MGWCC #752 - “Costume Change”

[Joe Ross]

MGWCC #752 — Friday, October 28th, 2022 — “Costume Change"

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is a common 5-letter Halloween costume.

Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.

(No word on possible deadline delay.)


WANT TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY CROSSWORD CONTEST?:
MGWCC is available only to subscribers at my Patreon page.
A subscription costs $3/month.

[MikeyG]

[ky-mike]

Seems like a great opportunity for someone new to grab that first solved award.

[Andrew Bradburn]

Only one wrong guess so far!

[boharr]

Only one wrong guess so far!

Bet I could come up with a slew of them.

[BarbaraK]

Way to go @Toby !!!

As for whoever predicted that this week would be easier since last week was so hard, remind me not to believe your predictions:)

Of course maybe lots of people have solved it but are just waiting until Monday to post to get their Too Spooky achievement.

[ricky]

I have more than one possible answer, which seems like a problem.

[woozy]

Well, if one can't even do the grid.... what's the point.

(Did anyone else have issue that the upper right hand corner simply isn't doable?)

EDIT.... Sorry.... I'm in a real stinkpot mood..... I figured it out. Wish I could delete this grouchy ill-thought post.

EDIT... Especially as it turns out that was a relatively smooth grid. (In the upper right hand corner I had 1A and 6D no idea for 13A 16A and I only had 1 and 3 down but I had them both wrong but was fairly certain I had the only reasonable solution for those . .... That makes for an impossible corner. But once I decide I most have everything wrong and started with a weak but correct guess for 13A and then everything fell into place.)

[benchen71]

Well, if one can't even do the grid.... what's the point.

(Did anyone else have issue that the upper right hand corner simply isn't doable?)

I'm pretty sure I have the grid completed correctly. I've even noticed a couple of things, but nothing that leads to a possible solution.

[DrTom]

I WISH my problem were the grid.....

[ky-mike]

So...... is everyone holding off until Monday to submit? Hopefully I am ready by then.

[boharr]

So...... is everyone holding off until Monday to submit? Hopefully I am ready by then.

Does it have to be by Monday of this year?

[ky-mike]

So...... is everyone holding off until Monday to submit? Hopefully I am ready by then.

Does it have to be by Monday of this year?

Halloween is on Monday. If you want the "solve a puzzle on Halloween" badge, then you need to submit a correct answer on Monday.

[boharr]

So...... is everyone holding off until Monday to submit? Hopefully I am ready by then.

Does it have to be by Monday of this year?

Halloween is on Monday. If you want the "solve a puzzle on Halloween" badge, then you need to submit a correct answer on Monday.

Yes, I understood that. I was commenting on my futility. Or trying to.

[HunterX]

So...... is everyone holding off until Monday to submit? Hopefully I am ready by then.

I swear I got that badge last year. But it’s not unlocked. So I guess I will wait. Might as well.

But at this point, I don’t think “wait” is the appropriate word. It might be something more along the lines of “hurry up if you’re gonna figure this out by Monday.”

[patpatchica]

I usually bomb the Week 4s. I have a solid 33.3% chance of getting it this week! Of course, they are all hail mary answers.

[Toby]

It turns out that while I had a correct answer I did not follow the path Matt intended (which I never would have seen.) I do think I can justify my approach, though it was more than a little inelegant. It was iffy enough that if I had still been protecting a streak, I would have waited for confirmation from another solver. I'll be curious later to see if others did what I did. And, by the way, losing my 100 + streak was tremendously liberating -- now I can happily walk away from a puzzle if it is making me crazy.

[MikeyG]

@patpatchica and @Toby, we have two doggos in a row! It's going to be a good day!!

(Incidentally, I've made both of those dogs' expressions while doing metas.)

[MikeyG]

It turns out that while I had a correct answer I did not follow the path Matt intended (which I never would have seen.) I do think I can justify my approach, though it was more than a little inelegant. It was iffy enough that if I had still been protecting a streak, I would have waited for confirmation from another solver. I'll be curious later to see if others did what I did. And, by the way, losing my 100 + streak was tremendously liberating -- now I can happily walk away from a puzzle if it is making me crazy.

Gold is gold in any case - congratulations!

I'm a test-prep tutor, and that's one thing in a way that I like about multiple-choice: you have a 1-in-5 shot and a hail Mary (or an educated guess) is just as good as intricately planning all of the steps. Curious to hear your logic when all is said and done!

[SJMcK]

Matt’s just posted an alternate title for this puzzle on the Patreon if anyone needs a hint. He’s also allowing any subscribers who’ve answered incorrectly to send a new solution to his email