MGWCC #757 - “A League of Their Own”

[patpatchica]

Definitely a week 1, very easy meta. But the construction - WOW! Loved this one!

[rjy]

Late to the puzzle this weekend, but a fast and fun solve.

[schmidzy]

Late to the party, but beamed up! I would like to present my case for an alternative meta answer that's a certain town in Massachusetts, as I found the grid to be a bit Naticky... But on the bright side, I got to learn some new words and the meta itself was charming.

[BarbaraK]

Whatever the answer was

I did not get it.

Unbelievable.

Did I say done‽

Are you sure? Matt hasn't updated the leaderboard since 8:39 this morning.

You were correct.

So was I. This puzzle could have been solved simply from the title!

Maybe by you; not me:) I’ve been thinking about the speed solving thing and trying to guess the week 1s without doing the grid. My guess this week would have been wrong. (Though I could imagine getting it quickly after starting the grid.)

[woozy]

Well, sure the puzzle could have been solved by the title alone. Or it could have been solved without the title if you are very luck guesser.

I'm going to start guessing "Penguin" as the answer to every puzzle from no on. I'll probably be wrong most times but the one time it's correct I'll beat the slowpokes in not wasting any time reading the title or the prompt.

.... which is to say I certainly wouldn't have weeded that dozen of sports that are suggested by the title to the one that works. For obvious reasons my first guess, and I imagine most people's first guess, would have been XXXXXXXX.

[HoldThatThought]

Wait...."penguin" is a sport?

[woozy]

Wait...."penguin" is a sport?

No... I'm just going to answer "penguin" every time without reading the prompt. If the prompt is "a sport" then I'll answer "penguin". If the prompt is "A five-letter word used only in Australia" then I'll answer "penguin". If the prompt is "The second track of Joni Mitchell's "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" " then I'm going to answer "penguin".

[HoldThatThought]

Now, hold on one second - you're just trying to confuse me, now, and I shan't stand for it! You said:

I'm going to start guessing "Penguin" as the answer to every puzzle from now on.

And then...

For obvious reasons my first guess, and I imagine most people's first guess, would have been XXXXXXXX.

Therefore, what's hidden behind your spoiler can only be PENGUIN.

Therefore, QED, Penguin is a sport.

The prosecution rests, your honor.

[woozy]

Now, hold on one second - you're just trying to confuse me, now, and I shan't stand for it! You said:

I'm going to start guessing "Penguin" as the answer to every puzzle from now on.

So I haven't start yet.

And then...

For obvious reasons my first guess, and I imagine most people's first guess, would have been XXXXXXXX.

As there are no obvious reasons that anyone else's guess would be penguin then either I didn't guess "penguin" or I am very misguided in my belief of what other people would consider obvious or how reality works.

In either case, whether I believe "penguin" is or is not a sport can not be considered credible evidence as to whether it is.

Therefore, what's hidden behind your spoiler can only be PENGUIN.

Therefore, QED, Penguin is a sport.

The prosecution rests, your honor.

[HoldThatThought]

Au contraire, mon ami!

You wrote "from now on", which any reasonable person would interpret to mean "beyond this very moment". Therefore, any following writings would fairly be considered as having been shared "beyond that, now passed, very moment", and, as per the stated intention of immediate effect, would imply that you (skipping intermediate steps), consider penguin a sport.

[woozy]

But I'm talking about my guess in the past "would have been"; not will be. And in any event I thought we were discussing whether penguin was a sport; not whether I believe it is a sport. (I think we have established I'm not the best judge of reality.) And as I established anything I guess while be unencumbered by any thought process so my guessing "penguin" to anything claiming to be a sport is no indication as to whether I actually believe it to be a sport.

[HunterX]

Having lived in Western PA for a number of years, I can say that there is a segment of the population in that area who equate "Penguin" with "sport."

And apparently, they refer to a group of men who "Steel" things (yes, they spell it that way out there) as playing a sport. Go figure!

Those quirky Yinzers....

It's six o'clock and time for the penguin on top of your television to explode.

[ky-mike]

Nine Pins
Ten pins
Bowling

All acceptable answers as they are all forms of bowling?

[Joe Ross]

The keyword is BOWLING, IMO.

I submitted NINEPINS BOWLING, which was accepted. There are TEN PINS, so I have to think Matt was generous because I included BOWLING.

We'll see, Friday.

[hcbirker]

I almost submitted ten pin bowling.

[HunterX]

I submitted "Ten-Pin Bowling," which was accepted. I almost submitted just BOWLING, which of course should be accepted. But I figured the extra specificity would show I finished the grid, as well as distinguish the answer from, say, "Lawn Bowling" which was clearly not what Matt intended.

I'm a little surprised Nine-Pin Bowling was accepted, given the obvious number and arrangement of "PIN"s on the grid. But hey, it's Matt's gig. He can set the rules any way he wants.

When I went to submit, and saw the ridiculously fast respondents, I assumed they got 1A or maybe 1A and 1D, and just submitted BOWLING.

My family actually had a Rug Bowling set in the house. It was essentially Lawn Bowling but for indoors.

[KayW]

In haste, I submitted TEN PINS and immediately regretted it. But Matt accepted it!

My father and his 3 brothers worked as pin-setters in bowling alleys as teens, back when that was done manually. He's been gone many years now and sadly my memory is getting hazy on the details... but he said one day he wasn't fast enough in getting out of the way and a bowling ball somehow hit his knee. Ouch! This was shortly before he tried to enlist in the Air Force during WWII, and the swelling was enough to prevent him from signing on as a pilot. He ended up enlisting in the Navy instead, at age 17. I guess they weren't as picky.

[Bird Lives]

Having lived in Western PA for a number of years, I can say that there is a segment of the population in that area who equate "Penguin" with "sport."

My father was part-owner of a bowling alley in Western PA (the Murray Beacon Lanes) long before there were Penguins in the area. I remember being amazed at the speed of the pinboys, who would work two lanes, clearing the dead pins, sending the balls back, setting up a new set of pins, etc. IIRC, most of the lanes had duckpins, not tenpins. I think this may have been a regional variation, like candlepins in New England. For a kid my age (young), duckpins was far preferable. The ball was not much bigger than a softball.

[HunterX]

My father and his 3 brothers worked as pin-setters in bowling alleys as teens, back when that was done manually. He's been gone many years now and sadly my memory is getting hazy on the details... but he said one day he wasn't fast enough in getting out of the way and a bowling ball somehow hit his knee. Ouch! This was shortly before he tried to enlist in the Air Force during WWII, and the swelling was enough to prevent him from signing on as a pilot. He ended up enlisting in the Navy instead, at age 17. I guess they weren't as picky.

My dad also worked as a pin-setter at some point. He also mentioned how you had to be fast or risk getting hit. I think he avoided it.

But he enlisted in the Navy during WWII anyway.

[BrennerTJ]

My submission word was just 'BOWLING'.