Matt Gaffney’s Wall Street Journal contest crossword, “Sail On, O Ship of State!” — Conrad’s writeup.
This week we’re looking for a U.S. state. There were five theme entries, each containing a state name after changing the first letter of the state:
WSJ Contest – 03.07.2025
- (U)TAH: O(C)TAHEDRON: [Cut gemstone, sometimes]
- (M)AINE: (G)AINEDACCESS: [Hacked into a computer network, say]
- (I)OWA: (N)OWALKINTHEPARK: [Tougher than you might think]
- (A)LASKA: I(L)LASKAROUND: [“Let me check on that”]
- (K)ANSAS: LE(A)NSASIDE: [Prepares to whisper to someone, say]
The changed letters spell UMIAK, a type of boat used by the Yupik and Inuit. That points to northern areas such as Greenland, Canada, Siberia, and Alaska… which is a U.S. state, but is also the fourth themer.
I found that odd, and wondered if I was missing something. I don’t think I am, so I submitted ALASKA. There’s a weaker case (IMO) for Vermont, based on a retailer I have never heard of. And why not prompt for a type of boat? I’ll withhold judgment until I see the answer. For those that don’t know: I have no idea what the answer is when I write metas up for Crossword Fiend. This is my 240th writeup per my Fiend dashboard, and I have almost always been confident that I am correct when submitting my post. Less so this time, so I hope that I am missing something. Solvers: please share your thoughts.
I’m running out of time for the deadline, so here’s a non-meta relevant song that I love.
I had the exact same experience! Submitted ALASKA, but with a side-eye.
+1
The switched-out letters (CGNLE) anagrams to GLEN C, referring, of course, to Glen Campbell, who had a hit with Wichita Lineman.
The answer is clearly KANSAS.
Matt Gaffney had, I thought, a rule not to use the answer as one of the clues. But we know “I don’t place a red herring.” has happened in the past (Unintentioned, but there it was). It’s become like the Pirate Code. More like guidelines, actually.
In the end, I decided not to submit.
Googling indicates that the umiak is the official state watercraft of Alaska. Based on “Ship of State”, I submitted Alaska too.
I’m not seeing that fact. Can you post a source?
#87:
https://100.jea.org/1887/100-of-100/our-100-lists-of-100-alaska/
Chat GPT says that the Tlingi canoe is the state boat of Alaska and that the two boats are NOT the same. Based on that (plus the other issues), I rejected ALASKA.
Yes! Alaska’s official state boat is the Tlingit Canoe. It was designated as the state boat in 2019 to honor the maritime heritage of Alaska Native peoples, particularly the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures. These canoes were traditionally carved from large trees, such as red cedar, and were used for transportation, trade, and warfare along Alaska’s coastal waters.
No, a Tlingit canoe and an umiak are different types of boats, though both are used by Indigenous peoples of Alaska.
• Tlingit Canoe: These are traditionally made from a single, large red cedar log, hollowed out and steam-bent to create a sleek, seaworthy vessel. They were used by the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples for transportation, trade, hunting, and warfare along the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest.
• Umiak: This is an open boat traditionally used by Inuit, Yup’ik, and other northern Indigenous peoples. Unlike the dugout Tlingit canoe, the umiak is made with a wooden frame covered in animal skins (often seal or walrus hide). Umiaks are larger than kayaks and were primarily used for transportation and whaling in Arctic waters.
So, while both are Indigenous watercraft from Alaska, they come from different cultures, use different materials, and serve slightly different purposes.
Thank you for this great description.
I just checked the pdf version of Monday’s WSJ crossword which indicates the Friday solution to be Alaska, just as Conrad wrote up.
The “ship of state” title connects to the boat. But I rejected Alaska because it is one of the clues and assumed it was a coincidence.
I bet it was just too hard to find a phrase with any other A state in it. I can’t think of a phrase with LABAMA or RIZONA in it, and ARKANSAS includes KANSAS so that’s ruled out. I’m just surprised the prompt wasn’t for a type of boat instead.
Here’s a decent fourth:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizon_Ahead
I feared the answer might be Canada. But luckily submitted ALASKA.
Simon: LOL. I see what you did there. (I, too, submitted Alaska)
I was looking at it like “here are five states” and then “UMIAK tells you which one of those to choose.” It’s a little different from the usual process but I didn’t think it was missable.
Did anyone not submit ALASKA?
I got it right away and knew exactly what UMIAK was (perhaps from crosswords). I was slightly off put by Alaska being in step one but that is just a small style point. I noticed after solving that both ASKA and ANSAS could be two states which is a cool rabbit hole
I submitted ALASKA but was 30 minutes past deadline due to Daylight Savings…how about half credit and a shot at half a mug? :-)
I didn’t because it was one of the themers. I joked to a friend that maybe Canada was the answer.
Yes, me. See my detailed explanation farther down.
A comment I have is that the concept of week one hardness employed in the MGWCC does not seem to exist in the WSJ Puzzle Contest metas. I’ve seen variable levels of hardness in any week there. So the maxim about not overthinking a week one can’t really apply here. I thought my logic was quite sound.
I assumed you were anticipating a presidential annexation so I put Greenland, our future 51st state (or is that Canada). 🤣
Count me in for “found UMIAK, thought I missed the second step since Alaska was a themer, didn’t submit”
for all reasons submitted, came up with Alaska, but did not submit because assumed Alaska was ineligible – and just figured there was something I was missing.
I took umiak as a step toward a possible state outside the grid. Chose Missouri. Which is Algonquin for canoe. And it didn’t feel at all like a dark and dusty rabbit hole.
Umiak is a women’s boat, kayak is men’s hunting and fishing boat.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/umiak
“Like the kayak, the umiak was made of seal or other animal skins stretched over a driftwood or whalebone frame and was paddled. Unlike the kayak, it was an open boat, either round in shape or elongated much like the birchbark canoe. The umiak was used by women for transporting themselves, children, the elderly, and possessions; the umiak was also used by the men for whaling. In the 20th century the umiak was first furnished with an outboard motor and finally displaced by conventional motorboats, as was the kayak, except for recreation or sporting.”
Well, I have a completely different take on this meta. I got the states. I could see UMIAK. But if you type
define umiak
in Google, you get:
an open boat made of animal hide stretched over a wooden frame
With a title of, “Sail On, O Ship of State!” umiak hardly qualifies.
So I thought about the term Ship of State, and remembered the USS IOWA (BB-61), the lead battleship of the Iowa-class battleships, which include (besides the IOWA) the New Jersey, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
Now, there’s a Ship of State!
Also, the title of this crossword is a direct quote from a relatively well-known poem about building a ship (not a boat!) which mentions steel, which means modern ships.
So here they are, in order:
USS UTAH
USS MAINE
USS IOWA
USS ALASKA
USS KANSAS
These are all U.S. warships, and each and every one of them was built by the New York Naval Yard (later known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard) which is in the state of New York.
Hence, I submitted my U.S. State answer as New York.
Historical note: The Yard was in continuous operation until 1966, when it was decommissioned and sold to the City of New York.
If New York is the answer, I give this on a 4.5. If Alaska via umiak is the answer, I’ll put the title of this meta on my razzie list.
I did all those steps plus one more: each of those warships turns out to be long to a class of battleship, typically named after a state. More states! Yay!!
For instance, USS UTAH is a Florida class battleship. I don’t bother to list the rest except to note that two were Iowa class and a couple had more than one ships with that designation.
I was unhappy with the Alaska connection. But I got nowhere with the deeper dive so resurfaced and turned in Alaska.
I tried this angle for a while too and tried using the states where the ships are located today. That didn’t pan out so I crossed my fingers and went with Alaska.
Found UMIAK. Didn’t submit because I couldn’t get further than “Maybe Alaska???” Spent far too much time looking for a next step.
ANT, if you take the switched out letters, they also anagram to Glen C for Glen Cove, New York. Final Answer- New York