MGWCC #817 — "Keep It Simple"

[Joe Ross]

Awaiting beamage.



194. Joe Ross 01/31 - 11:28

[Al Sisti]

Finally throwing in the towel, killing my 50+ solo solve streak. What used to be a moral dilemma -- do I get help (Discord, Zoom, PMs) just to keep a streak going, or do I fail when I fail -- no longer bothers me, and I'm internally pleased to have gone a year with just me to work things out. Tomorrow is another day.

[BrennerTJ]

Follow the path:

[clonefitz]

Curious about the intended steps to solve this one (which I did not do). I had identified 22 absurdly long clues, but two of them were not part of the solution (10A and 48D), and I missed 34D. I get the part that you start with 1Across and find a crossing answer to one of these clues and so on, but is narrowing down which clues are "themers" something that happens as you step through that process, or was there something I missed that helped to categorize all of these clues before even going down that path? I had the letters for the 22 entries in grid order, believing that one was extra, but did not see anything and knew that anagramming was not the right next step. (BTW I'm really intrigued by this puzzle, very interesting concept).

[BrennerTJ]

I thought the pertinent clues were ones where you could delete some words completely and still be left with a self-sufficient clue.

[ajk]

I thought the pertinent clues were ones where you could delete some words completely and still be left with a self-sufficient clue.

That was my method as well. Once I had 20 of the 21 identified I spotted PATH, guessed the answer, made sure those 20 letters fit the answer, and pulled the trigger. Found the last S post solve. And had no idea about the ordering method until later.

ETA: Glad I didn't pull the trigger on my initial guess THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD (although apparently Joon had the same idea so I'm in good company).

[ky-mike]

But, there was a slight disconnect in the “path”, wasn’t there?

[Conrad]

Did anyone solve this one without anagramming first? I guessed on PATH based on the NW corner, figured out the rest via anagramming, and then returned to the grid. As others have noted: the PATH breaks at the end, unless I'm still missing something

[clonefitz]

I thought the pertinent clues were ones where you could delete some words completely and still be left with a self-sufficient clue.

Ah OK, that makes sense now, especially with the title. Not sure if I would have got the answer even if I had the correct 21 clues. A couple of my rabbit holes: 1 looking at the set of letters where the themers crossed (to me they really wanted to spell something in grid order). 2. Thinking the title meant to ignore the non-simple clues and focus on the ones that were simpler and could have alternate answers in the complicated clues: ie Risk territory could be China from the clue for 1 across, Track star could be horse from the FINISHLINE clue, etc

[TMart]

I somehow identified the 21 overly-wordy clues correctly on the first pass, then solved the 21-letter, 4-word anagram. It helped that PATH stuck out at the top of the grid and the answer is a fairly well-known phrase that fit well grammatically with the prompt.

I tried to find the "simpler" path but couldn't - pretty sure I tried moving from each entry to a crossing word but couldn't get it to work fully at the end.

[Joe Ross]

But, there was a slight disconnect in the “path”, wasn’t there?

Apparently, that wasn't an issue. I agree with you, FWIW.

@MattGaffney on fiend:

Matt Gaffney says:
January 31, 2024 at 12:29 pm
The idea was to mimic the path a solver would take if they *only* got the 21 easy clues. So you start at 1-Across, as most solvers do, and then keep solving through where you have a letter to build on.

The solving logic in that corner is that solvers especially like having the *first* letter of an entry; so here you’d have the T in TEXTS from SLEIGHT, and would favor trying that one over ENDANGERED, where you only have the sixth letter.

[HunterX]

I guessed the answer rather quickly, as others did. But I needed @Joe to show me the "path."

I was going to try for the Wednesday Warrior and Buzzer Beater badges. But then my wife had a problem that required me to take her to the doctor. So I ended up never getting around to submitting. Good thing I broke my streak a few weeks ago when I didn't solve. I'd be upset if I broke it on a week where I did.

[Laura M]

Sigh, already one down in January. I actually identified and wrote down all of the easy, over-specified entries correctly, but didn't at all get how to order them. I may be too used to doing Saturday Stumper-type puzzles (which I'm definitely no genius at, they can take me hours, but I like the sense of accomplishment), because I didn't think much about the grid being a bit harder than normal :-)

[SamKat9]

I thought the pertinent clues were ones where you could delete some words completely and still be left with a self-sufficient clue.

This was my method as well with anagramming.

[KayW]

I did some anagramming/back-solving after seeing PATH OF... in the first several presumed themers. And I never was 100% certain of that final "S". I was waffling between SCONE and SITKA... honestly the clue for SHOWS didn't even strike me as being overly complex. I thought the PATH to follow was that of a "pinball" ricocheting off the black squares. Which fell apart at that dratted C. But I was sure enough of my answer to submit. Good thing Matt doesn't make us "show our work"!

[Streroto]

Spoiler was entirely unintentional!! I'm mortified. Guess I have to read my posts even more carefully. My bad!

[woozy]

My complaint is that I just can't see 34 SHOWS as belonging with the others, especially when there are better candidates (such as 33A and 35A)

Spoiler was entirely unintentional!! I'm mortified. Guess I have to read my posts even more carefully. My bad!

I was joking. Entirely.

[DrTom]

@DrTom I'm with you. I'm on the board but can't see a clear path to the meta.

no spoilers!

I don't really find that to be a spoiler, it is a term used over and over in the forums. I suppose he could have said "road" but I think people would say "hmm, he used road when most would use path, he may be trying to tip us off!" IMHO, it is only a spoiler if you know the answer.

[DrTom]

Wow, when I see all the logic in the messages and in the gorgeous "Tamara Reveal" which shows how it should have been done (and though elegant was a week 4 or 5 in its own right) I am embarrassed as to how I got it. Like Conrad I got PATH in a somewhat disjointed manner and then realized it was all the "Who is buried in Grant's Tomb" clues that were the key because the answers were "simple". Path in hand, and knowledge of what I was convinced was the answer I set off looking for the letters I needed. When I had them all (my results might differ), or enough to verify the rest of my predetermined phrase. I submitted. I am reminded of the phrase, "even a blind pig finds a truffle sometimes". I did, it was lovely on scrambled eggs with some Parma ham and crusty bread.

[woozy]

I had a few different clues in my list and with an anagrammer (no order at all) I got PATIENCE OF THE LAST SLAW but then when I realized RENT began with an R rather than an E I had PATIENCE OF WHAT ALL-STARS