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Literary Numerals (Meta)

◆◆ · By benchen71 · Published 2022-05-24T06:00:27.302Z

Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is a book
I was trying to be kind to you, so there's a pretty big hint in the grid of this puzzle (and I'm not talking about 35 across). But I don't want anyone submitting guesses based on that hint. Not that I will be able to tell, but please only submit an answer if you work out the meta mechanism, because it's a really cool one. Pretty please! The answer to the meta is a book. Answer and explanation here: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=94574#p94574
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here: https://www.ephesusscroll.com/about/interest4.html. US$10 gives you access to 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game. You won't quite know what to expect: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, sometimes all of those, and sometimes none! One thing is for sure, these are some of the more creative metas my brain has been able to come up with. And there's more: this time there's a mega-meta!
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • rjy solved 2022-05-24T15:56:12.808Z
  • boharr solved 2022-05-24T16:06:27.477Z
  • Hector solved 2022-05-24T16:50:58.332Z
  • Darth solved 2022-05-24T20:44:46.221Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2022-05-24T21:06:10.480Z
  • dplass solved 2022-05-25T01:24:01.158Z
  • Bbaack solved 2022-05-25T21:10:12.314Z
  • markhr solved 2022-05-25T23:14:11.942Z
  • jbird solved 2022-05-26T02:50:26.172Z
  • whimsy solved 2022-05-26T03:01:49.938Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2022-05-26T11:46:55.539Z
  • Meg solved 2022-05-26T12:09:36.968Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2022-05-26T13:41:57.126Z
  • Johnny Luau solved 2022-05-26T18:51:41.558Z
  • KayW solved 2022-05-26T19:18:00.904Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2022-05-27T17:11:56.011Z
  • Spid4567 solved 2022-05-28T16:36:16.551Z
  • prog plus chat solved 2022-05-28T19:03:15.858Z
  • Laura M solved 2022-05-29T04:35:36.170Z
  • schmidzy solved 2022-06-21T16:27:17.163Z

Comments

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  • rjy 2s · 2022-05-24T16:11:32.049Z
    Guessed it via the 66A/67A combo, but collaborated with another solver to get it via the mechanism. Fun journey thru the puzzle, good AHAs along the way, tho I might quibble with having "One" appear in the clue for 22D (it's technically more a number than the adjective "eighth" is). Enjoyed it more than I initially thought I would, dreading that I'd have to do something with ALL those numbers!! Thanks, Ben!
    • Hector 3s · 2022-05-24T16:59:29.205Z
      Plus 1954 is in there too, which is also a numeral - I first had 9411 (Fahrenheit 411?) but then asked myself if one of the 1s could really be an 8.
      • benchen71 constructor · 2022-05-25T00:00:31.429Z
        You're right: ONE shouldn't be in the clue. But it was hard to clue! (I essentially ignore years.)
        • benchen71 constructor · 2022-05-25T01:11:58.798Z
          I've edited that clue to remove the extraneous numbers. Thanks for pointing it out!
        • Hector 3s · 2022-05-24T16:52:40.557Z
          Curious about the pattern of clues with numbers in them and those without. Almost looks like Morse code, definitely seems non-random.
          • benchen71 constructor · 2022-05-24T21:30:38.667Z
            No, it's random. I just put numbers in wherever I could!
            • dplass 9:05 · 2022-05-25T01:26:03.416Z
              Kinda mean, don't you think?
              • rjy 2s · 2022-05-25T13:07:42.860Z
                I kinda see it more as diabolical :) I could see him cackling over his work in the waning hours, looking over the clues to see where he could squeeze even a few more in... surprised in retrospect that so many didn't have numbers!
                • rjy 2s · 2022-05-25T13:25:42.092Z
                  That said, I'm only amused because boharr provided a step that led to the final solution. Had I not gotten that, I would have been staring at the numbers forever and perhaps been less amused. I had taken tentative steps with mapping numbers to letters, adding them, etc. to no avail and gave up. Way too many, and way too much ambiguity (is first a number? second? eighth? digits?). I was about to poke into the Book of Numbers to see if anything meshed there (that's not a suggestion for a new one, Ben!!!). Glad I stumbled into a solving partner!
                  • benchen71 constructor · 2022-05-25T22:39:10.812Z
                    I wanted to provide some cover for the meta-relevant numbers. Perhaps I went too far overboard!
          • boharr 3s · 2022-05-24T17:58:43.965Z
            Yay. No math!
            • dplass 9:05 · 2022-05-25T01:25:11.753Z
              well you do technically have to multiple 1 by 1000, 9 by 100 and 8 by 10 and then add them all up :P
            • dplass 9:05 · 2022-05-25T01:24:29.295Z
              I got tripped up by the "one" in 22D
              • benchen71 constructor · 2022-05-25T02:20:45.923Z
                I've now edited this clue. Sorry about the extra complication!
              • Bbaack 14:25 · 2022-05-25T21:16:13.318Z
                Fun mechanism once I caught on to what was going on. Thanks for the clever meta!
                • markhr 🤓21:13 · 2022-05-25T23:27:12.249Z
                  I finally cut through the noise and uncovered that last step. I didn't even see the "hint" in the grid until very late. Clever mechanism.
                  • whimsy 🤓14:37 · 2022-05-26T03:18:41.102Z
                    Got it with several of the nudges. Yes, all those numbers drove me crazy enough that I put it aside until the hints showed up early. Had to remind myself of the rightful order for the answer, based on the fact that they were all Down entries. Thanks, Ben.
                    • Laura M 🤓18:13 · 2022-05-29T04:39:28.955Z
                      Needed 3 (three!) of the nudges, and shouldn't have because I knew all of those books and authors and also saw the grid hint! I was too distracted by trying to make something out of allll of the numbers in the clues :-) I love this idea, wish I'd seen it on my own!
                      • benchen71 constructor · 2022-05-29T06:59:10.081Z
                        As I commented above, I wanted to provide some cover for the meta-relevant numbers. Perhaps I went too far overboard!
                      Play today's daily mini crossword
                      1A
                      One of only three public schools in England to retain a boys-only, boarding-only tradition, which means that students live at the school seven days a week
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                      Across
                      1. 1A
                        One of only three public schools in England to retain a boys-only, boarding-only tradition, which means that students live at the school seven days a week
                      2. 5A
                        Swedish band that have recorded nine studio albums, most in the 70s and early 80s, but one came out in 2021
                      3. 9A
                        Multiples of twelve months, for short
                      4. 12A
                        One turn in the game of chess
                      5. 13A
                        Square root of five, for example, but not square root of nine
                      6. 14A
                        Character in "None but the Lonely Heart", Ernie ___, played by Cary Grant, the second of only two times when he used a Cockney accent
                      7. 16A
                        Filled with wonder and astonishment
                      8. 17A
                        Unit of land area equal to 4,840 square yards
                      9. 18A
                        Part of the land adjoining the ocean
                      10. 20A
                        Professional name for artist Jeremy Phillip Felton, whose self-titled 2009 album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200
                      11. 22A
                        "I am able to do that as well" (but more succinctly and probably in a schoolyard retort, too)
                      12. 23A
                        Farming community, for example
                      13. 26A
                        Screen type in a Kindle Paperwhite
                      14. 27A
                        Abbr. for a literacy approach built on the alphabetic principle (look, it's Systematic, Synthetic, and involves Phonics - does that help?)
                      15. 28A
                        Avian construction
                      16. 29A
                        Physical, mental and spiritual practice originating in ancient India that apparently requires a mat and special pants
                      17. 30A
                        Loooooooooong period of time
                      18. 32A
                        Opposite of virtue
                      19. 34A
                        Opposite of aye
                      20. 35A
                        Someone who decides which books will see the light of day and who also keeps track of the numbers, which is something you will need to do to solve the meta
                      21. 39A
                        One of five main free-to-air networks in Australia, but that provides multilingual and multicultural services (abbr.)
                      22. 42A
                        Earl Grey, Russian Caravan and Orange Pekoe for three
                      23. 43A
                        Tennis do-over (Serena Williams once had four in a row!)
                      24. 45A
                        Blind character introduced in the second season of "Avatar" who travels with Aang as his earthbending teacher
                      25. 47A
                        When you Google this in Australia, the first hit is for the Association for Tertiary Education Management
                      26. 49A
                        Two or more hair styles
                      27. 51A
                        Italian for hero
                      28. 52A
                        Worth something on the second hand market, but in the US
                      29. 55A
                        Became less appealing or interesting through familiarity
                      30. 57A
                        Sign at an antiproliferation march, perhaps
                      31. 59A
                        Upright stone slab or column typically bearing a commemorative inscription or relief design
                      32. 60A
                        She gets too hungry for dinner at eight (with "the")
                      33. 62A
                        Clothes drier accumulation
                      34. 63A
                        Nous sommes, vous ___
                      35. 64A
                        Far from shore
                      36. 65A
                        Lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter for the band "Thirty Seconds to Mars", Jared ___ (OK, he's also an actor, playing the Joker in "Suicide Squad", and has won one Oscar)
                      37. 66A
                        Mining material that gets smelted
                      38. 67A
                        "As ___ as can be expected" ("I'm fine, given the circumstances")
                      39. 68A
                        "Game of Thrones" character, Jon ___, who had two lives if the constant ads for the show are to be believed (I've never watched a single episode)
                      Down
                      1. 1D
                        Key of J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier One, Prelude and Fugue No. nine, for short
                      2. 2D
                        Raby Castle in County Durham, England, has nine of these along its perimeter
                      3. 3D
                        Say one too many times, as a catchphrase
                      4. 4D
                        Dutch term invented in the 70s to describe their music scene of that time
                      5. 5D
                        What you would be if you were 64 across in a yacht
                      6. 6D
                        Author, John ___, who wrote "John Macnab", a thrilling adventure involving three successful but bored friends in their mid-forties who decide to turn to poaching for kicks
                      7. 7D
                        "I'm so cold!"
                      8. 8D
                        Nickname for Adrian, perhaps
                      9. 9D
                        The only single from the Village People's third studio album, "Cruisin'", with a title comprised of four letters
                      10. 10D
                        Actor, Mickey ___, who played one of three janitors in "Night at the Museum"
                      11. 11D
                        Member of a set of four on a Monopoly board
                      12. 15D
                        French tennis player Jo-Wilfried ___, whose career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. five, achieved in February 2012
                      13. 19D
                        Australian spelling for the region of Hungary and Slovakia noted for its sweet wines made from grapes affected by noble rot (which is a good thing, apparently)
                      14. 21D
                        Shortest form of "mother"
                      15. 22D
                        What New York Giants center fielder Willie Mays famously made during the eighth inning of a World Series game (with "the")
                      16. 24D
                        Edits, as a piece of writing
                      17. 25D
                        Suffix for exeg-, eiseg-, and gen-
                      18. 31D
                        Fruit consisting of a hard or tough shell around an edible kernel
                      19. 33D
                        As slippery as an ___
                      20. 36D
                        Facial hair worn by 33% of men in the US and 55% of men all over the world (come on, guys, you're lagging behind!)
                      21. 37D
                        Not on time for an event
                      22. 38D
                        Major League Soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area (owned by the company that makes an energy drink with two bovines in the logo)
                      23. 39D
                        Putting one foot in front of the other: taking ___
                      24. 40D
                        Boron-oxygen compounds, which can be trigonal or tetrahedral in structure
                      25. 41D
                        City in Umbria, Italy, known for its historical "Festival dei Due Mondi" (Festival of Two Worlds) which takes place the last week in June and the first two weeks in July
                      26. 44D
                        Author, J. R. R. ___, who wrote "The Hobbit", a children's fantasy book about a halfling who sets out on a quest to slay a dragon with thirteen dwarves and one wizard
                      27. 46D
                        Author, Joseph ___, who wrote "God Knows", a tragicomic examination of the life of King David and his relationship to three women (Abigail, Bathsheba, and Michal) who were all married to someone else at some point in their lives
                      28. 48D
                        Author, Emily St. John ___, who wrote "The Glass Hotel", a novel about a five-star lodging on Vancouver Island, the owner of which is running an international Ponzi scheme
                      29. 50D
                        When someone says "I'm on it!" about a task, you really hope that it will be ___
                      30. 53D
                        Demonstrating firm and constant support or allegiance
                      31. 54D
                        Article indicating "one", but in front of a noun that begins with a vowel
                      32. 56D
                        Absence of difficulty or effort
                      33. 58D
                        Put your luggage in one of the overhead bins
                      34. 60D
                        Actor, Jude ___, who gained recognition for his role in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" but I thought he was more memorable as the disabled former swimming star in "Gattaca" tbh
                      35. 61D
                        56 down missing its first letter or 8 down with a different middle letter
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