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 · 2022-06-27T19:54:24.430Z
Because 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 · 2022-06-27T20:40:03.420Z
What 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 · 2022-06-27T21:47:14.034Z
Oh... 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).
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.
Well, 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 · 2022-06-28T20:55:35.413Z
Love it! Took me a second look after the new prompt... then aha.
DIS 🤓4:48 · 2022-06-29T14:32:14.798Z
Nice one!
Cindy Heisler 2s · 2022-06-29T19:38:50.864Z
After many wrong submissions, I finally got it.
Schmeel 3s · 2022-06-29T20:17:32.073Z
Yet 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 · 2022-06-29T20:49:05.028Z
Have 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 · 2022-06-29T23:20:25.167Z
I 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 · 2022-06-30T01:18:43.208Z
Same 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 · 2022-06-30T11:59:18.226Z
Thanks, Peter!
Naptown Kid 7s · 2022-07-02T04:06:11.217Z
Needed 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 · 2022-07-02T07:49:53.044Z
Thanks, Peter, for the nudges. Excellent meta.
michaelm 🤓6:04 · 2022-07-03T03:30:37.394Z
Thanks Peter!
Brilliant concept, to state the obvious…
Abide 2s · 2022-07-03T04:49:56.141Z
Thanks! “State the Obvious” would have been a good title!
ReB 6s · 2022-07-03T13:55:18.177Z
My 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.