Grid: 12 minutes; Meta: 4 more
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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?
Good puzzle. Classic mechanism, I’d give this to people who are new to meta puzzles.
The problem for me is that I forgot to email my answer lol.
This was a fun one! I also love the reference of Isaac of Love Boat fame! Even more satisfying is the fact that, I am also a member of the XWord Muggles blog, and if you have not solved the Meta, that means you’re still on the boat with Isaac. If you have solved, the term is ‘Made It” to shore. This made it even more fun for me!! Great work Matt!!
I Made It too. Great meta. Well-constructed and clever.
There were quite a lot of EAs in the theme entries, but that was a dead end. After dropping that, I read the puzzle title again and noticed all theme entries had a verb. Smooth sailing afterwards.
Nice meta.