Grid: 12 minutes; Meta: 4 more
Matt Gaffney’s Wall Street Journal contest crossword, “Tense Situation” — Conrad’s writeup.
This week we’re looking for something you might say when you solve the contest. I spotted tense in the title, and figured that the meta would hinge on verb tenses. I was not wrong. There were six theme entries:
- (LEAVE)MEBE: Plea for peace
- (SPEAK)NOEVIL: Third part of a maxim
- (RISE)EARLY: Choose not to hit snooze
- (FEEL)FAINT:Start to swoon
- (DRAW)THELINE: Finally say “No!”
- (STEAL)HOME: Catch the pitcher napping, maybe
WSJ Contest – 02.23.2025
I noted ETHEL (vaguely clued as One of the Barrymores) while completing the grid, and connected DRAW to DREW. The rest fell quickly:
- MOIRE: Soft Fabric -> FELT/FEEL
- ASCOT: It’s worn around the neck -> STOLE/STEAL
- DOWN: One of the four directions on a joystick -> LEFT/LEAVE
- ETHEL: One of the Barrymores -> DREW/DRAW
- IRIS: Showy flower -> ROSE/RISE
- TIRE: Bicycle wheel part -> SPOKE/SPEAK
The first letters of the mapped entries spell our contest solution MADE IT. This was an approachable and well-constructed meta. All of the theme entries were horizontal, which was a nice touch. Solvers: please share your thoughts.
There is a Drew Valley, Georgia, so I used Napa, which gave me Damn it! As in damn it, what took me so long. I did notice that all my letters were not in order, but I still like my answer. Maybe I deserve half a mug?