Oh, Hi Paul! (Meta)
◆ · By Abide · Published 9 months ago
Meta Prompt
The meta answer is a Paul Simon song that would make a good fourth theme entry. Puzzle discussion and Wednesday nudges at https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?t=1693
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Leaderboard (updated hourly)
- Abide solved at 14:04 on 6/27/2022
- Hector solved at 15:31 on 6/27/2022
- Meg solved at 17:41 on 6/27/2022
- boharr solved at 18:19 on 6/27/2022
- oldjudge solved at 19:14 on 6/27/2022
- Emma Oxford solved at 19:22 on 6/27/2022
- woozy solved at 19:52 on 6/27/2022
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- Laura M solved at 20:04 on 6/27/2022
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- JM solved at 0:53 on 6/28/2022
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- clev solved at 4:03 on 6/28/2022
- markhr solved at 5:26 on 6/28/2022
- dplass solved at 10:49 on 6/28/2022
- Capn Rick solved at 11:58 on 6/28/2022
- CromsFury solved at 13:05 on 6/28/2022
- LuckyGuest solved at 17:44 on 6/28/2022
- Tyrpmom solved at 19:28 on 6/28/2022
- whimsy solved at 19:59 on 6/28/2022
- Carolyn solved at 20:54 on 6/28/2022
- DIS solved at 14:31 on 6/29/2022
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- Cindy Heisler solved at 19:35 on 6/29/2022
- Alvibu67 solved at 19:53 on 6/29/2022
- Schmeel solved at 20:09 on 6/29/2022
- DebbieC solved at 20:45 on 6/29/2022
- Anita and Steve solved at 22:17 on 6/29/2022
- heidi solved at 22:48 on 6/29/2022
- lbray53 solved at 22:49 on 6/29/2022
- Teamdoubletow solved at 0:28 on 6/30/2022
- Toast solved at 1:14 on 6/30/2022
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- DrTom solved at 5:08 on 6/30/2022
- THC solved at 11:53 on 6/30/2022
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- minimuggle solved at 20:14 on 7/1/2022
- ajk solved at 22:39 on 7/1/2022
- jbird solved at 0:52 on 7/2/2022
- KayW solved at 1:04 on 7/2/2022
- Naptown Kid solved at 3:59 on 7/2/2022
- Dow Jones solved at 7:41 on 7/2/2022
- auee89 solved at 14:41 on 7/2/2022
- Gutman solved at 14:48 on 7/2/2022
- michaelm solved at 3:26 on 7/3/2022
- vandono solved at 3:49 on 7/3/2022
- ReB solved at 13:51 on 7/3/2022
- Qmark solved at 16:01 on 7/5/2022
Comments
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- Hector 6:31 · 9 months agoThanks, Peter!
- Meg 3s · 9 months agoNow I just have to figure out why it’s correct. What a strange way to solve a meta!
- Huh, I see you added that... too fast for it to be a response to my comment. Dunno why I didn't see it. (Also I didn't check the muggle forum until after I solved, and I see it's on there too.)
- Oh huzzah! Is the trick that you're looking for the Paul Simon song with two state abbreviations in the title? "Paul Simon song that fits the theme" might've saved me from a couple rabbit holes.
- Yes, I was working on revising the prompt when you posted. I thought this would be sorta obvious but the super-solvers were having trouble with the backsolve...
- woozy 🤓11:09 · 9 months agoBecause when you have to name a Paul Simon song, always name either "Me and Julio Down in the School Yard" or "You can Call me Al".
- woozy 🤓11:09 · 9 months agoWhat was the first title of the puzzle?Hmmm.... I don't think finding two sets of pairs of letters out of some 14/15 letter strings and looking for a fairly specific but unnatural attribute without any real incentive is as simple to the solver as the constructor thinks it is. I mean, sure, it makes sense once it's pointed out but it's not a natural thing to look for.Maybe if the title were "50 Ways (and other things) to leave your lover"..... (Um, was that the first title?)
- I help edit/test-solve the Pandora's Blocks weekly crossword, and "Will, I know this seems very straightforward to you, but I promise no one else is going to see it" comes up a lot in my emails.
I think the trick in this one is that it's not just pairs of letters, it's specifically two-letter words. Which to be fair is not obvious when you're just looking at the grid, but it did jump out at me when I wrote out the long themers with the correct spacing.- woozy 🤓11:09 · 9 months agoOh... those are words. Yeah, that helps. all the two letter words are states. I tone back my criticism exponentially. Still some other clue or trigger else where (clues or titles hinting at states (very obliquely of course) or something like that).
- Same. Before the title change there was nothing telegraphing state abbreviations. WWGaffneyD?
- They are not just "pairs of letters"; they are two letter words. Putting that constraint on it makes it very hard to find any lengthy "in-the-language" phrases. These may have verged on invisibility, but if you write the themers out with spacing it is more apparent.The first title was Duolingo. My "post-publication test solver" (Hector) felt it was too distracting and I agreed.
- woozy 🤓11:09 · 9 months agoDuolingo??? Now I'm very confused!
- Laura M 🤓7:15 · 9 months agoWould never have gotten it with the original title and prompt, so thanks for the reworking!
- woozy 🤓11:09 · 9 months agoWhat was the original title?
- madhatter5 3s · 9 months agoThanks Al!
- Yeah, I was thinking about giving this to him -- that would have been really meta!
- Ergcat 4s · 9 months agoThanks, Peter!
- whimsy 17:51 · 9 months agoWell, it this wasn't the answer, my next submission was going to be Still Crazy After All These Years! Thanks, Peter! Subtle but effective! :)
- Carolyn 4s · 9 months agoLove it! Took me a second look after the new prompt... then aha.
- DIS 🤓4:48 · 9 months agoNice one!
- Cindy Heisler 2s · 9 months agoAfter many wrong submissions, I finally got it.
- Schmeel 3s · 9 months agoYet again, stumped by the state abbreviations not apparent to me at a glance! I couldn't figure out the first nudge, and I used the second without realizing the state connection. In retrospect it was a good meta if you're from the right country!
- DebbieC 🤓18:19 · 9 months agoHave to be honest; I was stumped until Going Postal spoiler. Embarrassing for a lifelong Paul Simon superfan! I got hung up on The Boxer cuz of Oscar De La Hoya and coiuldn't get the other 2 themers to work . . .
- I was expecting The Boxer rabbit hole. Most of the wrong guesses are Homeward Bound though...
- DebbieC 🤓18:19 · 9 months agoI think the bigger rabbit hole was Paul Simon. This isn't really about him other than one song as the meta answer/4th themer. I kept trying to find a song within the other themers. Ma & Pa Kettle became Mama Pajama etc. from Me & Julio Down By the Schoolhouse. Nice exercise, thanks!
- Toast 🤓57s · 9 months agoSame as Schmeel. I smelled something statey going on, but because "DELA" and [phonetic] Oh Hi are both prefixes of state names, I never quite went to the postal abbreviations, and the whole state name fizzled out. Eventually got there via arbitrary contained postal abbreviations. Nice "Hey, waitaminute ...." (there's something simpler going on that I should'a seen earlier) moment.
- Naptown Kid 7s · 9 months agoNeeded the nudges. Got hung up on the abbreviations that were in other words in the themers but didn’t stand alone. Thanks for constructing.
- Dow Jones 4s · 9 months agoThanks, Peter, for the nudges. Excellent meta.
- michaelm 🤓6:04 · 9 months agoThanks Peter! Brilliant concept, to state the obvious…
- Abide 2s · 9 months agoThanks! “State the Obvious” would have been a good title!
- ReB 6s · 9 months agoMy previous attempt (Let me live in your city) also fits the pattern, though it does repeat IN. Fortunately I persisted to the end of the list. Funny how many songs with two 2-letter words I missed seeing yesterday, included the two alluded to here.
1A
In the saddle (again)
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Across
- 1AIn the saddle (again)
- 9ABit of remorse
- 13AIt may go to blazes
- 14ABassoon's little cousin
- 15A"C'mon, make up your mind"
- 17AAssault, as with water balloons
- 18APuny arms?
- 19AIngvar Kamprad, for one
- 21AWord with chop on a menu
- 22AAng Lee's "Life ___"
- 23AWhere the MLB's Astros have played the last five seasons
- 24AIt's easy as 1-2-3
- 27ARustic film couple with a Universal franchise
- 30ACape ___; ___ Arbor
- 31AThey're brought to a CPA
- 32ATorts and Contracts student
- 33A"Your Majesty"
- 34AGyeongbokgung Palace city
- 35ADoodle on a sheet of music?
- 38AHome of the NCAA's Banana Slugs
- 39AWelterwight champion dubbed "The Golden Boy"
- 43ATrotter's trot
- 44ABeatles song with the lyric "Although I laugh and I act like a clown; Beneath this mask I am wearing a frown"
- 45AChurch section that's not a nave
- 46A"Free Fallin" rocker
Down
- 1DMuseum curator's deg.
- 2DOne cause of inflation?
- 3DSkillet for making thin pancakes
- 4DEntered, as data
- 5DTotal jerk
- 6DPromote big-time
- 7D"Woe ___" (grammar best-seller)
- 8DHamilton
- 9DBess's beau
- 10DLeigh Hunt poem "___ ben Adhem"
- 11DCookie, garden, or yarn, e.g.
- 12DHas an aha moment about
- 16DOf ample proportions
- 19DLiterary drug of forgetfulness
- 20DNYC sports radio station with an apt call sign
- 21DWeb mag that includes Matt Gaffney as a contributing writer
- 23DIncentive for some high-achieving students, in brief
- 24DGratis
- 25DCordon ___ (master chef)
- 26DDon't leave home without it
- 28DLike a martini with less vermouth
- 29DFootwear that's on point?
- 33DGo with the flow
- 34DDandruff shampoo target
- 35DClass with warrior poses
- 36D"I need it yesterday!"
- 37DLong-running CBS crime drama
- 38DBiblical name that sounds like a mother and offspring
- 40DJimmy Eat World genre
- 41D"Are we there ___?"
- 42DSecret or mission ending
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