Peter A. Collins’ Fireball contest, “Meeting Place” — Conrad’s writeup
This month, we are asked, What tourist attraction is hinted at by this puzzle? There were two long vertical entries:
- [Vacation variety]: SIGHTSEEINGTRIP
- [Stop on a 4-Down]: POINTOFINTEREST
FB Contest – 06.14.2023 – Solution
It took me a long time to complete the grid (par for the course for a Fireball crossword). Then I got stuck for days. It’s an interesting meta: no real theme entries that I could find beyond the two long downs, and the clues didn’t matter, either. I asked a friend for a nudge and got one, and… still didn’t see it. I collaborated with another friend, and I got it (with tons of help). It’s a word search meta.
The states UTAH, COLORADO, NEW MEXICO and ARIZONA are joined diagonally in the grid. That makes Four Corners our contest solution. Sadly, I noticed the four connected central squares and tried word searches in the grid, but missed it. In hindsight: NEW MEXICO was my best chance to spot it, as it begins in a corner of the grid. I don’t submit for contest prizes when I get a nudge, and am curious how many people solved this compared to other Fireball metas. Solvers: Please share your thoughts. Did you spot the four states?
Excellent neta! I didn’t see the states but I definitely should have, I feel like I let one get away
What is a neta?
I knew we were looking for some kind of tourist attraction from the hint and the long downs, but for the longest time I couldn’t see anything happening in the grid. “Meeting Place,” hmm… A place where two rivers meet, or two countries’ borders? For a while I thought all those hints might be red herrings of some kind. Then, just when I was about to give up, I spied COLORADO – which made me think of Four Corners – and excitedly realized the other three states were there too. Very fun!
From Peter’s email, 36 people solved this one, which is well below average, but not as low as the 20 in February or 6 last October.