XWord Muggles Forum

Same, I felt so over-confident with my initial path, I'm having trouble shaking it -- this happens all too often, wish I could just laser away those neural pathways like in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...

This was NOT easy!! I went down the right rabbit hole and still didn’t see it. Stay with it.

Yeah, I started down a path and hit something that I feel must be evidence that I'm on the right track or an intentional distraction. Coming up empty finding anything else that fits, though.

Hey, maybe when the submission deadline has passed, Peter G W can withhold the answer for just a little while, and give just a little hint to all of us still at sea. (Hint, hint, hint!) I find that it's still fun to solve with a hint, even if not as fun as getting the answer all by my lonesome.

Also FWIW, yes, I too can become frustrated with a PGWCC puzzle -- like this one! -- but I always appreciate Peter's willingness to push the boundaries. After all (as I believe I've already posted here), IT'S ONLY A PUZZLE!

You go, PGW!

Fairly new to the PGWCC and have struggled to get on the same wavelength, but I feel good about this one. KAS 3.5.

Maybe it was just me, but I found a lot of rabbit holes in this one, which made it tougher.

I have a feeling that some of you who are stuck on this puzzle may be stuck in the same place that I was. I was on the right track, but didn't realize it until I got a little nudge from a solver. If anyone wants a little nudge from me, hit me up (as the kids would say). (I figure it's OK to offer a hint since this is not a contest puzzle, but if it's not OK I will delete this.)

So I was about to PM Tina (thanks for the offer!) when I finally buckled down and did the work. It sort of followed the mechanism I expected, but I was predicting a different answer. More later.

Meg I think our experiences (“oh it’s right there!”) were similar. And Tina I can see where you were stuck - I stopped there for a bit, too.

My advice - anyone who can get this without Google is as smart as Peter (and Peter is really smart!).

Happy to give wee nudges over the weekend as well.

I started this - couldn't complete the grid even with Google. I may suck at Meta but I am very good at completing grids (Rarely need to chest w/ Google) so when I can't complete a grid even with Google that says more about the Constructor and what they are REALLY trying to accomplish than anything else.

I did puzzle out the 6 theme clues and despite having an above average knowledge of foreign film - I have no clue. There is definitely a film that works with a number of clues in the grid but I don't know how you get there with the theme clues - so its probably wrong.

Once again PGW is too cute by a mile. I may look at this again later this weekend if I get bored but I've definitely come to a conclusion about these puzzles.

Well I submitted my answer - according to Peter it was wrong. Meh I think I'm done with these. They are not puzzles but mindf*cks.

FINALLY got it. Though I needed outside help with a bit of it, so I’ve asked to not be eligible for a prize. (If there is one for PGWCC. I can’t remember.)

Hmm ... I can see why some are frustrated with this puzzle. As it turns out, I was in the right rabbit hole early on. The click should probably have come sooner. The puzzle plays fair, I believe, but ... well, I shouldn’t say more, because folks are still solving. If you’re struggling, you’ll have to use your judgment as to how long to stay with it. I finally had to ask someone, “What am I not quite doing right here?”

LesY wrote: ↑Fri Apr 17, 2020 7:45 am My advice - anyone who can get this without Google is as smart as Peter (and Peter is really smart!).

I'm not that smart. The notion that someone could solve, or construct, this meta without google is ludicrous. (The grid, on the other hand, strikes me as at worst Friday NYT level - though of course I clued it, so I knew most of the cultural references. But even if that stuff isn't in your wheelhouse, I don't think it's anywhere near as hard as a Fireball or a Saturday Stumper or a Tim Croce Club 72.)

Agree, Saturday Stumper is hard hard hard. But I go into it knowing this (as I know that your puzzles, Peter, will always be at least hard, if not hard hard), so I’m always prepared to be pushed — and sometimes frustrated.

But, hey, even Ted Williams at his best made outs in half of his at-bats. It’s OK by me to sometimes not get the tougher puzzles.

ChrisKochmanski wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:06 pm I always appreciate Peter's willingness to push the boundaries.

Not all of us are as equanimous and phlegmatic as Chris. Consider #55 "That Sounds Different", according to PGW the method was to observe that "the change in sound happens in exactly one letter" and pick that letter. I thought of that, however according to Merriam-Webster and The American Heritage Dictionaries, the pronunciation changes in two of the letters for HERB (both H and E) and in two letters of RESIGN and RE-SIGN (E and S, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resign RE-SIGN obviously has a long e and RESIGN doesn't). Its more than just making up rules on the fly, he has his own personal dictionary with his own personal spellings, definitions and pronunciations.

FKelly wrote: ↑Fri Apr 17, 2020 6:20 pm

ChrisKochmanski wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:06 pm I always appreciate Peter's willingness to push the boundaries.

Not all of us are as equanimous and phlegmatic as Chris. Consider #55 "That Sounds Different", according to PGW the method was to observe that "the change in sound happens in exactly one letter" and pick that letter. I thought of that, however according to Merriam-Webster and The American Heritage Dictionaries, the pronunciation changes in two of the letters for HERB (both H and E) and in two letters of RESIGN and RE-SIGN (E and S, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resign RE-SIGN obviously has a long e and RESIGN doesn't). Its more than just making up rules on the fly, he has his own personal dictionary with his own personal spellings, definitions and pronunciations.

I will accept it as fair criticism that the "quit" pronunciation of "resign" often has more of a schwa or short-i sound (though when I say it, it comes out a lot like a long e). On the other hand I can't imagine an American* pronunciation of the name Herb that has a different vowel sound than the leafy vegetable meaning - they're all schwas, aren't they? You didn't provide a link, but I checked both M-W and AH and they both give a schwa for the vowel, regardless of how the H is pronounced ... maybe I'm missing something though.

(*An Irishman might say something like Haerb - but then, I imagine such a person would pronounce the aromatic garden thingy the same way...)

pgw wrote: ↑Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:20 pm

LesY wrote: ↑Fri Apr 17, 2020 7:45 am My advice - anyone who can get this without Google is as smart as Peter (and Peter is really smart!).

I'm not that smart. The notion that someone could solve, or construct, this meta without google is ludicrous. (The grid, on the other hand, strikes me as at worst Friday NYT level - though of course I clued it, so I knew most of the cultural references. But even if that stuff isn't in your wheelhouse, I don't think it's anywhere near as hard as a Fireball or a Saturday Stumper or a Tim Croce Club 72.)

My quoted comment could have been clearer - it refers to the meta, not the grid. The grid was quite reasonable and very good IMO.

And the meta was good, too - it’s on me for trying to do it without google for so long.

I think I got this one pretty quickly which is somewhat amazing since you could put my knowledge of foreign films in a flea’s butt and still have room for a watermelon.

pgw wrote: ↑Fri Apr 17, 2020 7:19 pm

FKelly wrote: ↑Fri Apr 17, 2020 6:20 pm

ChrisKochmanski wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:06 pm I always appreciate Peter's willingness to push the boundaries.

Not all of us are as equanimous and phlegmatic as Chris. Consider #55 "That Sounds Different", according to PGW the method was to observe that "the change in sound happens in exactly one letter" and pick that letter. I thought of that, however according to Merriam-Webster and The American Heritage Dictionaries, the pronunciation changes in two of the letters for HERB (both H and E) and in two letters of RESIGN and RE-SIGN (E and S, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resign RE-SIGN obviously has a long e and RESIGN doesn't). Its more than just making up rules on the fly, he has his own personal dictionary with his own personal spellings, definitions and pronunciations.

I will accept it as fair criticism that the "quit" pronunciation of "resign" often has more of a schwa or short-i sound (though when I say it, it comes out a lot like a long e). On the other hand I can't imagine an American* pronunciation of the name Herb that has a different vowel sound than the leafy vegetable meaning - they're all schwas, aren't they? You didn't provide a link, but I checked both M-W and AH and they both give a schwa for the vowel, regardless of how the H is pronounced ... maybe I'm missing something though.

(*An Irishman might say something like Haerb - but then, I imagine such a person would pronounce the aromatic garden thingy the same way...)

At first I had that trouble with HERB/ERB and RESIGN/RE-SIGN. Switched my letter choices and it worked.

Submitted an answer (pretty sure that it is correct). However, I submitted it to MGWCC first in error. Hopefully, Matt will allow me to submit my actual guess for his puzzle (once I get it) without penalty. Too many puzzles to keep track of at one time.

ky-mike wrote: ↑Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:24 pm Submitted an answer (pretty sure that it is correct). However, I submitted it to MGWCC first in error. Hopefully, Matt will allow me to submit my actual guess for his puzzle (once I get it) without penalty. Too many puzzles to keep track of at one time.

Matt's always been good about that kind of stuff....