What did I misunderstand?

[rhu]

The black and white dots serve as MasterMind-style indicators, right? So:

Summer 1: JACKS = 0+0
Summer 2: SHARK = 1+1 but we can eliminate S, A, and K from JACKS so H and R are in the answer
Winter 1: SKATE = 1+1 but we can eliminate S, K, and A from JACKS so T and E are in the answer
Spring 1: BREAD = 0+1 but we already believe that both R and E are in the answer....

Do I have a word wrong, or am I misunderstanding the dots?

Thanks.


ETA: It seems that there is a misprint in the dead-tree edition of the puzzle, which makes it unsolvable. The online version appears to be different but contains a second error.

Comments

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

Summer 2 only has one black dot.

I actually solved this - or at least back solved it (afer having guessed it front solving, then realizing it didn't work). But I clearly have one of the shirts misinterpreted - though frankly, I can't imagine the image on Winter 2 being anything other than what I perceive it to be.

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

In my copy of the newspaper, summer 2 has one black and one white dot.

So now I've looked at the PDF, and I see that there is only a single black dot there.

Nice to know I was confused for a legitimate reason. That makes two errors in this puzzle set: the instructions for "Needle points" refer to "numbered" jigsaw pieces, although that error doesn't affect solving.

Thanks!

[qaqaq.livejournal.com]

Yep, I have the same question about Winter 2. I was hoping someone might have a different idea for the image, but maybe it's just another dot mistake.

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

It would make sense if it's the same dot mistake as on the print version of Summer 2. If one makes that assumption, the answer word is congruent with the title of the puzzle.

*sigh* This is taking far too long. I still need to research the designers whose surnames I don't know, and then *grouse* there's the cryptolist to attack. I wonder if Mosayc has disabled Brutus against this input set yet.... Or it's a beautiful day out, I could just walk away....

[ericberlin.livejournal.com]

I skipped the designers puzzle entirely -- the meta is perfectly solvable without it. And I'm no fan of cryptograms, yet breezed through this list. Fear not!

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

So I ate my cake and had it too. We enjoyed the lovely afternoon, walked down to the local pond for a bit, and I returned to the puzzle this evening and finished it without further frustration. Thanks for the encouragement.