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Liveblogging: Bailey vs. the Harper’s Puzzle
The Harper’s Puzzle, both friend and nemesis, comfort and torment. I’m sharing with you a play by play of both my victories and defeats as I progress through my problem solving. If you’d like to play along there is good news and bad news. Bad news is you’ll need to be a Harper’s subscriber if you aren’t already, but the good news is that you can subscribe right now and get access to the PDF of the puzzle, or you could always just run out to the newsstand and pick one up.
If you’ve ever tried your hand at the Harper’s Puzzle then you know that it is a cryptic crossword and that it is super difficult. Or at least it is for me… Perhaps you can polish one off in a matter of minutes, in which case, I hope that I’m more attractive than you.
I first started doing the Harper’s puzzle during a Maine winter. It was tough to crack, but once I learned to love it, I knew I’d love it forever. I hope this liveblog will be both instructive for the newbie and entertaining for the salty dog.
So, on the off chance that anyone is out there playing along, audience participation is appreciated. I will be using the October 2008 puzzle entitled “Playfair Square (‘Just Kidding’).”
Without further ado, I present to you:
Bailey vs. the Harper's Puzzle
P.S. The headband is both to stimulate blood flow to the brain AND to intimidate the puzzle.
Day One
10:21 Read the rules.
Almost every puzzle has some sub-puzzle to solve, so it’s important to read the rules of the puzzle every time.
U P T C Y
D E F G H
I L M O Q
S V W X Z
10:34 I’ve given the puzzle a once over, and I think I’ve spotted the weakest clue in the flock, 32 Across:
The eight in parenthesis behind the clue means that the answer is eight letters long.
10:37 I’ve got it. “DULY” + “SEND” is an anagram for “suddenly,” which means “without notice.” “Off” indicates that the letters should be rearranged. So, 32A is SUDDENLY.
Look for words like turn, play, crazy, broken, and strange to indicate an anagram. Check out the Guardian’s cryptic crossword primer for more tips.
10:48 Now it’s time to get more coffee in celebration of the first clue down. Sometimes I’ll work on the puzzle for hours and only get six or seven, so even small accomplishments are cause for celebration.
10:51 20, 25, 19, 21, and 13 Down all intersect SUDDENLY, the 32 Across answer. However, 20 Down is a Playfair Square clue (see the rules above if you have no idea what I’m talking about) and 13 Down is 10 letters long, which means it’s probably difficult, so I’m going to focus on the other three. The clues are:
25D. By coating finish, you get working supply? (5) _ _ _ D _
19D. In this country, bad loan requires getting down in dumps (7) _ _ _ _ _ D _
21D. Denude abandoned place in Scotland (6) _ _ _ _ E _
11:04 I think that 25D might be BENDY because “By coating finish” could mean that B and Y should be placed on either side of END. “End” is a synonym for “finish.” BY could be seen as “coating finish” if it surrounded END. However, I don’t really see how “bendy” means “working supply.”
I’m going to hold off on entering that one into the puzzle.
11:10 21D solved. “Denude” is an anagram of DUNDEE, a “place in Scotland.” To work on my anagrams I like to put all the letters in a circle like this:
Anagram Circle
11:25 19D solved. (Clue: In this country, bad loan requires getting down in dumps (7) _ _ _ _ _ D _)
“In this country” means the U and S will be the first and last letters of the word. “Bad loan” means that the four letters after U will be an anagram of “loan,” i.e. “loan” written badly.
“Getting down” indicates that a D should be added*. So, the final answer is UNLOADS, which means “dumps.”
*Directions are often written as the first letter of the direction, e.g. D for “down” or L for “left.”
11:32 Now that I have both 19D and 21D, it’s time to start looking at the across clues again. We have two letters for 20, 28, 30, and 33 Across. Here are the clues:
20. One way to get to store: Water Street and Main (9) _ _ _ N D _ _ _ _
28. Returning soldier removed from foreign surroundings, tossed in cooler (5) _ _ _ O N
30. Organs playing right away, holding a note from other organs! (6) _ _ _ A D _
33. Head of government ordered “Eyes right” in spring uprising! (6) _ _ _ S E _
11:46 28D solved. (Clue: Returning soldier removed from foreign surroundings, tossed in cooler (5) _ _ _ O N.)
This one was a doozy. So, “Returning soldier” is IG, G.I. backward.
“Removed from foreign surroundings” indicates that IG should be removed from “foreign” leaving us with the letters FOREN.
“Tossed” tells us that the resulting letters are an anagram, which gives us the final answer FREON, for “cooler.” (“Coolant” would actually be more accurate, but who am I to argue with Richard E. Maltby Jr.)
11:58 I really believe that 30A might be “gonads.” Here’s the clue:
30. Organs playing right away, holding a note from other organs! (6) _ _ _ A D _
It seems a little saucy for Harper’s. Of course, last week’s Sunday New York Times crossword had “Pass the Courvoisier rapper” as a clue. So, who knows?
12:06 Lunch break! See you in a bit.
12:46 Alas, the cupboard was bare! So, I’ve recruited my sister to bring me a sandwich. In the meantime, let’s hope that hunger leads to heightened problem-solving creativity.
12:52 33A solved. (Clue: Head of government ordered “Eyes right” in spring uprising! (6) _ _ _ S E _.)
The “head of government” is G because G is the first letter, the head, of the word.
Next, we add “Eyes right.” “Ordered” signals us to create an anagram with “eyes” and R, for “right.” The result is GEYSER, a “spring uprising.”
12:58 I’m having a hard time with 20A. (Clue: One way to get to store: Water Street and Main (9) _ _ _ N D _ _ _ _.) I’m going to try some of the down clues that intersect it to try and get some more letters.
In addition to 19 and 21, which I’ve already solved, numbers 2, 5, 13, and 22 intersect 20A. The clues are:
2. Using modern communication, member of royal family, we hear, published books (8)
5. In the capacity of a dentist, takes in pure sick animals (10)
13. Bumped into not quite well-heeled friend, in poetic fashion (10) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ L _
22. It’s money due you—speak up (3)
1:30 2D solved. (Clue: Using modern communication, member of royal family, we hear, published books (8))
So far, we’ve mostly been seeing anagram clues in this puzzle. This clue uses another popular trick, homophones.
Using modern communication is to “IM” (you know, like instant message). A “member of the Royal family” is a prince. It could also be queen or king or dauphin or whatever, but I ruled all those out because “we hear” indicates that the answer will be a homophone. “Prince” sounds like “prints”. So, if I add IM to PRINTS, I get the answer, IMPRINTS, for “published books.”
1:46 20A solved. (Clue: One way to get to store: Water Street and Main (9) _ T _ N D _ _ _ _.) I had to consult the dictionary on this one. Given the letters I have so far, I figure the first part is STAND. Then I scratched my head for a minute because I couldn’t come up with any words that begin with stand. So, I looked “stand” up in the dictionary and I found “standpipe.”
According to Webster’s a standpipe is “a high vertical pipe of cylindrical tank for storing water and keeping it at a desired pressure, esp. such a large tank used in a water-supply system for a town, etc.” I don’t really know what Webster’s means by that “etc.,” but I don know that definition seems to work with my clue. Particularly, if you follow the rules and remember that “mental repunctuation of a clue is the key to its solution.”
Think of the clue like this: “One way to get to store: Water.” Then, “Street and Main.”
The first half is our definition. The second half gives us the components of the word. ST is the abbreviation for “street.” AND is added verbatim. And, “main” is a synonym for PIPE. The results is our answer, STANDPIPE.
1:56 With STANDPIPE at 20A that means I have S _ F _ S _ G for the Playfair Square clue at 20D.
I’m not sure what to do with this info just yet, but it’s something to keep in mind.
2:00 Lunch break redux.
2:50 UPDATE:
The board so far.
3:37 It’s been nearly an hour, and there’s little to report. I abandoned strategy after coming to a standstill and have just been randomly trying to solve clues to jumpstart the game. So far my only coup has been 13A:
13A. Smash! Wham! KO! It’s hair-raising! (6)
The answer is an anagram of WHAM and KO, the two words “smashed,” if you will. The result is a “hair raising” MOHAWK.
This answer gives me the first letter of 13D:
13D. Bumped into not quite well-heeled friend, in poetic fashion (10) M _ _ _ I _ _ _ L _
4:30 4D and 12A solved.
(4D Clue: Meals On Wheels city? (5) ). “On Wheels” is an anagram indicator. So, an anagram of “Meals” that is also a city is SALEM.
(12A Clue: Apply time for piano, as is fitting (5)). This one seems like a bit of a stretch, I know, but I’m about 95% sure that it’s correct. I think that you’re supposed to substitute a T for the second P (“time” for “piano”) in “Apply” to get APTLY, “as is fitting.”
4:36 Well, it appears to have stopped raining, so that’s enough puzzling for me for one day.
Until tomorrow,
Bailey
Day Two
The game so far: I’ve seen better, but I’ve certainly seen worse. I think I’ve knocked out the easiest quadrant of the board already. So, I’m looking at a tougher go of it today. I’d like to get at least one of the two long answers that bisect the puzzle. I think that would help me move into new terriotry. These two clues are 5 and 13 down:
5. In the capacity of a dentist, takes in pure sick animals (10)
13. Bumped into not quite well-heeled friend, in poetic fashion (10)
I haven’t yet tried working on the Playfair Square part of the puzzle. Hopefully, I’ll get some more letters and maybe even solve one of the four Playfair Square clues.
1. Detective involved in hustle (6)
34. British zone out after silver (6)
10. Celebrity eating, in one extreme weight-loss program! (6)
20. What’s in the garden? Content of boxes, certainly (6)
2:29 It’s been a slow half hour, but I’ve made a break.
26. A degree in basic currency takes place in Algiers (6)
I was particularly pleased to get this one. I thought the answer would be in French because of “Algiers.” However, the answer is CASBAH, a “place in Algiers.” It’s an anagram of BA, “a degree” and CASH, “basic currency.”
2:45 I’ve relocated to Bella’s, my favorite local coffee shop, for some coffee, fresh air, and a new perspective.
2:55 25D solved.
25. By coating finish, you get working supply? (5)
I finally figured out the clue that I guessed was BENDY. I had been interpreting “supply” as in a supply of goods, but it should actually be read as “supply,” as in supple.
This means that 30A must be GONADS (tee hee).
30. Organs playing right away, holding a note from other organs! (6)
It’s an anagram of “organs” with “right away.” So, organs minus R gives us OGANS. And D is “a note,” so add D, mix it all up, and you get GONADS (tee hee, one more time).
2:35 13D kind of, maybe solved.
13. Bumped into not quite well-heeled friend, in poetic fashion (10)
This is one of the longer clues, and I’m not 100% on it, but I think it’s MET for “bumped into” and ALLY for “friend.” “Not quite well-heeled” has me completely stumped. However, I’m pretty sure the answer is METRICALLY for “in poetic fashion.”
2:37 27D solved.
Acronym potentially seen as fun? (5)
This is a fun one. “As fun” is an anagram for SNAFU, which is an acronym that I believe stands for “situation normal all fucked up.” Or so I’ve heard…
2:39 Bella’s is blasting the adult alternative station into the patio, and it’s ruining the puzzle-solving mood. I’m taking a break to ask them to change the station.
2:42 It was a close call between big band and classic jazz. I think classic jazz was the right choice…. I hate satellite radio.
2:50 29A solved.
Unclear in ad, yet open around the clock, as the sign might say (3-4)
This clue is a little weak. “Unclear” is the signal word for an anagram of “in ad yet.” I believe the answer is DAY NITE for “open around the clock, as the sign might say.”
2:51 22D solved incidentally.
22. It’s money due you—speak up (3)
With the letters from 20A, 26A and 29A we get PAY, “money due you” from “speak” a synonym for YAP backward, signaled by “up.”
3:01 24D solved.
24. I believe Designer’s Square is north of where robbery went down (6)
The bottom right quadrant is really starting to shape up. In 24D, “Designer’s Square” gives us T for “T-square.”
A robbery is a HEIST. T is “north” of “robbery.” So, T is above HEIST, making THEIST for “I believe.”
3:15 I was moving along at a nice clip, but it seems the coffee is starting to fail me. Perhaps it’s time for a refill?
3:20 4D and 16A solved.
4. Meals On Wheels city? (5)
16. Great Ballet Russe star from Long Island, a long way away (5)
So, 4D is wrong! Oops. My bad y’all. I was having trouble making any headway in the upper left, so it occurred to me there might be a mistake in that area. I had a feeling that 16A might be LIFAR for the first letters of “Long Island” plaus FAR for “a long way away.” However, I dismissed it because it didn’t work with SALEM and because I don’t know a lick about ballet. My mom wouldn’t let me take dance as a kid; she said I was too delicate. But desperate times… I Googled LIFAR and found that he is indeed a “Ballet Russe star.”
Now, you might be saying to yourself, “Isn’t using the Internet cheating, Bailey?” And my answer is a categorical no. The puzzle isn’t only about brain teasers, it’s also about learning. If I didn’t look up Lifar, then I wouldn’t have anything smart to talk about at cocktail parties if Russian ballet came up. So there.
Now, since LIFAR is right, SALEM must be wrong.
3:23 4D resolved! SELMA not SALEM! Tricky puzzle…
3:25 1D solved.
1. Likely story: making a bee-line inside (6)
A “story” is a LIE. “A bee-line inside” indicates that you should add ABL, creating LIABLE for “likely.”
3:35 5D solved.
5. In the capacity of a dentist, takes in pure sick animals (10)
This is another long one. “Dentist” made me think that DDS would be part of the answer and “sick” indicates that an anagram of “pure” should be included as well.
I guessed that the answer might be QUADRUPEDS for “animals,” but the QUA part of the answer was puzzling, so I looked it up and found that “qua” means in the capacity of. Score! I love it when I learn new words from the puzzle.
3:45 18A solvished?
Advanced University Track returns under boxing-related umbrella (10)
This is a bit of a guess, but frustration is the mother of creative guessing, so I’m going to go with it. I think all we get from “University” is the initial U. Another word fro “track” is “rut,” and if we “return” that we get TUR. The “boxing-related” bit is FIST. So far, if you put those all together, you get FUTURIST, but that’s not enough letters. So, I think the answer is FUTURISTIC for “advanced.”
3:50 Well, I think that’s enough for one day. My palms are in a cold sweat from caffeine overload, and I’m kind of starting to want to throw the puzzle into the river.
Day Three
6:24 6A solved
6. Vicar can absolve keeping secrets (6)
This one uses a word hidden in other words. The answer is in “Vicar can absolve.” The answer is ARCANA for “secrets”
6:30 17D solved.
17. Indication of slashing: Pop Art from $199 to $9 (8) _ I _ A T R _ _
This one’s all about the Roman numerals. CIC for 199 and IX for 9 with an anagram of ART in the middle, for the second foreign word in the puzzle CICATRIX, scar or “indication of slashing.”
6:47 7D solved.
7. You might see him rob criminal figures (6) R _ O _ _ I
“Him rob” criminally makes RHOMBI, plural of rhombus, for “figures.”
6:50 8D solved.
8. Kelly Ripa, e.g., falls short? Something fishy here! (5) C _ H _ _
I finally rememebered who Kelly Ripa is! She’s on that morning show with Regis; ergot she is a cohost. I looked up “cohos” because that would be cohost “falling short” and found that a “coho” is a small salmon native to the N. Pacific. So, the answer is COHOS.
Fact Checking Columbo Forward
Forward Check
Analysis of your inbox
FW: Columbo
Introduction:
- College records
- Columbia thesis
- Selective Service Registration
- Medical records
- Law practice client list
- Birth certificate or Certification of Live Birth
- Harvard Law Review articles published
- University of Chicago scholarly articles
- Record of baptism
- Illinois State Senate schedule and records
Analysis:
Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama has released his academic records in full.
We do know that Obama attended Occidental College for two years before he transferred to Columbia University where he received his B.A. in political science in 1983. He graduated with his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 19911.
An NBC News analysis revealed that Obama couldn’t have technically written a thesis statement because Columbia University didn’t recognize theses from undergraduate political science majors until the 1990s.
However, Obama did spend a year on a thesis-length course paper. Obama claims that he does not have a copy of this paper, but the Obama campaign will not clarify whether it was misplaced or discarded. They are also keeping mum on the paper’s content.
NBC contacted Michael Baron, Obama’s former professor and current Obama supporter and campaign contributor. Baron recalls that the topic of the paper was nuclear negotiations with the Soviet Union. “The course was not a polemical course,” he added, “it was a course in decision making and how decisions got made. None of the papers in the class were controversial”3.
3. Selective Service Registration:
In 1975, Proclamation 4360 ended the requirement to register with the Selective Service, better known as the draft4. In 1980, Jimmy Carter retroactively reinstated Selective Service for men 18 and older born on or after January 1st, 1960 with Proclamation 47715. So, Obama would have been required to register when the draft was reinstated.
Janice L. Hughes of the Public & Governmental Affairs office of the Selective Service System confirmed by e-mail that Barack Obama registered with Selective Service September 4, 19806.
Obama has not released his medical records in full, but he has released a one-page assessment from his doctor giving him a clean bill of health and noting family risk factors and a history of smoking7.
John McCain released an extensive medical history select members of the press on a limited basis; according to the report, McCain is also in good health despite a previous battle with skin cancer8.
UPDATE: The New York Times published an article on October 20th examining the health information provided by both presidential candidates and both vice-presidential candidates. The author finds information lacking on all four candidates. Past presidential candidates beginning with Regan have been much more forthcoming. He also notes that both John McCain and Joe Biden have undergone surgery for life-threatening illnesses.
In 1993 Obama joined the law firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He was an associate until 1996 and of counsel from 1996 to 2004. He has not publicly released a list of clients. However, a Chicago Sun-Times article on ethics law from 1998 reports that Obama, “reported a full list of clients,” on his ethics disclosure forms9.
Obama’s name did come up involving a scandal with low-income housing developer Rezko. However, the Chicago Tribune notes that Obama only worked a few hours on the case during his time at Miner, Barnhill & Galland and that he did submit ethics disclosure reports listing his clients while a member of the Illinois State Senate:
“The paper also examined files from the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the city housing department, as well as the hundreds of clients Obama listed in the unusually frank ethics disclosure reports he filed as a state senator from December 1995 through April 200410. “
6. Birth Certificate and Certificate of Live Birth:
Obama has released his birth certificate. A copy is posted on his website11. After rumors questioning the validity of the certificate begin to spread on the Internet, FactCheck.org sent a team to investigate the original and posted photos of the certificate’s signature and raised seal.
The document posted on Obama’s website is a short-form birth certificate. A long-form certificate is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information. However, Hawaii’s Department of Health birth certificate request form does not provide the option to request the long-form. FactCheck.org tried contacting the Hawaii DOH; however, the DOH has yet to respond.
Factcheck.org also found Obama’s birth announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser from Sunday, August 13, 196112.
7. Harvard Law Review Articles:
This one is almost true. As editor of the Harvard Law Review, it’s true that Obama didn’t write any articles; he only reviewed and edited them. However, a month before he became president, he published an unsigned case comment on Stallman vs. Youngquist on the right of the fetus to sue its mother for negligence.
Obama’s campaign confirmed his authorship of the piece. Obama’s article begins on page 823 of Volume 103 of the Harvard Law Review13.
8. University of Chicago Scholarly Articles:
It’s true that Obama published no scholarly articles during his 12 years as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. Obama did write his first book, Dreams From My Father, during this time 14 15.
Neither the Obama nor the McCain camps has released any official records concerning the faiths of the candidates.
Obama claims he was baptized in the early 1990s at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago16.
McCain identified himself as Episcopalian for many years; however, he and his family have been members of the North Pheonix Baptist Church for the last 16 years. He has never been baptized17.
10. Illinois State Senate Schedule & Records:
According to Obama’s campaign page his state Senate records are publicly available18. Transcripts of meetings of the Illinois General Assembly are available and searchable online. A representative graphic highlighting important bills during his senate career and the percentage of bills he sponsored by category is available from the New York Times.
Tim Russert questioned Obama about his Illinois State Senate Schedule on Meet the Press in 2007. Obama claims that he did not keep a schedule while he was a member of the State Senate. Russert pointed out that at least one of Obama’s colleagues, Senator Durbin, publishes his schedule daily. Obama concludes the exchange saying that these days his schedule is public19.
Conclusion:
The Columbo forward does present some whoppers. However, the forward is mostly guilty of presenting half-truths or making demands for information that is already available (e.g., Obama’s birth certificate) or irrelevant (e.g., the demand for the record of Baptism). The forward is an attempt to create a sense of conspiracy. My verdict is that the Columbo forward should be taken with a grain of salt.
About the Author:
Forward Check is a column proposal created by Bailey Smith for JOMC 711 Writing for Digital Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mrs. Smith is a registered Democrat.
Sources:
1. Obama vs. McCain on the issues. The Seattle Times. 27 September 2008.
2. FACTBOX: John McCain, Republican presidential candidate. Reuters. 26 September 2008.
3. Obama and the case of the missing ‘thesis’. NBC News: Deep Background. 24 July 2008.
4. Proclamation 4360 – Selective Service Registration. The American Presidency Project. 29 March 1975.
5. Proclamation 4771–Registration Under the Military Selective Service Act. The National Archives. 2 July 1980.
6. E-mail. Janice L. Hughes, Public & Intergovernmental Affairs, Selective Service System. 2 October 2008.
7. Barack Obama’s doctor gives him a clean bill of health. Los Angeles Times: Top of the Ticket Blog. 29 May 2008.
8. FACTBOX – John McCain’s health records. Reuters UK. 23 May 2008.
9. Ethics law reveals too little, group says. Chicago Sun-Times. 29 March 2008. (Available for purchase from the Chicago Sun-Times)
10. Obama, Rezko ties again at issue. Chicago Tribune. 23 January 2008. (Available for purchase from the Chicago Tribune)
11. Barack Obama’s Official Birth Certificate. Obama/Biden: Fight the Smears. 2008.
12. Born in the U.S.A. FactCheck.org. 21 August 2008. Born in the U.S.A. FactCheck.org. 21 August 2008.
13. Obama’s lost law review article. Politico. 22 August 2008.
14. Teaching Law, Testing Ideas, Obama Stood Slightly Apart. New York Times. 30 July 2008.
15. The Story of Obama, Written by Obama. New York Times. 18 May 2008.
16. Finding His Faith. Newsweek. 12 July 2008.
17. McCain: I’m Baptist, not Episcopalian. The Christian Post. 17 September 2007.
18. Fact Check: Obama’s State Senate Records Are Publicly Available. Obama/Biden: Know the Facts. 14 November 2007.
19. Transcript for Nov. 11 2007. Meet the Press. 11 November 2007.
