MGWCC #730 - “Just Putting It Out There”

An excellent puzzle written by one of the innovators of the meta crossword format. It comes out every Friday at noon and increases in difficulty throughout the month. Available for modest subscription (worth every cent) here: www.xwordcontest.com
Locked
User avatar
Abide
Moderator
Posts: 1307
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:16 pm
Location: Biloxi
Contact:
Contact Abide

#21

Post by Abide »

Very satisfying solo solve. Fresh eyes this morning helped a lot.
The site is just a web page, a meeting place, a clubhouse - it's the group that's special.
—Brian MacDonald
Top
User avatar
woozy
Posts: 2214
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2020 12:40 am

#22

Post by woozy »

So.... I came up with an athlete with twelve letters in their name... and all the letters appear somewhere in the grid. That's valid enough, right? He can't argue with that, right?
Last edited by woozy on Sat May 28, 2022 4:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
Top
User avatar
Al Sisti
Posts: 2067
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:28 pm
Location: Whitesboro NY

#23

Post by Al Sisti »

Abide wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 11:04 am Very satisfying solo solve. Fresh eyes this morning helped a lot.
Ditto... I had one answer I was trying to force, and then after writing myself 2 pages of recaps of "tries and reason whys," I noticed something and literally dropped my pencil. Two more beautiful minutes and one last AHA, and it's there. I don't see my name on the board yet, but I'm confident.

Edit: On the board, just below Bob (@boharr)
Last edited by Al Sisti on Sat May 28, 2022 5:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Top
User avatar
boharr
Moderator
Posts: 3208
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:57 am
Location: Westchester, NY

#24

Post by boharr »

Beamed up.
Top
MyUNIQUEnickname
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2022 9:01 pm

#25

Post by MyUNIQUEnickname »

Have Step 1, been sitting here for a while. Would appreciate a Step 2 nudge!

I have a 12-letter athlete that is almost certainly wrong, but I COULD justify it in a very convoluted way…
Top
User avatar
Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4547
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#26

Post by Bob cruise director »

MyUNIQUEnickname wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 3:17 pm Have Step 1, been sitting here for a while. Would appreciate a Step 2 nudge!

I have a 12-letter athlete that is almost certainly wrong, but I COULD justify it in a very convoluted way…
@MyUNIQUEnickname I have two well known athletes that might fit the bill but am still struggling to make them fit. I have had no success with coming up with a path to a solution so I am trying to walk backwards.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
Top
User avatar
woozy
Posts: 2214
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2020 12:40 am

#27

Post by woozy »

Actually, in all seriousness, what is this "step 1" everyone is talking about? Is it just completeing the grid? Or identifying that certain entries must be themes (in this case obvious because......)? Because that's all I've been able to do. .... so.... I haven't got step 1, right?
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
Top
User avatar
Joe
Posts: 559
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 12:45 pm
Location: New Hampshire

#28

Post by Joe »

I don’t have a step 1, but I have a Hail Mary guess that I love. Trying to backsolve. Nothing else.
Happy to give nudges. If you notice I've solved, please tell me about avenues you've explored so I can nudge you in the right direction and not off a cliff.
Top
User avatar
Guffman
Posts: 194
Joined: Tue May 18, 2021 10:02 am
Location: Prairie Village, Kansas

#29

Post by Guffman »

Add me to the list of those who got Step 1 almost immediately. After that ... well... four pages of notes, but still waiting for a definitive Step 2.
Top
User avatar
ship4u
Posts: 934
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2021 7:00 am
Location: At Wit's End, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Contact:
Contact ship4u

#30

Post by ship4u »

How does someone who does not watch sports and has a limited solving ability approach a meta such as this one? With a heavy heart.......
Don & Cynthia

We are always happy to get to know other muggles and help in any way! PM's are always welcome. The next best thing to winning a mug is helping a fellow muggle win a mug!
Top
User avatar
MikeyG
Posts: 1397
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:52 pm
Location: Chicago
Contact:
Contact MikeyG

#31

Post by MikeyG »

Abide wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 11:04 am Very satisfying solo solve. Fresh eyes this morning helped a lot.
'Tis meta life. For some reason, I couldn't let this one go and was probably staring at it, on and off, for around 3 hours yesterday. AAARRRGGGHHH why doesn't it work? I was trying everything to no avail. Then, without even trying, I noticed an unexpected glimmer of light, and my jaw dropped. Meta life is strange but beautiful.
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 91. You'll Turn It Around
Top
User avatar
ChrisKochmanski
Posts: 2198
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:51 pm
Location: Saline, Michigan

#32

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Beamed up!

With a couple of nudges.

But even with help, the ahas felt good.

Very cool, Matt!
Top
Laura M
Posts: 1396
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:49 am

#33

Post by Laura M »

WOW that took me a long time but I finally stumbled on the right path. Submitted and confident.
Top
User avatar
Wendy Walker
Posts: 1720
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:44 pm
Location: Unionville, PA

#34

Post by Wendy Walker »

On the leaderboard just after @BrennerTJ! Definitely not a solo solve.
Good luck, fellow Muggles!
Top
User avatar
woozy
Posts: 2214
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2020 12:40 am

#35

Post by woozy »

MikeyG wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 6:10 pm ..Then, without even trying, I noticed an unexpected glimmer of light, and my jaw dropped.....
So I read this and curse and yell "Why can't *I* see these things" and decide "I'm going to glance out the side of my I and get hit with inspiration if it kills mes..." So I stare pretending not to look and... I actually see it..... A few minutes and bit of thinking on some of the hard ones and I have definitely found the theme

.... and then an hour and a half later.... I can't get anything. Surely what I found was steps five to seven and there should only be have of one more to go but.... I'm not seeing it.
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
Top
three
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Sep 27, 2021 9:01 pm

#36

Post by three »

I think I’m with the others who believe step one is just affirming that this is a puzzle and I believe the letters that I have written down in the grid are the correct ones - seeking a gentle first nudge.
Top
User avatar
HeadinHome
Posts: 1090
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:06 am
Location: Charlotte, NC

#37

Post by HeadinHome »

Putting WHAT?? out WHERE??? Completely flummoxed on this one so far. Will sleep on it again. Up for a team zoom solve Sunday evening if anyone is interested (if I still don’t have it).

UPDATE: with some kindly help from the original Wendy, I am safely on the mother ship, but holy cow this was a torture. Fortunately I’m very familiar with the particular sport and this athlete, or it never would have happened. Waiting to see some more explanation of further confirmation, but I have submitted and have been told I do have the correct “guess.”. (I have good explanation for why it fits the bill, but I think I could come up with others, so there must be a piece missing for me.)
Last edited by HeadinHome on Sun May 29, 2022 10:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
The other Wendy. :roll:
Top
User avatar
benchen71
Posts: 2448
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:50 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:
Contact benchen71

#38

Post by benchen71 »

Nudged to the tractor beam. Tough one!
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
Top
oggy
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat May 07, 2022 9:03 pm

#39

Post by oggy »

benchen71 wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 10:07 pm Nudged to the tractor beam. Tough one!
Noob question: what is this tractor beam metaphor?

Congrats, though. I'm right under you on the list. :)
Top
oggy
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat May 07, 2022 9:03 pm

#40

Post by oggy »

woozy wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 4:15 pm Actually, in all seriousness, what is this "step 1" everyone is talking about? Is it just completeing the grid? Or identifying that certain entries must be themes (in this case obvious because......)? Because that's all I've been able to do. .... so.... I haven't got step 1, right?
I would say no.

It’s one of those “you’ll know you have a step when you see it” situations. Which I know isn’t helpful for solving, but I think is the hallmark of a good meta.
Top
Locked

Return to “Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest (MGWCC)”