Number of fingers held up to indicate "first word" when playing Charades
1
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3
4
5
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7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
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68
69
70
Across
1A
Number of fingers held up to indicate "first word" when playing Charades
4A
"Mean Girls" actress Lindsay ___
9A
Drive back
14A
Recycling receptacle
15A
6 down singer
16A
Fill with joy
17A
Back in time
18A
Disney heroine who longs for "more than this provincial life"
19A
Windows release after XP
20A
Dame Nellie ___
22A
Serve the first course, perhaps
24A
Morning rouser
25A
Yello song featured in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
26A
Tummy muscles
28A
Deeply regretful reply
32A
The Pied Piper, for example
38A
Source of acorns
39A
Dull pain
40A
From the Orient
41A
"Another" Spanish word
42A
35 down's boss
43A
Exceptionally bad fortune
45A
Roving adventurously, like a knight
48A
Top colour in a traffic light
49A
"___ entered on his head, a helmet on each foot, a sandal in his hand he had, his trusty sword to boot" (at least, I think that's where the punctuation goes)
53A
Exposed wood in a ceiling
57A
Ring of stones marking the site of a prehistoric dwelling
60A
One of eight popes
61A
Moving day rental
62A
Adversary
64A
___-de-France
65A
Sip your "Old Fashioned" slowly
66A
Fast Amtrak train
67A
Conk out
68A
Did a blacksmith's job
69A
Big brawl
70A
Body part touched by one's forefinger to indicate "sounds like" when playing Charades
Down
1D
55 down's surname
2D
Actor ___ Hawthorne of "The Madness of King George III"
3D
Sherlock's younger sister in a Netflix movie series
4D
Los Lobos song with a brilliant guitar solo
5D
Poetic homage
6D
Chart topper in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia for 15 across
7D
Islamic deity
8D
Impoverished
9D
Uncover
10D
Elijah's successor
11D
El ___, Texas
12D
"___, Brute? Then fall 49 across"
13D
___ of faith
21D
Reinforce
23D
Successful student
27D
Appetizer
29D
Annual Prez. speech to Congress
30D
Drug agent
31D
"I heard you the first time!"
32D
Political campaign
33D
Taiwanese computer maker
34D
Hammer-wielding god
35D
Exec. who might have to resign in the wake of a data hack
36D
4 down or 6 down, for example
37D
Have a bite
41D
More mature
44D
Interstellar clouds
46D
Point the finger at
47D
Performed perfectly
50D
"Get lost!"
51D
Wonderland visitor
52D
Paint the town 48 across
54D
Tolerate
55D
See 1 down
56D
Contemptuous look
57D
Attila's army
58D
Informal refusal
59D
Tropical tuber
63D
Bitter beverage
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I have a feeling I will need to explain the title of this puzzle in the comments! I woke up with this meta idea in my head, and I really couldn't wait to see if I could get it all into a grid. The answer to that is "yes", but it took a few different grids (and a couple of drinks!) to achieve. (If you're interested, the images above were generated by DALL-E using the prompt "Sends light anguish".) The answer to the meta is a story book character. Answer & explanation (& the story read to you on YouTube!) here: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=188218#p188218
Check out "The MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands" here: https://www.ephesusscroll.com/about/interest4.html. US$5 gets you 7 Marching Bands which, hard enough on their own, now contain metas too. And once again there's a mega-meta!
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Comments
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The title of this puzzle is supposed to sound like "Sounds Like English". "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut" is a version of the well-known story that was written in 1940 by a professor of French named H. L. Chace, who wanted to show his students that intonation is an integral part of its meaning. It was published in a book entitled "Anguish Languish". See https://annex.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/ladle/ for the complete story. Alternatively, have it read to you here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az3D1iEXAiY
whimsy 🤓11:00 · 4 months ago
Aha! Thanks for the background info to clear up the title conundrum! I solved by following the suggestions regarding the game of Charades in 1A and 70A. AFTER, that is, spending quite some time trying to use Rot 10, Caesar's code!!! Can you say "German guys that were in a book?" Answer: Read Herren! Thanks, Ben, this was fun for me to finally see/get the path -- but I gotta warn you, woozy's not gonna like it!
I love Charades. :D Thanks for the background info you posted here, Ben. Interesting.
DCBilly 3s · 4 months ago
This rang a bell but I wasn't familiar with the source. I must have heard it from my father, who was a fan of Lewis Carroll and Pogo among other wordplay sources. Deck Us All With Boston Charlie!
whimsy 🤓11:00 · 4 months ago
Now I'm picturing something somehow related to Charlie in the MTA.
Well the path was clear, and not through a dark forest, but it was certainly fun. I am wondering if I am seeing "Easter Eggs" or "Yeast or legs" when I see RED, EAT, HELLO in the GRID and Lobos, Brute and "Have a bite" in the clues????
I loved the "ladle store he" behind the title and read/listened to it.
HeadinHome 🤓1:19 · 4 months ago
The tip for me was of course 70A “sounds like” (Sends Light). At first I thought the person’s first name might sound like Anguish, or you were cluing the sound-alike with the storybook characters (Belle, Ratcatcher, Alice… BRA??). Then I tried saying what looked like themers really fast… LADLESOUP little stoop? Is that a hobbit? RATCATCHER red ketchup? … OHHH - the FIRST words! LADLE RAT ROTTEN HUT. I know her!
.
In the same vein, here’s the concept, with French: the character “ Un petit d'un petit “
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mots_d%27Heures:_Gousses,_Rames:_The_d%27Antin_Manuscript
boharr 3s · 4 months ago
Sounds didn't help but Google did it for me.
Dave C 3s · 4 months ago
After focusing on "first word sounds like", it came quickly. I didn't get the meaning of the title until I saw Ben's explanation.
I kind of thought I had to do the actions of the themers or something about charades and maybe that would give me the first word of the character. Took me a embarrassing long time to notice the themers had two words we could take them and the sounds like.
MatthewL 🤓5:05 · 4 months ago
Had the first two nudges and even had "SOUNDS LIKE ENGLISH" solved, but could not get the answer until Nudge 3. When it clicks, it clicks. Thanks for the puzzle, Ben!
Carolyn 3s · 4 months ago
Finally got back to this. Saw the two clues but never put it together. Very cute!
. In the same vein, here’s the concept, with French: the character “ Un petit d'un petit “ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mots_d%27Heures:_Gousses,_Rames:_The_d%27Antin_Manuscript