Don't Judge
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Don't Judge

· By Mikey G

Meta Prompt
[Level 3] The answer to the meta is a 20th-century American.
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Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • Hector solved 2023-07-08T17:39:47.426Z
  • oldjudge solved 2023-07-08T18:53:20.074Z
  • BrennerTJ solved 2023-07-08T19:05:50.590Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2023-07-08T19:11:20.231Z
  • markhr solved 2023-07-08T19:13:56.227Z
  • KayW solved 2023-07-08T20:00:10.868Z
  • Meg solved 2023-07-08T21:04:03.142Z
  • Bob J solved 2023-07-08T21:19:02.855Z
  • boharr solved 2023-07-08T21:54:22.640Z
  • benchen71 solved 2023-07-08T22:46:32.017Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2023-07-08T23:01:07.282Z
  • Laura M solved 2023-07-08T23:39:46.626Z
  • Toast solved 2023-07-09T00:22:08.420Z
  • BarbaraK solved 2023-07-09T00:47:59.082Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2023-07-09T11:32:14.496Z
  • Abide solved 2023-07-09T13:15:02.459Z
  • spotter solved 2023-07-09T14:55:18.427Z
  • FrankieHeck solved 2023-07-09T14:59:41.536Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2023-07-09T16:15:06.439Z
  • Darth solved 2023-07-09T17:47:41.264Z
  • merlinnimue solved 2023-07-09T17:49:07.490Z
  • rjy solved 2023-07-09T19:16:37.611Z
  • Schmeel solved 2023-07-09T19:39:39.249Z
  • Tyrpmom solved 2023-07-10T00:27:32.364Z
  • MatthewL solved 2023-07-10T17:27:06.136Z
  • Berto solved 2023-07-10T19:27:16.591Z
  • DrTom solved 2023-07-11T19:06:02.275Z
  • DIS solved 2023-07-12T17:59:18.914Z
  • Dow Jones solved 2023-07-13T00:33:11.094Z
  • Carolyn solved 2023-07-13T01:30:31.606Z
  • andeux solved 2023-07-13T03:05:07.255Z
  • Gutman solved 2023-07-13T03:14:17.959Z
  • whimsy solved 2023-07-13T03:30:35.036Z
  • HeadinHome solved 2023-07-13T03:52:54.540Z
  • heidi solved 2023-07-13T04:01:42.680Z
  • DJB solved 2023-07-13T12:32:19.060Z
  • ReB solved 2023-07-13T15:08:03.435Z
  • JR solved 2023-07-13T15:08:51.823Z
  • Joe solved 2023-07-13T15:15:44.219Z
  • Matt A solved 2023-07-13T15:20:48.609Z
  • woozy solved 2023-07-13T15:29:18.628Z
  • hoover solved 2023-07-13T15:36:28.236Z
  • JM solved 2023-07-13T16:14:45.873Z
  • JHSeeman solved 2023-07-13T16:27:32.659Z
  • kurtalert solved 2023-07-13T17:07:53.320Z
  • Qmark solved 2023-07-15T10:58:01.175Z
  • Darrell solved 2023-07-15T18:04:20.083Z
  • Tane solved 2023-07-16T03:22:53.549Z

Comments

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  • Mikey G constructor · 2023-07-08T17:23:49.012Z
    Answer: (ROGER) MARIS
    Solution: There is only one instance of each letter in the word JUDGE in the grid. When those are removed from their across entries, five new entries are spelled (AM, NON, MOO, NAW, WAR). Play alternate clues with these to get five other entries (MORN, ANTI, ROAR, ILLPASS, SKIPBO - by coincidence, a lot of these are near their entries). The initial letters spell out the surname MARIS, and (ROGER) MARIS is our meta answer.
    Bonus explanation: ROGER MARIS was the New York Yankee (convenient how YORK comes in the grid - I think that was happenstance) who famously hit 61 home runs in 1961, fitting for meta #61. He held the AL record for years until 2022 when the veritable Aaron Judge (hence the title) broke it with 62. So, if we don't consider Judge, Maris has the most HR in the AL and held that record for...61 years. I literally just found that out too. That's awesome! And nothing against the great Aaron Judge either, of course; my heart breaks for Yankees fans who are playing without him after that incredible catch that sent him to the IL. Note that the NL season-high HR record is tarnished due to PEDs, so my vote goes to Giancarlo Stanton, who hit 59 with the Marlins in 2017.
    • oldjudge 4s · 2023-07-08T18:54:14.803Z
      The obvious answer with a tough path to it
      • KayW 8:35 · 2023-07-08T20:01:48.441Z
        Loved the cluing as always, and a most unusual and fun metanism. Bonus points for making a sportsing meta that required zero sportsing knowledge. Thanks Mikey!
        • benchen71 8s · 2023-07-08T22:49:20.601Z
          I thought this was heading into Frasier territory, but Google got me back on track!
          • Laura M 🤓11:51 · 2023-07-08T23:45:30.440Z
            Enjoyed it, and thanks for the bonus explanation! I totally didn't get how the answer fit with the title (and puzzle number!) when I submitted.
            • BarbaraK 2s · 2023-07-09T00:54:37.887Z
              Fun meta. Found the mechanism and got 5 letters that seemed like a name, but I had no idea who that was.
              • Abide 3s · 2023-07-09T13:18:37.327Z
                Thanks for the bonus explanation. I thought the title referred to the controversy about whether Maris broke Ruth’s record.
                • Mikey G constructor · 2023-07-09T14:57:51.773Z
                  Yeah, I learned about that controversy recently also! I have so much baseball history to learn!!
                • I K Snamhcok 2s · 2023-07-09T16:16:08.314Z
                  Great aha! (After bobbling the ball for some time.) loved it!
                  • Darth 🤓12:40 · 2023-07-09T17:48:24.914Z
                    Cool! :D
                    • merlinnimue 🤓6:24 · 2023-07-09T17:58:43.100Z
                      6 minutes for the puzzle, 90 minutes for the meta... but you said don't judge so imma hold you all to that (i noted the suspicious lone e early on, i just didnt think to hunt for other singletons... oh well)
                      • Tyrpmom 1s · 2023-07-10T00:34:03.135Z
                        I was trying to remove SONIA which made me notice the lone E. Cool meta and interesting backstory.
                        • MatthewL 🤓8:53 · 2023-07-10T17:29:20.490Z
                          Took me a while to get it, and needed a bit of help, but ultimately got there. Nice one!
                          • Berto 4:39 · 2023-07-10T19:28:19.265Z
                            Woohoo!!! I finally solved this! (Not that I know who the answer is, but I’ll blame my ignorance on being a Brit lol)
                            • Mikey G constructor · 2023-07-10T22:35:24.603Z
                              Good work! Without the British game of rounders from the early to early-mid 1800s, baseball would likely not exist! (The origin of baseball is tough to pinpoint exactly, but that likely contributed to a certain extent.)
                            • DrTom 3s · 2023-07-11T19:23:42.009Z
                              Holy Homerun Batman! I needed a slap to realize what I had sensed but not translated to fact. Then the trudge to the answer (there is a Dr. Anam Munawar Assistant Professor, Biotechnology at Quarsi University by the way in case you ever want to use the remaining letters phonetically). Finally it hit me (it was Popular Card Game that did it), "hey these ARE alternate answers". I got so excited I went first with one of my personal heroes MARS (mmmm Twix and Temptations, Snickers and Sheba). Then I realized, "oops, only 4 letters). Then I stole home (though I did not think of the 61), but of course I was a kid when Mantle and Maris were battling. I even had their original Topps cards which, along with my #1's of Spiderman, Fantastic Four, X-men, etc., got decimated by my young nephews - sigh! My hat is off to you for making a grid with only one of each of those letters. I can only imagine how long that took to construct, BRAVO!!!
                              • Mikey G constructor · 2023-07-14T01:34:35.228Z
                                That's amazing that you had the original Topps cards of them, wow! Some all-time classics; they're so iconic, it's hard to even imagine they actually did play the game and rose up the ranks and were not merely lore passed down from generation to generation.
                              • Carolyn 3s · 2023-07-13T01:32:37.088Z
                                Thanks for the much needed nudges!
                                • whimsy 🤓10:10 · 2023-07-13T03:43:03.219Z
                                  Can't believe I never noticed there was only one E (et. al.) in the whole puzzle! Tsk-tsk on me! Great tie-ins with the theme, title and meta answer -- wish I'd given up on those 4 long wannabe "themers" sooner! :-)
                                  Thanks for the puzzle, Mikey!
                                  • Mikey G constructor · 2023-07-14T01:35:16.825Z
                                    It is always a bit of a risk to have "wannabe themers," and I get that! I sometimes like to put themers in as "bonuses," but obviously, if I had, say, 4 15-letter entries in a standard 15-by-15, they're obviously going to be relevant!!
                                  • ReB 5s · 2023-07-13T15:12:53.795Z
                                    Needed the nudges, but even so I had a hard time finding the synonyms for the truncated words. Very well constructed. There was a strong hint as there was only one "E" in the grid, which is very rare, but I didn't make the connection on my own.
                                    Thank you for the back story on your choice of Maris. I'm old enough to remember how momentous that moment was. So sad that was the high point of his career.
                                    • Mikey G constructor · 2023-07-14T01:38:20.994Z
                                      Yeah, the one "E" was probably meant a bit as an in here. My dad was slightly younger then but was huge on baseball trivia now and could probably tell me a lot more tidbits from that era! You always wonder when you see something outstanding (Luis Arraez getting close to .400 this year, for instance) if that will be the high point or the start of something to come. It looks like Maris did become a bit of a factoid, since his career beyond that was merely average and is not in Cooperstown to this day.
                                    • Joe 10:11 · 2023-07-13T15:17:23.150Z
                                      It took one hint. One! I noticed all the I's. And that there was only one E. Shoulda got there, but hey. Thanks for the puz and the hint, Mikey!
                                      • whimsy 🤓10:10 · 2023-07-15T00:57:18.099Z
                                        I noticed all the A's and O's and tried for something to do with Aaron! :-)
                                      • woozy 🤓23:42 · 2023-07-13T15:38:45.914Z
                                        Well. Don't know why but finding those synonyms was hard as hell for me. Went through the grid and every answer one by one looking for synonyms and not finding any. I had to be told explicitly yes, you do have to find synonyms that I finally found three. Had to go through the grid entries by entry two or three more times to get the last two. The name MARIS meant absolutely nothing to me but Crosshare accepted it.
                                        In hindsight I don't know why finding the synonyms should have been so hard but it was.
                                        • Mikey G constructor · 2023-07-14T01:39:21.001Z
                                          The NAW/ILLPASS was admittedly a bit of a stretch. Sometimes, vanilla clues such as "common animal sound" (in lieu of me punning it up there) can be an indicator that alternate clues is in play!
                                          • woozy 🤓23:42 · 2023-07-14T03:27:07.073Z
                                            This is weird. I'm having problem seeing this directly in front of my face even when I know exactly what I am looking for. The WSJC today was that way too. (Of course, I've been accepting it for years when it comes the the spices in the cupboard.)
                                            • whimsy 🤓10:10 · 2023-07-15T01:00:49.563Z
                                              Reminds me of the cartoon of the guy in front of the refrigerator, which is completely filled with containers labeled "Butter." Caption naturally is: "Honey, where's the butter?"
                                              • Mikey G constructor · 2023-07-15T16:08:13.710Z
                                                This is me all the time, hahaha.
                                        • hoover 3s · 2023-07-13T15:36:45.131Z
                                          This would have gone much faster if I had looked at the puzzle number.
                                          • Mikey G constructor · 2023-07-14T01:40:10.440Z
                                            And by no means are all of the first 100 puzzles of mine linked to the number! But, yeah, I couldn't pass up 61 without alluding to the famed record!
                                          • kurtalert 🤓6:16 · 2023-07-13T17:10:28.687Z
                                            Damn! Got rabbit-holed for quite a while with JUDGE and the clue about Elena & Ketanji. Good puzzle.
                                            • whimsy 🤓10:10 · 2023-07-15T00:58:02.747Z
                                              Same!
                                            • Qmark 3s · 2023-07-15T10:59:00.737Z
                                              late to the finish...I keep forgetting about nudge Wednesday...great AHA moment at the end re the title...super job Mikey!
                                              1A
                                              "Look! It's a new Smuckers variety!" "Oh, this is my ___!"
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                                              Across
                                              1. 1A
                                                "Look! It's a new Smuckers variety!" "Oh, this is my ___!"
                                              2. 4A
                                                This Greek letter comes up all the time, and ___ think of other ways to clue it
                                              3. 8A
                                                Setting for James Michener's "The Source": Abbr.
                                              4. 11A
                                                Bear, in Barcelona
                                              5. 12A
                                                It might be proper
                                              6. 13A
                                                Type of ring or swing
                                              7. 15A
                                                Tatami, for one
                                              8. 17A
                                                Way out there
                                              9. 18A
                                                Colleague of Elena and Ketanji
                                              10. 19A
                                                "Well, here goes nothing!"
                                              11. 21A
                                                Be an eager beaver
                                              12. 24A
                                                Certain modifier key
                                              13. 25A
                                                "Yay, team!"
                                              14. 28A
                                                Some French Polynesians
                                              15. 32A
                                                Half a court game
                                              16. 34A
                                                "Have you attended recycling club lately?" "___ there, done that"
                                              17. 35A
                                                Letters often seen in March
                                              18. 36A
                                                One might have people all over him
                                              19. 39A
                                                Stop waffling
                                              20. 40A
                                                She's been portrayed by Stephanie Courtney since 2008
                                              21. 41A
                                                Second word in the name of a US state
                                              22. 43A
                                                Popular card game
                                              23. 46A
                                                Actuarial calculations (see, my major did come in handy)
                                              24. 50A
                                                I wrote a song about a mimicking bird - it's written in a ___ key
                                              25. 51A
                                                "Oh, that is an erroneous description of what transpired?"
                                              26. 54A
                                                [Not my error] [Still not my error] [None of these are my error]
                                              27. 55A
                                                Broadcast
                                              28. 56A
                                                Cuckoo of crosswords
                                              29. 57A
                                                Beta blocker?
                                              30. 58A
                                                Silver finish?
                                              31. 59A
                                                Eagle plus two
                                              Down
                                              1. 1D
                                                Stone of England
                                              2. 2D
                                                Regarding
                                              3. 3D
                                                Time to get up!
                                              4. 4D
                                                Lacking, with "of"
                                              5. 5D
                                                "___-pa, loom-pa, doom-pa-dee-dawesome / Dwight is now gone, which is totally awesome" (where are my "Office" fans, haha)
                                              6. 6D
                                                Dolphins quarterback Tagovailoa
                                              7. 7D
                                                Negative prefix
                                              8. 8D
                                                "True daily double!" (Especially to Holzhauer)
                                              9. 9D
                                                Its shell isn't likely to break
                                              10. 10D
                                                Common animal sound
                                              11. 14D
                                                Like my humor (I'd tell you jokes about the Sahara, but you'd desert me)
                                              12. 16D
                                                Bailed-out insurance co.
                                              13. 20D
                                                Not long.
                                              14. 22D
                                                Some rhyme scheme
                                              15. 23D
                                                Querulous
                                              16. 25D
                                                He loves ewe! ("He Loves Ewe" - song by the Sheeples)
                                              17. 26D
                                                Chicken-king connector
                                              18. 27D
                                                Like some margins (which looks like a man with an avian surname if parsed differently...not meta-related, just me being random)
                                              19. 29D
                                                Wild about
                                              20. 30D
                                                Brief time-out
                                              21. 31D
                                                ACT : 36 :: ___ : 1600
                                              22. 33D
                                                "Don't reckon so, thanks anyway"
                                              23. 37D
                                                Have a bawl
                                              24. 38D
                                                Enter the scene
                                              25. 42D
                                                Little fox (who's great at administering first-aid)
                                              26. 43D
                                                Short text?
                                              27. 44D
                                                Romanized, official name for Ukraine's capital
                                              28. 45D
                                                "I stubbed my toe! Didn't anyone hear me? I said I stubbed my toe!"
                                              29. 47D
                                                "My zipper on this jacket keeps getting stuck!" "Try this one - it's a ___!"
                                              30. 48D
                                                Hawaiian coffee region
                                              31. 49D
                                                When I didn't use the proper swizzle stick to mix cream into my coffee, I made quite the ___
                                              32. 52D
                                                Gasteyer who was Tree on "The Masked Singer"
                                              33. 53D
                                                Orch. section
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