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When You Get Right Down To It (Meta)
■ · By benchen71 · Published 2023-01-31T05:00:24.071Z
Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is a 10 letter phrase
Inspiration for metas comes from various places. Sometimes I think of a meta mechanic while trying to solve someone else's meta. At other times, a phrase suggests itself. This was one of the latter. It's also a fitting "week 5". Don't let that put you off, though, because I think this is a SAD puzzle (simple and difficult). Good luck, as you seek to solve this puzzle and come up with the answer to the meta which is a 10 letter phrase. Answer & explanation: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=119756#p119756
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!
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Leaderboard (updated hourly)
- rjy solved 2023-01-31T05:10:11.693Z
- Darth solved 2023-01-31T06:06:47.428Z
- boharr solved 2023-01-31T15:31:01.315Z
- MatthewL solved 2023-01-31T16:27:22.150Z
- whimsy solved 2023-01-31T19:45:36.044Z
- wendy walker solved 2023-01-31T20:18:58.414Z
- KayW solved 2023-01-31T20:22:29.138Z
- I K Snamhcok solved 2023-01-31T21:07:09.587Z
- ChrisCross solved 2023-01-31T21:54:47.591Z
- Tom Wilson solved 2023-01-31T22:13:46.252Z
- Laura M solved 2023-01-31T23:56:19.210Z
- Gutman solved 2023-02-01T01:18:57.085Z
- lbray53 solved 2023-02-01T15:34:49.824Z
- Meg solved 2023-02-01T17:30:51.528Z
- Teamdoubletow solved 2023-02-01T17:42:22.505Z
- markhr solved 2023-02-01T19:31:37.510Z
- Ergcat solved 2023-02-02T16:08:36.007Z
- ajk solved 2023-02-02T17:45:10.746Z
- Hector solved 2023-02-02T19:19:41.704Z
- Pair O Ducks solved 2023-02-02T20:03:58.058Z
- Bbaack solved 2023-02-02T20:44:59.590Z
- Jaclyn solved 2023-02-03T00:33:32.095Z
- Tyrpmom solved 2023-02-03T15:10:47.118Z
- heidi solved 2023-02-03T15:18:34.686Z
- JHSeeman solved 2023-02-03T20:52:36.241Z
- ReB solved 2023-02-04T02:37:51.898Z
- Dow Jones solved 2023-02-04T07:45:36.225Z
- amy nelson solved 2023-02-04T11:31:03.082Z
- Cindy Heisler solved 2023-02-04T14:35:10.602Z
- jbird solved 2023-02-04T15:21:20.684Z
- Carolyn solved 2023-02-04T17:02:48.452Z
- CPJohnson solved 2023-02-04T18:31:42.303Z
- SeamusOL solved 2023-02-05T03:03:43.019Z
- BarbaraK solved 2023-02-05T04:36:33.628Z
- dplass solved 2023-02-05T14:16:54.713Z
- Mikey G solved 2023-02-06T02:42:26.904Z
- Jim23809 solved 2023-02-19T01:01:00.986Z
Comments
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- Really nice construction, Ben. When I solved, I completely missed the ITs; I just worked a suitable number of letters down from the Us. Those ITs provided me a secondary - totally unearned - AHA. Kudos!
- whimsy 🤓9:23 · 2023-01-31T19:48:40.245ZI missed the U's! -- and wondered why the number of letters I had to take seemed a bit arbitrary! Silly me!
- boharr 3s · 2023-01-31T15:46:09.431ZI found the down instance of IT in 50D distracting.
- Yep, I tried really hard to get rid of that it. But I just couldn't do it without complexifying the already tricky fill even more!
- MatthewL 🤓7:13 · 2023-01-31T16:27:55.743ZNice one Ben! As usual.
- I K Snamhcok 🤓11:07 · 2023-01-31T21:17:37.559ZI guessed at the answer correctly, then worked backward to the solution — though admittedly with help from the comments below.
- Laura M 🤓6:13 · 2023-01-31T23:58:29.161ZNice one!
- Gutman 2s · 2023-02-01T01:19:31.587Z:) :)
- Teamdoubletow 3s · 2023-02-01T17:51:37.285ZWe intuited the answer with half of the mechanism. Fun puzzle, thanks so much.
- Ergcat 11:27 · 2023-02-02T16:10:02.975ZThanks, Ben! Needed the nudges to point me in the right direction! Knew I needed to “get down” to “it” (words ) but not sure how! Clever construction!
- Hector 8s · 2023-02-02T19:20:28.566ZAck, did not solve without nudges. I'd looked at ITs and going right and down, but did not think of U. Good one!
- Bbaack 🤓11:57 · 2023-02-02T20:48:01.664ZTook me awhile since i kept trying to go right and then down until i finally saw the diagonal was the way to go. That was downright fun, thanks!
- ReB 5s · 2023-02-04T02:50:33.525ZI was milling about the perimeter mulling over the IT combinations. The first nudge confirmed that I needed to start with the U's, but I thought that I had to move from a U to an R [for "right"] horizontally and then vertically ["down"] to IT, which wasn't working as it only involved two of the four U's.The second nudge, which didn't really add anything substantive, gave me an interlude during which I had the idea to try moving diagonally - that being the most direct path [a different interpretation of "right down"] - and lo and behold that worked for all four Us and yielded 10 in-between letters, which of course spelled out the apropos answer.Clever hiding of the answer in plain sight.
- Dow Jones 3s · 2023-02-04T07:51:41.386ZI was lost until the 5th nudge. I need to pay more attention to the constructor's hints. Excellent meta, Ben !!
- Cindy Heisler 2s · 2023-02-04T14:39:21.015ZNeeded the nudges and then some. I should have paid more attention to the 4 U's. Great puzzle, Ben, even if I did struggle with it. Thanks!
- Carolyn 3s · 2023-02-04T17:04:15.008ZI had most of the pieces from the beginning but just couldn't put them together until the final nudge. Cool construction!
- Never in a million years. Thanks for the puzzle and the blatant hints.
1A
Nudge in a certain direction
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Across
- 1ANudge in a certain direction
- 5AWarning that should appear on the side of the "Cards Against Humanity" box (abbr.)
- 9AWise people
- 14AItalian island known for its beaches and Napoleon's exile
- 15AWhat some games end in
- 16AWombs
- 17ANicholas II was the last one
- 18AVincent Van Gogh's preferred medium
- 19ACamera lens setting
- 20ASmall creek
- 22A___ up (come clean)
- 23A___ Lingus
- 24AOne or zero, in computer speak
- 25A"If the shoe fits, ___"
- 27APrefix with sphere (which also sounds like the Aussie slang for "crazy")
- 29APhiloctetes (better known as Phil) from Disney's "Hercules", for example
- 32AFair-hiring letters
- 33ALatin eggs
- 35ASpanish aunt
- 36A"'Til Tuesday" singer, Aimee ___
- 37ABasic and most important information about a particular subject
- 41ABorscht ingredient
- 42A___ Paulo, Brazil
- 43A"Please stop sharing!" (in a text)
- 44AWSJ's country
- 45A"Therefore what God has joined together, ___ one separate" (Matt. 19:6, NIV)
- 47AHebrew name that means "God is just", found in 1 Chronicles 27:29 and 1950s presidential races
- 51ACity road
- 53ASporting trophy, often
- 55ANYC subway
- 56ANavigable route through a mountain range
- 57ASeafood served in Maryland
- 60ACircle the Earth
- 61AEl ___, Texas
- 62ALow-carb diet
- 63AHagar the Horrible's wife
- 64AWhere the Himalayas are located
- 65ARegarding
- 66AExhausted
- 67A"I am not throwin' away my ___" ("Hamilton" lyric)
- 68A"And ___ goes" (Billy Joel song)
Down
- 1DLooked after a friend's dog, say
- 2DNorthern Ireland province
- 3DNew York pizza chain
- 4DLong-eared hopper
- 5DLive-action Princess Jasmine, ___ Scott
- 6DClown's props
- 7DTool hidden in a cake, perhaps
- 8DToward the sunset
- 9DWhat you don't want to do with fools gladly
- 10DBewildered, metaphorically speaking
- 11DFaces facts
- 12DSurface sores (or, for the squeamish, causes of beach deteriorations)
- 13DDrink slowly
- 21DOver
- 25DEarp of the Old West
- 26DNumber of pins in a bowling alley
- 28DAmanda Gorman, for example
- 30DUsed as a dining table
- 31DSardine container
- 34DOpposite of liability
- 36DRobin Hood's Marion, for example
- 37DSomething you should do before an exam, for short
- 38DWithin earshot
- 39DTook a load off
- 40DAssertion in an old Apple ad
- 41DPeople mover
- 45DAnne Rice vampire, played by Tom in the movie version
- 46DO in AOC
- 48D"This is how it's done"
- 49DItalian biscuits with a sweet almond flavour, am____
- 50D"___ of my hands," said the Scot
- 52DEndorse digitally
- 54DWWII submarine
- 57DTax experts (abbr.)
- 58DFoolhardy
- 59DWords on many wanted posters
- 60DSounds of surprise
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