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ROUND TWO: East & West Regions
EAST
Each of these is a cryptic crossword clue. The answer to Game A's higher seed is 84.
Game A:
H: Father, I had settled a debt
L: Care of adequate doctor
Game B:
H: Lothario ultimately overwhelmed by 2000's mothers
L: Selection from variant melody
Game C:
H: Spread Eaglet's finale excluded from "Music of 'Headbanger's Ball'"
L: What's left of Chip after ass blown away with antiaircraft fire
Game D:
H: Tools of tattoo artists' trade redesigned skin
L: Fix a Latvian president's seat
WEST:
Each answer is somewhat self-explanatory. The answer to Game A's higher seed is 88.
Game A:
H: Sun god
L: What certain knights said
Game B:
H: German for "He"
L: German for "It"
Game C:
H: Goodbye
L: Me
Game D:
H: The President
L: Father
Comments
JM, I think there could be two possible answers for West Game C, Lower Seed "Me"...depending on how sly you're trying to be.
Posted by: Stephen | Mar 19, 2005 12:02:00 PM
Well, I'd be the first person to give you a clue, but I don't think I will.
Posted by: JmSR | Mar 19, 2005 1:18:53 PM
Round 2 - East. I get it. I get it. Wait, I haven't got it yet. I've got the basics. I understand the relationships. I have no idea how to arrive at 84.
Perseverance......
Posted by: Jay Winter | Mar 20, 2005 3:12:06 PM
Jay: You WOULDN'T BELIEVE the number of dead ends I ran into before happening upon the solution by accident!
Posted by: Stephen | Mar 20, 2005 6:04:41 PM
Continuing to speak in code - so as to not give anything away
I can only get 84 to correlate a portion of the answer. I seem to also need 83 (and maybe 81) to complete the correlation. Unless I only need the highest number out of that group.
So, theoretically, I can arrive at 84 for my answer. I just feel like the connection should be stronger than that.
Posted by: Jay Winter | Mar 21, 2005 8:33:42 AM
Well, let me answer in code.
First using the "correct" method, there is only one answer that exists at this time. Not two or three which must correlate.
Second, all of the answers in the set must be betwixt 25 and 100. (So, you can check your theory in the other contests.)
The answer is straightforward (though not obvious).
Posted by: JmSR | Mar 21, 2005 8:46:30 AM
Jay e-mailed me his idea for what the answer could be. It seems that one "could" think that was the answer but it is not.
So here's an additional piece of useful information:
None of the final scores in ROUND TWO's East Region are prime.
Posted by: JmSR | Mar 21, 2005 9:21:27 AM
Stephen - If I read your post and your subtlety correctly, your answer and mine were on the same path, the wrong one.
Of course, I could be reading too much into your post. In any event, I see a unique correlation for 84. I might still be wrong, but at least now I have conviction.
Posted by: Jay Winter | Mar 21, 2005 10:02:20 AM
Oops...I wasn't trying to convey any subtlety. I only wrote "wouldn't believe" in caps to show word stress. (I don't know how to write in italics). It was a really great "aha" moment when I found the answer!
Posted by: Stephen | Mar 21, 2005 11:45:09 AM
JmSR, I know you already addressed this idea with Stephen's 3/19 posting regarding Round 2 West, Game C, but interestingly enough, I have 3 possible answers for the high seed and 2 for the low seed. Again, it depends upon how sly you're trying to be here, but as it stands, I can't definitively decide who won.
Posted by: Sean F | Mar 29, 2005 5:41:49 PM
If you put the answers from both clues for letter C together in some order you could get a variant spelling of a language.
Posted by: JmSR | Mar 29, 2005 6:26:22 PM
Not to be overly dense, but in Round 2 East, is the entire thing the clue, or is it Games-style, with part of it being a definition of the actual term and the rest being the clue?
Posted by: Jonathan | Mar 31, 2005 10:26:39 AM
There are several cryptic clue variants applied here. I think that it is fair to say, however, that in cryptic-style, each clue does contain a definition for the answer.
In the terms of your question - the GAMES style applies (though I think that cryptic clues are 'universal' in structure, containing both a definition and a literal or wordplay clue).
Anyone disagree?
Posted by: Jay Winter | Mar 31, 2005 10:55:05 AM
There are several cryptic clue variants applied here. I think that it is fair to say, however, that in cryptic-style, each clue does contain a definition for the answer.
In the terms of your question - the GAMES style applies (though I think that cryptic clues are 'universal' in structure, containing both a definition and a literal or wordplay clue).
Anyone disagree?
Posted by: Jay Winter | Mar 31, 2005 10:56:57 AM
JmSR, For Round 2 East, I'm still having a difficult time coming up with the "straightforward (though not obvious)" connection based on the single given answer of 84. I know you've also given the additional hint of no prime final scores, but would you possibly consider giving an additional numerical match to one of the clues, similar to what you did in Round 1? It may help some of us struggling to find the connection and bolster the confidence of those who believe they already had it.
Personally, I'm having a hard enough time with the cryptic clues, so I can't imagine giving away one other match is going to greatly lessen the challenge. I could be wrong.
Posted by: Sean F | Apr 5, 2005 11:19:41 AM
I am stuck on this puzzle too. The cryptic crosswrds are the ONLY pages that I skip in EVERY issue. I don't know if another number would help me or not, but perhaps it would get me over the hurdle of one clue and give me some insight into solving the others.
It's a bummer to have a round 2 roadblock ruin the ability to come to a final answer.
Posted by: Paula | Apr 5, 2005 11:37:10 AM
There are cryptic resources on the web. Solving them shouldn't be too difficult. As to more answers for confirmation, I think it is too late, but let me add this: While each answer is unique, it is not eternal. In 100 years, these answers could all be wrong.
Posted by: JmSR | Apr 5, 2005 12:36:50 PM
EAST:
Each cryptic clue is a four letter word that is exactly the name of two states. Find the product of their respective states' electoral votes for the answer.
A: WI St.-Dir St.: 84-63 Wisconsin St.
B: Lodge-TX Hold'em: 66-42 Lodge St.
C: Empire St.-Hillman: 36-81 Hillman
D: Faber-Adams: 66-60 Faber
WEST:
Each of these was a regular crossword type clue for a two letter word that shared its name with a chemical symbol. The answer is the atomic number.
A: Port Chester-W. Chi: 88-28 Port Chester U.
B: Vance-Larry: 68-99 Larry College
C: St. D's-TorCU: 73-53 St. Dunstan's
D: Linux-ASU: 74-91 All Systems University
Posted by: JmSR | Apr 25, 2005 6:30:51 PM
EAST region questions were written by JonMichael Rasmus & Sean Weitner.
WEST region questions were written by JonMichael Rasmus.
Posted by: JmSR | Apr 26, 2005 8:52:12 AM
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