Explanation: Ten across entries have ONE within them; while words, these do not satisfy the clues. For example, DONE should be DC (some two-letter words get a chance to shine!). Once those ten amendments are made, the replaced letters spell CHILD'S PLAY, the meta answer.
Meg 2:26 · 2024-01-06T18:15:12.823Z
Got the first 2 letters and my guess was fine! Nicely done, Mikey.
JM 10:41 · 2024-01-06T18:27:33.842Z
No Bone—that was fun.
(Crosshare didn’t like the apostrophe).
That's awesome! Once the meta bug bit me, I never looked back! :D
HeadinHome 🤓1:22 · 2024-01-06T23:36:02.238Z
Oh MAN that grid was driving me bonkers!! Then it became FUN when I figured out what the what was going on. Great challenge! (And I suspect a really hard one to construct!)
I think the problem is that certain operating system / browser combos automatically replace a typed ' character with a "smart"/curly apostrophe: ’ - Crosshare isn't filtering out the latter when it checks to see if an answer is correct. So depending on what kind you used when you submitted it'd either work correctly or not. I've updated that code so the behavior should be fixed shortly.
Thanks Mike for always being so responsive! Shameless plug coming...SOLVERS/CONSTRUCTORS if for no other reason, this type of responsiveness from a site/app administrator is an EXCELLENT reason to support Crosshare with a donation.
MatthewL 🤓7:25 · 2024-01-07T15:55:59.401Z
Nice (ahem) "one" Mikey! Although I was grumbling quite a bit as I completed the grid thinking you had lost your mind on the cluing. Should've known better. Thanks for the puzzle!
Fun start to the year from the punisher! I knew what it was going to be from about the third, "WHAT?" but, like a Dan Brown novel, I had to finish it just to see how the master would weave the web. I am embarrassed to say I did not recognize that the ONE words made REAL words until I was well into it. Clever mechanism my friend. Great breakfast (well late breakfast) accompaniment.
'
character with a "smart"/curly apostrophe:’
- Crosshare isn't filtering out the latter when it checks to see if an answer is correct. So depending on what kind you used when you submitted it'd either work correctly or not. I've updated that code so the behavior should be fixed shortly.