MGWCC #730 - “Just Putting It Out There”

[BarbaraK]

First time I have ever gotten an (educated) wild guess correct. I would surmise that is also how e.a. got it right just as the puzzle went live. Got to step one without too much trouble, but got stymied after that. So out of frustration I sent in my guess and it was right. Not that it matters that much, my streak is now at one.

I also had a guess that I was tempted to submit, just to be done with it since I was getting nowhere. But decided to ask for a nudge instead. Turned out my guess was correct - unconfirmed but quite confident.

[ForsytheJ]

I've been trying this puzzle all weekend & don't even have a step 1. I need a strong nudge I think.

[Jeremy Smith]

Because it's late on a holiday, I don't want to burden any of my usual collaborators. If anyone is still available and willing, I'd appreciate a nudge.

[Karawitan]

Thank you for the nudges, everyone! I’m beamed up now.

[Cinny]

Busy weekend and all of a sudden it was Monday! But I was finally able to solve it thanks to some nudges. So, streak is safe for one more week.

[rjy]

Phew! Beamed up… needed a nudge for Part 1, but got the AHA with a very satisfying solo solve for Part 2. Clever construction with a destination worth the journey

[NoFeetMcGee]

EDIT: Got it now thanks to a nice nudge. Should've just submitted my first guess as it turned out to be right!

The eleventh hour quickly approacheth, and I too am stuck after step 1 (+1/2?). Maybe one of the very generous muggles here could give me the nudge as well. (I can tell you what I have so far)

[patpatchica]

I would never have gotten this one without the very gracious nudges I received. I did have my Hail Mary answer ready after completing the grid Friday - just in case. Turns out, that was it! I’m in awe of the construction and complexity. Just wow.

[ship4u]

Forget about being "beamed up." I'm going to need a major muggle full scale airlift.

Thanks to a couple of muggles, so far, I think that I have step 1 and step 2, but I still can't make heads or tails out of what I am looking at!

EDIT: Thanks to a team effort of muggles sending in emergency helicoptors, I am finally on board by the skin of my teeth! Thanks to everyone for taking pity on me....

[mindle]

Beamed up...thanks to fellow muggles for the nudges! I thought this one was tough, but a lot of fun.

[Joe Ross]

REMINDER:

Due to the late post, the deadline for solving MGWCC #730 is 4:00 PM ET today, May 31st.

[HunterX]

After a hefty nudge, make that full throttled shove, from @HoldThatThought, I have given the request to engage the transporter. Waiting to materialize on board.

That reminds me of the quote from the Star Trek episode called "A Piece of the Action," when the gangsters see the crew materializing and say, "Don't worry, they can't start moving until the stop sparklin'."

[MikeM000]

There's putting up a hail mary, and there's "scrolling through athlete stats on Yahoo Sports and counting letters" putting up a hail mary....

[Bird Lives]

I am beamed up — like Han Solo drinking from a Solo cup – but not beaming. When I got the answer, I didn’t feel as elated as I thought I would be, possibly because . . .

1. My pre-fill guess turns out to have been right. I could have just gone with it and not bothered with the rest. Oh the things I could have done with those hours.
2. I was looking for something much more complex and wound up creating rabbit holes trying to pin down loose ends (how’s that for a mixed metaphor?)
3. There’s red herring, unintended I’m sure. I spent a lot of time snorkeling after that one too.
4. The construction may have elements of elegance that I have failed to notice.

[SusieG]

Thanks to the many people who nudged, pushed and dragged me along. I almost didn’t feel right about submitting - Matt needs to add a button for “Hell no” under “Solo Solve?”

Not yet beamed up, but it seems 100%, unless there is yet another step I missed.

[Bird Lives]

The athlete (I would have said "sports figure") is Arnold Palmer.
.

.
1. The first word of each theme entry consists of the last letters of the person’s first name and the first letters of his last name. The second word is the person’s profession.

2. In the clues, six consist of only two words. The initial letters of each of those are also the initials of one of the six people.

3. The initial letters of the entries for those clues are, in their order in the clues but not in the grid. O L D P AL. These fit the pattern of the six long entries. The entry would be something like OLD PAL ATHLETE. The full name:
arn OLD PAL mer

4. In case you needed confirmation, the title includes the golfing term “putting.”

[BarbaraK]

...
3. There’s red herring, unintended I’m sure. I spent a lot of time snorkeling after that one too.
...

That one of the theme clues included "crossword constructor" and the clue for 2-down had (Evan) Birnholz? Because how could that possibly be a coincidence? It must be part of the meta! Or not.

[HunterX]

I also pursued the golf-themed clues, which jump out at you right with 1A: It may be "breaking," given reading the break of a green/position is one of the primary things you do when putting. (Plus 63A "Sink," 61A "Swinging," 81A "Shoot," etc.)

[Bird Lives]

...
3. There’s red herring, unintended I’m sure. I spent a lot of time snorkeling after that one too.
...

That one of the theme clues included "crossword constructor" and the clue for 2-down had (Evan) Birnholz? Because how could that possibly be a coincidence? It must be part of the meta! Or not.

The prompt said the answer had 12 letters. There were only six two-letter clues, yielding six letters towards the answer. Where would the other six letters come from? I looked at the clues again. There were six one-word clues. Aha. Six letters, six clues. That can't be a coincidence. So what if the letters spell gibberish. If I keep staring at them long enough, trying combinations with the names or the two-letter-clue entries, surely something will appear, right?

[ajk]

The initial letters of each of those are also the initials of one of the six people.

3. The initial letters of the entries for those clues are, in their order in the clues but not in the grid. O L D P AL.

I knew there had to be a way to force the right order, because Matt doesn't leave stuff like that to anagrams, but I never saw the initials bit.