Counting Down (Meta)
◆ · By benchen71 · Published 2024-12-31T05:00:27.152Z
Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is what we're counting down to
It's time for another week 5 meta! Hopefully you've got a bit of leisure time to devote to this puzzle. This one has it all: a challenging grid (well, maybe only in places. I didn't want to make it too difficult!) and it's a pangram to boot. Then, once the grid is filled in, good luck searching for the answer to the meta which is what we're counting down to. Nudges available here: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=190047#p190047
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!
Checking for previous play data...
1A
Overcoat named after a baron who suggested using potato sacks to dress soldiers during the Crimean War (ooh, fancy!)
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Across
- 1AOvercoat named after a baron who suggested using potato sacks to dress soldiers during the Crimean War (ooh, fancy!)
- 7ATax pro
- 10A"Friends" actress for short
- 13AGlinda portrayer
- 14AVal. used to obtain a function's result
- 15AWood cutter
- 16ABe released
- 17AArctic Ocean obstacle
- 18AWith 18 across and 18 across: Finnish Eurovision song that came second to Sweden's "Tattoo"
- 19AMatthew McConaughey movie that's "The Truman Show" adjacent
- 20ACivil rights org.
- 22AFavourite food of Obelix
- 23ASushi condiment
- 25AMake possible
- 27ADistant
- 29AExcite at a molecular level
- 30APerformed a dish-washing task
- 31ASwap
- 33ATalkative
- 35APerform a dish-washing task
- 36AParental figure in Australia / Horror movie monster in the US
- 37ABig do
- 41APair of homophones for "si" [noun before verb]
- 43AVillain's expression
- 44ACrystal in a digital watch
- 47AEarth's ambassador in an upcoming Pixar movie
- 49APrefix for uum?
- 50AAstronomer's light ratio
- 51AMusical tone quality
- 53A"___ as old as time"
- 54ABar order, with "the"
- 56AThe E of QED
- 59ASoul of a French person
- 60AAussie's first year of schooling
- 61AOscar winner as Disraeli
- 63AEgyptian sun god, and others of the same name
- 64A___ out a victory
- 65AYearwood of "How Do I Live" which was featured in the film "Con Air"
- 66AAdherent's suffix
- 67AHarsh review
- 68AMC of woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints
Down
- 1DThrow a tantrum
- 2DJLo ex
- 3DPrepare a present
- 4DInsect stage
- 5DHydrocarbon suffix
- 6DDance craze with a repetitive name
- 7DTrig follower?
- 8DStuff you own
- 9DImprove, as wine
- 10D___ ladder (Gen. 28)
- 11DBreathe out
- 12DGot closer to
- 17DCongregation of believers, essentially
- 21DLow-tech calculator
- 22DTree that sprouts roots from its branches
- 24DH. Rider Haggard title
- 26DMinor complaint
- 27DAbbr. of enthusiasm (just don't reverse it in polite company!)
- 28D13 across, for short
- 32D"You Gotta Be" singer
- 34DBedelia of kid lit
- 36DDated spelling of a Polish musical form based on folk dances in triple meter
- 38DHot to the touch
- 39DStephen of "The Crying Game"
- 40DHell-devil of Old English literature
- 42DApprox. takeoff hour
- 43DCry convulsively
- 44DDoha native
- 45DTibetan monk comes between us Muslim theologians (cryptic clue)
- 46DMost skilled
- 48DWhite Rabbit's lament
- 52DArchaeologist's find
- 55DObserved
- 57DArthur of tennis
- 58DWinter Palace resident
- 60DGet-up-and-go
- 62DTrain companies (abbr.)