Shortest explanation: Shortest explanation: Starting at high noon, the outer perimeter of the grid, like that of a clock, spells out VEGA RATHER SAWYER STAHL WALLACE, all five of whom (and Vega currently!) have been hosts of the popular CBS newsmagazine 60 MINUTES, the meta answer.
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2. Leaderboard:
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This is Week 2 in July, but this may trend toward Week 3 territory.
61. Don't Judge
The answer to the meta is a 20th-century American.
Deadline is Saturday, July 15 at 1 pm ET.
Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful!
Mikey G
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 2:55 pm
by oldjudge
Great puzzle—thanks Mikey!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 3:11 pm
by schmidzy
Tricky and fun, thanks Mikey! (Confirmed on Crosshare)
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 3:15 pm
by markhr
Is it me, or did that play way tougher than advertised?
Really nice aha, though. Good one, Mikey!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 3:20 pm
by MikeyG
markhr wrote: Sat Jul 08, 2023 3:15 pm
Is it me, or did that play way tougher than advertised?
Really nice aha, though. Good one, Mikey!
This definitely is playing harder than advertised, haha. (Bumped it up to Level 3). Gaffney himself also said Week 2s were hard to gauge, and I might have misfired the difficulty on this one! It is worth noting some recent challenging Week 2s from MGWCC (the one whose answer was literally MGWCC, Quiara's X-Men one), but that's just coincidence.
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 4:21 pm
by KayW
This meta has been ruled fun and clever - thanks Mikey!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 5:08 pm
by Meg
A little collaboration and Voila!! Sometimes the thing you notice really is important!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 5:55 pm
by boharr
Got it. Thanks Mikey.
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 6:49 pm
by benchen71
Solved. Very nice!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 6:51 pm
by MikeyG
benchen71 wrote: Sat Jul 08, 2023 6:49 pm
Solved. Very nice!
Need to crack your Cold Open soon! Maybe I need to crack open a cold one to help!
benchen71 wrote: Sat Jul 08, 2023 6:49 pm
Solved. Very nice!
Need to crack your Cold Open soon! Maybe I need to crack open a cold one to help!
I'm sure that will help!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 7:04 pm
by Cinny
Got it.. Thanks, Mikey! Loved the clues!!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2023 8:33 am
by CPJohnson
Got it, with a lot of coaching. Thanks, MikeyG!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2023 12:16 pm
by ChrisKochmanski
Loved it! Great aha! Thanks, Mikey!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2023 3:27 pm
by rjy
Well this one didn’t eat my brain all weekend… and by “didn’t” I of course mean “did”. Needed some rabbit-hole pruning, but finally got it. Loved the challenge, Mikey, and as always, the cluing!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2023 1:31 pm
by MatthewL
Got it, with a little bit of a nudge from a friendly muggle. Nice one, Mikey!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2023 4:49 pm
by woozy
Sigh. I keep hoping if I come back I'll see something, but I keep seeing the same stuff. Anyone willing for a teensy nudge?
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2023 2:36 pm
by whimsy
Well, I'm stumped -- and presumably plummeting in the ratings.
But, no worries here. I always land on my feet!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2023 2:44 pm
by MikeyG
Nudges tomorrow! I know this one's a little harder, but don't judge!
Re: 61. Don't Judge
Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2023 8:00 pm
by MikeyG
Nudge time this Wednesday night!
1.The title doesn't give us too much, but we're told specifically not to judge.
2.Let's take that word literally: let's not JUDGE.
3.With regard to the letters in the word JUDGE, what do you notice about them as they relate to the grid?
4.The letters in JUDGE are...singletons! Note how there is only one of each in the grid.
5.So, if we don't JUDGE, we probably shouldn't utilize those letters.
6.Note the across entries in which each of the letters in JUDGE is located.
7.So, when we drop those letters from those entries...we get five new entries! (For instance, JAM - J = AM).
8.I try to limit it only to once in a while, haha, but now that you have five new words, what do you think we will do?
9.You should now have five entries, and the traditional final step on these should be performed!
10.This process should give you a surname: either the surname or the first and last name together will be accepted!
This meta has been ruled fun and clever - thanks Mikey!
