MGWCC crossword 2:30ish
meta 1ish 
[2.67 avg; 6 ratings] rate it
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week 1, especially week 1 of 5, is normally straightforward enough that i don’t need the instructions, but this time i did. what were the theme answers? three long downs (oddly):
- {Post-game show of respect} JERSEY SWAP.
- {Animals known for their even temper} HAMPSHIRE PIGS. did not know this at all—and i also had an H where the G goes for a long time.
- {Capital at 7,350 feet} MEXICO CITY.
okay, so we have JERSEY, HAMPSHIRE, and MEXICO, which is three out of the four “new” states. the answer is presumably going to be YORK something, but nothing came immediately to mind, so i did go ahead and read the instructions: This puzzle’s contest answer is a kind of candy that would’ve made a good fourth theme entry. okay, YORK PEPPERMINT PATTY it is, then. in retrospect, i probably could have guessed that without the instructions—the other phrases starting with YORK are considerably less famous (to americans, anyway).
i wonder why the puzzle was called “fourth and goal”. i understand we’re looking for the fourth member of a set, but that seems like a pretty vague connection to the puzzle. also, “what else is new?” is just sitting right there.
i struggled uncharacteristically hard to solve this slightly undersized (13×13) grid. first of all, there’s what i can only assume is a typo in the clue to 42-across: {Decision favoring 42-Across, sometimes} TKO. this clue clearly does not refer to itself; it’s probably supposed to be pointing to 43-across, {Ring master} ALI.
second, in that same region of the grid, {Speed no.} seems to be cluing MPH, but no, it’s MPG (this related to the struggle i alluded to earlier with PIGS). i dare say this clue is a factual error—while MPG can be related to speed, the connection is not a necessary one. MPG is a measure of efficiency, not speed.
to double down on being pedantic this week, i’ll further take issue with the clue {XY accessory} for 1-down MAN BAG, because this one definitely rubbed me the wrong way. there is no one-to-one relationship between chromosomal makeup and gender. it’s messy and probably always has been, but we’re only recently realizing how messy as genetic testing has become commonplace. most obviously, trans men are men, but even beyond that, there are and likely have always been phenotypically female people with XY chromosomes, and phenotypically male people without.
anyway, that’s all i’ve got this week. how’d you like this one?
Puzzle: MGWCC; Rating: 3 stars
It took me a while after putting the grid down following the solve to come up with New. I just don’t get the existing title. “What else is new?” would have been helpful, indeed.
I don’t get it, either. It didn’t slow me down, and I got the pattern after the first two, but I agree that “What Else is New?” would have been a cool title. Matt, care to explain the Goal reference?
I had “What Else Is New?” at first \ but thought it gave away the game too quickly. But it’s a Week 1 of 5, so that should’ve tilted the scales toward using that title.
Technically, the correct answer should be York Peppermint Pattie.
What am I missing here? How could a nineteen letter entry be a “good fourth theme entry” in a 13×13 puzzle? I searched high and low for a different York candy or a shoretened nickname for tbe Patty.
I made the same comment to Matt when I submitted.
Glad I wasn’t the only one!
Interdasting. When I think of those “that would’ve made a good xth theme entry” prompts I don’t have in my mind its relationship to the other themers’ lengths and how they fit into the grid, probably because making a judgment there seems tenuous. Do they have to be able to be symmetrically placed in the grid? Can I divide theme entries? Would get too-not-crystal-clear in a hurry.
I thought York Peppermint Patties was inconsistent, because it is three words, not two. That is why I submitted York Mints. Of course, it is too short, as others have noted about the length. Acceptable alternate answer? I think so!
I tend to think of the “What would make a good additional theme entry?” prompts as given the caveat of “Given unlimited freedom to redraw the grid into any size and shape, without necessary obeying symmetry.”
I did write in my note to Matt that this answer wouldn’t fit into this grid due to its length, but I had no qualms or hesitation about submitting it as the correct answer.
Puzzle: MGWCC; Rating: 1 star
Totally agree with Joon, and all of the comments (so far). This is clearly not Matt’s best work.
Joon, thanks for your remarks about chromosomes, gender, etc.
I forgot to solve this puzzle. Dang it!
Puzzle: MGWCC; Rating: 2.5 stars
Maybe York thins? Fourth and goal is an American football reference for fourth down and could point to the three long downs as the themers instead of the more normal acrosses
The other three theme answers were in the form of (State-New) + a four letter word. I think the only answer which truely fits is York Mini, which is actually a candy.
Wow, tough crowd this week…
I was tripped up by the small number of 4-letter words in the grid and how it must relate to the theme.