MGWCC #743 — “Butterfly Effect” by Paolo Pasco

[DrTom]

Well I know the answer from WAY too much help. Without saying too much more I'd have to count this as my least favorite puzzle in a LONG time. Yes the concept is amazing and the work to construct it superlative, but the solving became laborious and kinda "gotcha"ing. I'll elaborate after the reveal if anyone really cares.

[jhseeman]

Beamed up.....gotta say it was a cool concept overall, and I don't want to know how long he took to figure out his clues...but Damn..... But I can also understand why some folks "packed it in".

[Bird Lives]

Too tough for me, even with nudges. I pass.

[lbray53]

Beamed aboard but I needed a roadmap and explanations on how to read said map.

[MarkWoychick]

I was beamed up, only because of nudges from the generous @Wendy Walker. No complaints about the grid, the clues, or the solution, but I do have one gripe I will share after the reveal.

[BarbaraK]

I got a nudge to point me toward the transporter pad, but even with that, it was quite a bit of work and some nice ahas along the way.

[Joe Ross]

183. Joe Ross 08/31 - 16:53

Knew the answer 100% in neighborhood of 2 PM ET, took another couplish hours to submit, had to give a recovering-from-illness dog some Joe time, do lupper, check that magnetic North was near the 165° longitude, still, then find the energy to post.

oof

[ky-mike]

Soon to be on the board thanks to muggle helpers.

[TeamDoubleTow]

I missed the deadline but thanks to @MountainManZach I think I got 5/7 of the answer. I was about to put in my guess... but too late. All I can say is WOW!

[Joe Ross]

I missed the deadline but thanks to @MountainManZach I think I got 5/7 of the answer. I was about to put in my guess... but too late. All I can say is WOW!

Try emailing your answer to Matt. The deadline is 3 PM.

[TeamDoubleTow]

Ooooh! Will do!

[BarbaraK]

Looking forward to seeing the graphic reveal for this one. That's going to be quite a project!

[BrennerTJ]

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[MarkWoychick]

Thanks @BrennerTJ for mapping out the solution - very well explained. As a result, I think I almost kinda sorta understand how to get to SMILER

In an earlier post, I said I had no issues with the grid, clues, or solution (all still true), but I do object to having Christopher Cross tunes stuck in my head for several days while working on this puzzle.

[mkmf]

Amazing puzzle! Got the answer at the last minute but with some unresolved discomfort. (Had P from POSTAL [Dealing with mail] for "handles" despite the problem with the tense). Figured FLAPPER had to be it - as a historical term - but totally missed the beautiful connection to the title until reading Joon's write-up at CrosswordFiend. Mailed Matt with the answer at 2:55 pm, since the online form was closed; hope it will be accepted.

Thanks to @Joe Ross for the easy-to-read clues on your spreadsheet.

[benchen71]

My 2 cents. Giving the date (month and year) in the clues made it too open-ended. Simply including the MGWCC number would have been kinder.

[MikeyG]

Thanks @BrennerTJ for mapping out the solution - very well explained. As a result, I think I almost kinda sorta understand how to get to SMILER

In an earlier post, I said I had no issues with the grid, clues, or solution (all still true), but I do object to having Christopher Cross tunes stuck in my head for several days while working on this puzzle.

39F8C3DD-33D1-4433-BAC5-11D367A95A2F.gif

Such an epic episode.

[Joe Ross]

Amazing puzzle! Got the answer at the last minute but with some unresolved discomfort. (Had P from POSTAL [Dealing with mail] for "handles" despite the problem with the tense). Figured FLAPPER had to be it - as a historical term - but totally missed the beautiful connection to the title until reading Joon's write-up at CrosswordFiend. Mailed Matt with the answer at 2:55 pm, since the online form was closed; hope it will be accepted.

Thanks to @Joe Ross for the easy-to-read clues on your spreadsheet.

You shouldbe fine. Still posted on Matt's site:

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is a term used in history.

NOTE: Due to the delayed post, the entry deadline this week is 3 PM ET on Thursday, September 1st.

[MarkWoychick]

My 2 cents. Giving the date (month and year) in the clues made it too open-ended. Simply including the MGWCC number would have been kinder.

That certainly would have been helpful. When I got clued in about the dates, I searched the phrase and added MGWCC - took me right to puzzles, but I never would have got that far without help. Maybe that would have made it too easy?

I wonder if long-time MGWCC solvers remembered any of these clues? That certainly would have helped, but I tend not to remember clues from one puzzle to the next, so maybe there's no advantage. A stunning puzzle in the end...at least I still feel stunned anyway.

[Joe]

Sometimes I ask myself, "If your LITERAL LIFE depended on it, could you have solved this meta by yourself?" This week, the answer is, appropriately, Hell to the no. I would be a dead man.

But, my god, what a feat of engineering this must have been. I didn't even make it through joon's write-up on Fiend.

To be clear, I hugely admire it and none of this should be taken as criticism of the meta. It was just incredibly not-for-me.