"Oh, Hi Paul!”

[Abide]

More than a few have overthought this one. Here’s a final holiday weekend nudge:

Just write down the two letter words. The song in question follows that pattern.

[KayW]

...or underthought it

with remedial nudge.

[Dow Jones]

Doh !! Nudged off the couch. More difficult than I expected. Good job, Peter.

[auee89]

Solved without nudges. My first entry was a typo on Crosshare. Thanks Peter!

[HeadinHome]

Thursday Night Update
55. HeadinHome-ward bound

[DrTom]

Seems Peter's Puzzle Pleases Plenty! Fun unless you find yourself in the particular eddy that was my rabbit hole. Of course I'll wait until Sunday and until then I'll remain a poor boy with a story often told...nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah nah (oh and in case anyone is wondering that is not the song).

[Abide]

Saturday afternoon update:

56. minimuggle
57. ajk
58. jbird
59. KayW
60. Naptown Kid
61. Dow Jones
62. auee89
63. Gutman

Crosshare Stats for Oh, Hi Paul! (Meta)

Total completions: 231
Completions without helpers: 116
Average time without helpers: 0:10:07
Correct contest submissions: 53
Total contest submissions:58

It's intriguing that 3/4 of solvers on Crosshare don't submit an answer. That seems to be the case on most of my others as well.

[BarbaraK]

It's intriguing that 3/4 of solvers on Crosshare don't submit an answer. That seems to be the case on most of my others as well.

I think there is a large population out there that loves crosswords but has no interest in metas. Glad they find and enjoy your puzzles

[Dplass]

Saturday afternoon update:

56. minimuggle
57. ajk
58. jbird
59. KayW
60. Naptown Kid
61. Dow Jones
62. auee89
63. Gutman

Crosshare Stats for Oh, Hi Paul! (Meta)

Total completions: 231
Completions without helpers: 116
Average time without helpers: 0:10:07
Correct contest submissions: 53
Total contest submissions:58

It's intriguing that 3/4 of solvers on Crosshare don't submit an answer. That seems to be the case on most of my others as well.

Maybe they can't figure out the meta?

[michaelm]

Off the couch under the wire.
Thanks Peter (and Paul)!

[vandono]

Well it took me a while and absolutely all of the nudges but I am off the couch and heading for the pantry while humming a Simon tune. Thanks, Peter!

[JeanneC]

Seems Peter's Puzzle Pleases Plenty! Fun unless you find yourself in the particular eddy that was my rabbit hole. Of course I'll wait until Sunday and until then I'll remain a poor boy with a story often told...nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah nah (oh and in case anyone is wondering that is not the song).

Beggar.jpg

Oh great..(sound of knee being slapped). Now what do I do for an answer!
Kidding, just kidding!!

[ReB]

Put me in the overthinking category, but with the final nudge (prompted by my PM yesterday I suspect), I made it across the finish line after one last stumble. Didn't see that song yesterday - funny the blind spots our minds have.

[Abide]

Final Tally:

64. michaelm
65. Vandono
66. ReB

Reveal will be up in an hour or so.

[Abide]

MMM Reveal

Credit:KayW

Simple and Difficult, especially if you didn’t write out the themers with spacing. Each theme entry had two two-letter words. Those words are also state postal abbreviations. The Paul Simon song that fits this pattern is “You Can Call Me Al”.

Relive the magic here:

Random winner is our beloved @Dplass! Happy Fourth to all the Meta Muggles !

[Dplass]

MMM Reveal

OhHiPaul4.png

Credit:KayW

Simple and Difficult, especially if you didn’t write out the themers with spacing. Each theme entry had two two-letter words. Those words are also state postal abbreviations. The Paul Simon song that fits this pattern is “You Can Call Me Al”.

Random winner is our beloved @Dplass!

Aw, thanks and thanks!

[bhamren]

Saturday afternoon update:
It's intriguing that 3/4 of solvers on Crosshare don't submit an answer. That seems to be the case on most of my others as well.

For me personally I don't have an account and never sign in to Crosshare so I cannot submit an answer there. I do like puzzles that have a Crosshare version because I can click Reveal All and get the crossword done in 3 seconds. For me the puzzle is not the fun part, but the Meta is! I don't have time to do so many crosswords so having the crossword part done for me is a bonus.

[DrTom]

I promised a tale of a wandering trail and so you shall have it:

Paul Simon songs – OK

OSCAR DE LA HOYA – can be nothing but the BOXER
ARE YOU IN OR OUT – Sounds of Silence album, ROVING GAMBLER
MA AND PA KETTLE (probably one of the few who knew this answer immediately) – more difficult “association” ah OK – STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

I rattled around looking at all the lyrics of various Simon and/or Simon and Garfunkel songs to see if there were any that included all these “people” or references but found nothing, then when I wrote these all down the prediction came through – everything DID look worse in black and white. It also was WAY too complex for an Abide puzzle which are usually cleverly disguised but crystal clear – especially since he had emphasized the SAD nature.

I needed the nudges – thankfully only up to the WRITE THEM OUT one – before I did the head slap. Interestingly enough the EXACT picture of Al shown in the reveal popped into my mind.