Oh, Hi Paul! (Meta)
◆ · By Abide · Published almost 3 years 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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Comments
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- Hector 6:31 · almost 3 years agoThanks, Peter!
- Meg 3s · almost 3 years agoNow I just have to figure out why it’s correct. What a strange way to solve a meta!
- Emma Oxford 🤓5:23 · almost 3 years agoOh 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.
- Abide constructor · almost 3 years agoYes, 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...
- Emma Oxford 🤓5:23 · almost 3 years agoHuh, 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.)
- woozy 🤓11:09 · almost 3 years 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 · almost 3 years 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?)
- Emma Oxford 🤓5:23 · almost 3 years agoI 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 · almost 3 years 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).
- dplass 9:19 · almost 3 years agoSame. Before the title change there was nothing telegraphing state abbreviations. WWGaffneyD?
- Abide constructor · almost 3 years agoThey 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 · almost 3 years agoDuolingo??? Now I'm very confused!
- Abide constructor · almost 3 years agoDuo-(pair) Lingo. Next time don't ask--lol
- Laura M 🤓7:15 · almost 3 years agoWould never have gotten it with the original title and prompt, so thanks for the reworking!
- woozy 🤓11:09 · almost 3 years agoWhat was the original title?
- madhatter5 3s · almost 3 years agoThanks Al!
- Abide constructor · almost 3 years agoYeah, I was thinking about giving this to him -- that would have been really meta!
- Mikey G 🤓4:32 · almost 3 years agoIf anyone reading this needs some joy, the low-key zaniness music video for "You Can Call Me Al" is one of my favorites of all time.
- dplass 9:19 · almost 3 years agoI never understood why Chevy Chase was in it...
- Ergcat 4s · almost 3 years agoThanks, Peter!
- dplass 9:19 · almost 3 years agoUS state abbreviations?
- Capn Rick 🤓6:27 · almost 3 years agoNice one, Peter! Thanks.
- whimsy 17:51 · almost 3 years 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 · almost 3 years agoLove it! Took me a second look after the new prompt... then aha.
- DIS 🤓4:48 · almost 3 years agoNice one!
- Cindy Heisler 2s · almost 3 years agoAfter many wrong submissions, I finally got it.
- Schmeel 3s · almost 3 years 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 · almost 3 years 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 . . .
- Abide constructor · almost 3 years agoI was expecting The Boxer rabbit hole. Most of the wrong guesses are Homeward Bound though...
- DebbieC 🤓18:19 · almost 3 years 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 · almost 3 years 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.
- THC 🤓4:28 · almost 3 years agoThanks, Peter!
- Naptown Kid 7s · almost 3 years 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 · almost 3 years agoThanks, Peter, for the nudges. Excellent meta.
- michaelm 🤓6:04 · almost 3 years agoThanks Peter! Brilliant concept, to state the obvious…
- Abide 2s · almost 3 years agoThanks! “State the Obvious” would have been a good title!
- ReB 6s · almost 3 years 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.