"Terrible Twos" -- Aug. 4, 2023

[Nationofislam]

First time trying one of these contest puzzles, when/where is the answer and method revealed?

[ky-mike]

First time trying one of these contest puzzles, when/where is the answer and method revealed?

Posted here just after midnight (eastern) or Monday WSJ crossword.

[rjy]

I could have seen Oppenheimer a couple times this weekend, for all the time my brain wrestled this one. Needed Isaac’s Last Call to put this one to bed - and what a lovely group of folks that was! Fun conclusion with the requisite aha, but the mug pursuit will wait a week. Cheers all!

[LadyBird]

I am really, most sincerely, sTUck on the ship. I've shiFTED from one rabbit hole to another without finding anything. Isaac is going off-DUty soon, so I better grab one more drink. I've got another hour plus for my luCK to change. Then I'll loft my hail Mary.

[JeanneC]

Weeks like this are why I bought my own “Muggle Meta Solver” mug.

[Googly]

[Ann]

On the shore, thanks entirely to brilliant child.

[hcbirker]

[Colin]

Aaaahhhh - easy when you know how! Very nice meta! Well done and good luck solvers!
I bided my time with every combo of double letters, repeating letters, you name it!

[escapeartist]

Never even crossed the radar.

Terrible, IMO.

[Lube On]

Why not pima?

[chart]

Why not pima?

Pima isn't a two-letter word?

[Lube On]

Pi and MA are two letter words.

[ricky]

I thought I had something going on with one of these clue / entry connection approaches:

Gehry / CONCERT / VENUE / pier
Gnaw / act the ROD ent / FISHING venue / pier
Opening / employment OPPORTUNITY / kitchen WORK / prep
Abyssinian/ short HAIR Ed / SALON supplies/ dyes
Bama / for SHORT / rogue SELLER / Nissan
Cost / GO for / ROGUE seller / Nissan
Hehim / p RON oun / REAGAN / Sinatra

Or

Sinatra / PRESIDENTIAL / CANDIDATE / Perot
Asps / EGYPTIAN / COTTON / pima
Adam / GARDEN / VARIETY / pima

Not to mention that Sinatra and Gehry are both Franks.

[chart]

Pi and MA are two letter words.

The word has to be part of the answer. PIMA is one four-letter word. If the answer was two two-letter words PI MA (maybe a mother who has 3.14 children?) then PI and MA would be part of the meta. in AND CO, only the CO counts because it is a word of the answer, AN does not.

Does that make sense?

[chart]

SAP(P), (N)YET, LE(M)ANS, CEL(T) cost me a lot of time.

[Dow Jones]

"Couples Therapist" was going to be my "Hail Mary" (yeah, right !!)

[steveb]

Serendipitous cartoon in this week's New Yorker:

[lacangah]

We ran with the following rabbit….

* Another ‘Warren in the Pro Football Hall of Hame’ is Warren MOON
* Another ‘Candidate of 1992 and 1996’ is CLINTON
* Another ‘Garden Exile’ is EVE
* Another ‘Site of an annual endurance race’ is RALLY

Letters which appear twice are O, N, E, and L; “One L” was a novel written by Scott Turow about law students -> LAWYER

Congratulations to those who solved it - have a great week and see you on Thursday!

[woozy]

Fair's fair. The red herrings were intended to distract and that's what they did. The ST at the end of elm ST and at the beginning of STies and the CO in and COst and the PI in PIma were just enough to have wrestling a portmanteau connection. Sure I wondered about the other two letter words and I tried spelling them out but that wasn't as intriguing as the feeling there must be some pattern in repeating letters so I didn't try too heard with words like up or he. Briefly wondered if AMEN RA was two words but didn't pursue it for all the red herrings. Never occurred to me Le Mans was two words.

Had I had time to set and get obsessed I maybe could have pinned it down and I did get it when someone mentioned Le Mans but... I didn't give it the full attention it needed.

Good red herrings. I hate red herrings but... well done.