XWord Muggles Forum

The autumn equinox, and hence the end of summer, will happen on Saturday, so this is the final Summer Sunday Substitute. But do not despair. I hear that plans are afoot to keep it afloat. Maybe it would be better to think of today and its puzzle as the first Sunday of 5784. Le shana tova.

Like the first SSS, this one too had to be salvaged by the addition of numbers in parentheses, but these are much easier to interpret. In fact, as the title implies, you should find the puzzle itself as simple as abc. And if not, look for nudges later today.

The answer is the basis of phonics.

Thanks as always to Editor-in-Chief @Abide and to CTO @Joe Ross or whatever their titles are in the new Muggles corporate structure.


Hooked on Phonics crosshare

Hooked on Phonics PUZ

Hooked on Phonics PDF

Hooked on Phonics spreadsheet

Sssolved! Nicely done!

SSSolved! Ooh, that was a good one!!

HHHHM - this is the antithesis of the WSJ meta this week.

Pretty sure I am out of the bag, off the couch and on the beach. Awaiting confirmation

Sssolved! Nice one, Jay!

SSSolved. Fun puzzle. Thanks Jay.

Sssolved. I totally enjoyed it!

Sssolved, very nice, thank you!

SSSolved.

Gneiss!

Thanks, Jay!

SSSolved. Excelente, Sen~or Jay! 8-)

SSSolved. Fun - thanks, Jay!

Whoa! Stumbled upon (did not remember) and managed to solve before the 9AM nudges. I love it when I can pull that off.

Fun puzzle. (But one corner of the grid was pretty hard... had to use the meta answer to finish the grid).

Sssolved! Thanks, Jay!

Here are the nudges, so you can get this one out of the way before kickoff.

As the intro says, the numbers are there to make up for a flaw in the construction, which otherwise would violate one of the meta rules. That rule is . . .The answer must be spelled out in order in the grid or in the clues.

Phonics starts with learning to read out loud. It’s much more helpful than silent reading.

The way Fisher-Price puts it is “See and Say.”

The answer is what you are seeing and saying.

Sssolved - no nudges. Thanks, Jay!

Sssolved. Fast and Fun, Jay ! Thanks.

Fun one, thanks.

Sssolved.
Thanks, Jay!

Sssolved, and no nudges necessary… Perfect length and ease for a Serene Sleepy Sunday afternoon. Thanks for the fun!

Ssolved