I just couldn't suss if we are to look at curved paths there are just too many options an no way to orient oneself that I figured I had to figure it wasn't possible. (Although I saw a BALL at the top and a MIDDLE (as in "eight ball in the middle pocket" ... except it's the side pocket) in the lower right but it was too indistiguishable from random BOGGLEING to pursue seriously.

Exactly, which is why it was a red herring.

Keep the idea in mind for your own meta in the future: It could have been or will be a Week 5ish puzzle, but it must speel something (like LEAVES).

[vandono]

I pretty quickly felt like black squares on the sides would represent pockets and that letters would go there but was looking for a mechanism to determine the letters. For instance, I thought HERRING might be another answer for 48A Reef residents. (And maybe the HATE that 'H' made out of 1A could be an alternate for 26A Outrage.) Going that way, I had SHOVEL and thought that *might* be an alternate answer for 37D One might let off steam - thinking of a steam shovel, but that one wasn't very satisfying at all. And I had REELING for the lower-right pocket and tying it to tie it to 62D Overburdened. But USURER/TUTU was all I could come up with in the upper-right and I didn't see any clues for which either could serve as alternate answers. I had several words for the middle pockets but they didn't fit my attempts to tie them back to clues. And nothing I had looked like it was going to make a 6-letter word.

Eventually I changed REELING to TREELINE (because that 'G' didn't seem like it was leading to anything) and changed HERRING to HERRINGS to finally see the HUSTLE. I was confident in that answer but still felt like I was missing part of the mechanism.

[C=64]

Good evening muggles

Our final count is 18 on the ship and 160 on the shore

18 = 2 * 3^2
160 = 5 * 2^5

I have no idea where I'm going with this.

[JoeS]

Now I don't feel so bad that I didn't get it.

[Gman]

This one was super clever. While it was pretty obvious that 24D was the "BIG CLUE," I struggled to figure out what to do next. Of course, 34A (ASKEW/Angled) and MASSE SHOT (curved words?) were strategically placed red herrings that provided lots of distraction. First, I tried combinations of letters around the black squares in the corners and sides (pocket locations on a pool table)--but I did not think to fill in the black squares to make new words. When the pool table word search didn't work for me, I searched for synonyms and anagrams of POOL, DIRTY and POCKETS. I then went after the bunny trail of long diagonal stretches of the same letters (based on 34A). I tried word substitutions of the ambiguous clues (TIRADE for one might let off steam, e.g.). I even looked at homonyms of EIGHT (ATE, ADE, etc.) for the 8 BALL. Several hours later, I asked for a nudge, and of course I needed to go right back to where I started. I am amazed at how MS, MG and PB come up with these contests each week and how some weeks I can be on page 1, and others I am totally LAS even when the answer is relatively straightforward.

[Mister Squawk]

Never got anywhere near solving this one. Fixated on different types of "pockets":

I did, however, submit HUSTLE as a guess, since it was the only six-letter, billiards-related word I could think of...

If I win the mug I'll donate it to charity. Not.

[Joe Ross]

Good evening muggles

Our final count is 18 on the ship and 160 on the shore

18 = 2 * 3^2
160 = 5 * 2^5

I have no idea where I'm going with this.

C=64 = 1 mug * 2^6

Congratulations, in advance!

[KayW]

I also fell into the MASSE SHOT trap for a while. I thought the two middle black grid patterns could look like cue sticks - with helpful arrows at the end - about to glance a cue ball. But I couldn't track any words in patterns going from the "cue balls" to any of the pockets. I abandoned that and HUSTLEd over to the pockets.

And I hope there will be a video replay of @DBMiller masse shot.

[Bob cruise director]

Good evening muggles

Our final count is 18 on the ship and 160 on the shore

18 = 2 * 3^2
160 = 5 * 2^5

I have no idea where I'm going with this.

@C=64 Next week it will be prime numbers to give you a challenge

[Colin]

Nice meta! I thought the clue for 25D was suspect because 4 pockets are actually in the corners, not the sides. There are, however, six sights (those target dots on the side rails) on each long side and three more on each short side. So although I spotted the six black squares in pocket positions, I had stupidly put my brain in handcuffs and thrown away the key at the start, forcing myself to sniff out some pretty weird herrings all weekend. Hopefully, I’ll find the key and release my normally curious and open-minded brain by next weekend…

[Wendy Walker]

@KayW, I got a still but not a video!

[LadyBird]

@Joe Ross wasn't kidding when he said 31D was a MASSivE red herring. Exhibit #1 below. All those u-shapes made of the same letters COULDN'T be a coincidence!

And then there were 6 "R's" on the sides, tying in with 24D. Isaac's Last Call finally put me out of my misery.

[Cap'n Rick]

I really enjoy Mike Shenk's grid constructions - particularly his creative use of the black squares. Pure genius!

[MatthewB]

Bottom row: "less" is "more". Cute.

[MaineMarge]

I know nothing about pool except the location of the 6 pockets, and the goal of trying to put the right ball (letter) into the right pocket. I saw this right away.
I had to look up masse shot, and figured it was just more confirmation we were playing in a pool hall, not a swimming pool.
My 100% surety came from seeing these were the ONLY letters that would work both across and down.
Knowing about the Paul Newman pool movie “The Hustler” sealed the deal.

[Limerick Savant]

Behind the Eight Ball
Or Jumping the Pool Shark

Does a usurer hate using muscle?
Wear a tutu, pert sash, or a bustle?
Shovel at the tree line?
More or less it’s all fine
But red herrings abound in this hustle?

Yes, I solved the meta but only after feeling like I had played a few racks with Fast Eddie Felson. Strangely it was a pretty straight shot to the solution despite the massé reference.

Enjoy your holiday but please remember the fallen.

[drbockel2]

My hunch paid off. I woke up with the pool pockets in my brain and then less and More told me I was on the right path. We found SLEUTH to be an anagram of HUSTLE, but I informed the Mrs. that a hustler is a dirty pool player and that our work was done.

[sf592000]

I unfortunately submitted SLEUTH after correctly identifying the mechanism. I assumed MASSESHOT implied to carom around the POCKETS. I should have taken a little more time as the answer didn’t seem to jive with the theme and I wasn’t 100%. On to next week!

[Flying_Burrito]

I also fell into the MASSE SHOT trap for a while. I thought the two middle black grid patterns could look like cue sticks - with helpful arrows at the end - about to glance a cue ball. But I couldn't track any words in patterns going from the "cue balls" to any of the pockets. I abandoned that and HUSTLEd over to the pockets.

DirtyPool.png

And I hope there will be a video replay of @DBMiller masse shot.

Hustle was my first guess off the start when I read the clue. Hate and Herring jumped right away when I started filling the grid so I felt like Usain Bolt in a 200 meter qualifying heat after that. I wanted so badly for diagonals/horizontals to start from the K of Pockets answer to curve into the actual grids' pockets. Maybe another time. I will wait for my humble pie next week with MG's meta.