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PCC#9 "Character Study"

◆ · By Philip Chow · Published 2023-09-23T19:33:32.735Z

Meta Prompt
[Level 3] Meta prompt: The answer to the meta is a 7-letter word you might exclaim upon solving the meta
Hint #1: The TV show associated with the theme song is the theme of the puzzle
Hint #2: "autotrophs" and "Neanderthals" are easter eggs I included because they're in the theme song as well, but alas they are red herrings... focus on the title instead
Hint #3: "character study"... study the clues for (main) characters from the show
Hint #4: the first letters of the answers to the seven clues with characters in them will spell out a relevant phrase... this will play out much easier if you're familiar with the show... if not, then Google is your best friend
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • FrankieHeck solved 2023-09-23T23:44:51.537Z
  • kurtalert solved 2023-09-24T01:26:10.866Z
  • theZAzis solved 2023-09-24T06:57:59.186Z
  • C solved 2023-09-24T12:15:24.313Z
  • damefox solved 2023-09-24T14:46:35.435Z
  • Chris solved 2023-09-24T14:55:01.728Z
  • Larry Edelstein solved 2023-09-24T21:16:00.129Z
  • kieranjboyd solved 2023-09-24T22:31:51.858Z
  • Lin Godfrey solved 2023-09-24T22:41:38.649Z
  • Mr Tex solved 2023-09-25T21:12:31.550Z
  • luposlipophobe solved 2023-09-26T04:15:44.337Z
  • Sendhil Revuluri solved 2023-09-26T22:39:59.601Z
  • Hector solved 2023-09-27T04:15:30.130Z
  • iceman solved 2023-10-10T19:59:54.531Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2023-11-16T23:31:07.543Z
  • Alex Sisti solved 2023-11-18T15:38:13.831Z
  • whimsy solved 2023-12-14T20:45:04.363Z
  • Flora Wynn solved 2024-01-22T04:04:43.478Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-04-28T15:45:11.162Z
  • KayW solved 2024-04-29T00:44:31.261Z

Comments

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  • Philip Chow constructor · 2023-09-23T19:45:24.831Z
    theme inspiration by TG - check out his "Chorus Line" puzzles @reibello
    solution: the lyrics are from "The Big Bang Theory"... The main characters of the TV show (Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Howard, Raj, Bernadette, and Amy) can be found in the clues... read off the first letter of the answers to those clues in grid order to spell out "Bazinga!"... which Sheldon uses as an interjection to rub a good joke in someone's face... it can also be used to cheer yourself on after a personal win 🥳
    • kurtalert 🤓6:06 · 2023-09-24T01:27:02.562Z
      Oh no. LOL. I absolutely hate this show... but the puzzle was really good! Much, much, much better than the show!
      • FrankieHeck 🤓20:25 · 2023-09-24T12:33:40.904Z
        Fun! I had about all the letters for AAZING and was expecting the next letter to be an M...but then I found the B and remembered the catch phrase. I haven't watched in a while and had forgotten about that. Nice!
        • damefox 🤓4:59 · 2023-09-24T14:50:52.523Z
          Nice! I saw you were going for something TBBT related and successfully guessed BAZINGA without actually seeing the rest of the mechanism. 😂
          PS - At 50D you're missing a C at the start of the clue, and at 52A, the tense of the clue doesn't match the tense of the answer ("does" -> ENSLAVES, "do" -> ENSLAVE).
          • Philip Chow constructor · 2023-09-24T15:40:36.997Z
            Thanks Emma! I revised the clues.
            I was debating taking away the "7-letter" in the meta prompt since it's quite guessable when you think of catchphrases, but I thought it would be unfair to someone who wasn't familiar with the show. If they google "Big Bang Theory characters" how would they know how many characters to look for? Who is a main character or who is too minor to embed in the clues? So ultimately settled for keeping the "7-letter" word prompt as a nudge for looking for seven characters. I'm not sure if it's unfair to build metas around something so specific as a show that not everyone watches, but I figured as long as it's googleable, then it's fair game. I hope that's OK.
            • damefox 🤓4:59 · 2023-09-24T17:32:33.893Z
              Pandora's Blocks did a TV-show-themed meta a little while ago (https://crosshare.org/crosswords/KYYkUtMj5QGoVo4MfO6L/a-sticky-situation - a little easier than yours, but same idea), and I think I've seen other ones elsewhere. As long as there's enough there for people to google what they need, seems fair to me.
              • Philip Chow constructor · 2023-09-24T19:26:29.059Z
                thanks for sharing the puzzle! love that show - it served as the basis for PCC#6... i've been working a lot on trying to come up with new meta ideas - i have a puzzle slated for next month that i was excited about but someone pointed out that Mike Shenk already did the exact same mechanism which bummed me out
          • Sendhil Revuluri 🤓4:05 · 2023-09-26T22:41:02.583Z
            Phew! Thanks for the hints. Definitely need some scaffolded practice with metas!
            • KayW 🤓6:28 · 2024-04-29T00:48:45.323Z
              I loved the show and suspected the answer as soon as I recognized the meta was BBT-related. But of course I couldn't pass up the fun of solving. Thanks!
              • Philip Chow constructor · 2024-04-29T13:59:30.510Z
                Bazinga!
              Play today's daily mini crossword
              1A
              "Everything must go!" event
              1
              2
              3
              4
              5
              6
              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
              67
              Across
              1. 1A
                "Everything must go!" event
              2. 5A
                PC alternatives
              3. 9A
                Cathedral featured on the Tetris loading screen: Abbr.
              4. 13A
                ___ in hell (slim chance)
              5. 17A
                Opening lyric of a TV theme song, with 18-Across, 32-Across, 45-Across, and 47-Across
              6. 18A
                Opening lyric of a TV theme song, with 17-Across, 32-Across, 45-Across, and 47-Across
              7. 19A
                More blasphemous or vulgar
              8. 20A
                Matter from which a thing is made
              9. 21A
                First ___ kit
              10. 22A
                Sidney Sheldon novel "___ You Afraid of the Dark?"
              11. 23A
                Jewel case storage unit
              12. 27A
                "The Invisible War" producer Amy
              13. 31A
                Fish ___ soup (traditional Chinese delicacy)
              14. 32A
                Opening lyric of a TV theme song, with 17-Across, 18-Across, 45-Across, and 47-Across
              15. 34A
                Earl Grey, for one
              16. 36A
                Tickled pink
              17. 38A
                Fictional green-blooded race and Vulcan enemy
              18. 39A
                Started off with a ___ (began in a very fun, exciting, and attention-grabbing way)
              19. 40A
                Sensei in "The Karate Kid" who catches flies with chopsticks
              20. 42A
                Emancipation Proclamation prez
              21. 43A
                First lady Marcos of the Philippines with an enormous shoe collection
              22. 45A
                Opening lyric of a TV theme song, with 17-Across, 18-Across, 32-Across, and 47-Across
              23. 47A
                Opening lyric of a TV theme song, with 17-Across, 18-Across, 32-Across, and 45-Across
              24. 49A
                Rose-colored autotroph (second word is a seaweed that is often pluralized)
              25. 52A
                Deprive of freedom, as Jabba the Hutt to a captured Princess Leia in "Return of the Jedi"
              26. 56A
                Where the British Raj ruled
              27. 57A
                "___ a billion years!" ("Fat chance!")
              28. 61A
                Leonard who played Spock in "Star Trek"
              29. 62A
                Elaborate banquet, for example
              30. 63A
                Howard Hughes's phobia
              31. 64A
                Broadcasting studio sign
              32. 65A
                "___ remember the kind of September / When life was slow and oh, so mellow" (lyrics from a "Fantasticks" song)
              33. 66A
                "Penny wise, pound foolish," for example
              34. 67A
                Darling girl of "Peter Pan"
              Down
              1. 1D
                Deemed appropriate
              2. 2D
                Without ___ of a doubt (100% certain)
              3. 3D
                Animal holding a sword on Sri Lanka's flag
              4. 4D
                Winners of "Project Runway" (seasons 1-5, 17-20) get a feature in this magazine
              5. 5D
                "___ Lisa" (painting that features a mysterious smile)
              6. 6D
                Keep ___ (persevere)
              7. 7D
                Neanderthals' prehistoric paintings
              8. 8D
                Terri's twin sister on "The Simpsons"
              9. 9D
                Soak (up), as gravy
              10. 10D
                Istanbul's country: Abbr.
              11. 11D
                Stage for theater legend Bernadette Peters
              12. 12D
                Spanish 101 verb
              13. 13D
                ___ Lock (PC key)
              14. 14D
                Light blue avenue you land on if you roll a six on your first turn in Monopoly
              15. 15D
                Awareness-raising TV ad
              16. 16D
                Wiggly fish
              17. 23D
                Pasadena's state, for short
              18. 24D
                Heavy-duty blender brand
              19. 25D
                Paul Anka's "___ Beso"
              20. 26D
                Anatomical fissures (anagram of Madame Curie, Tussaud, or Antoinette)
              21. 27D
                Jewelry chain known as "The Diamond Store"
              22. 28D
                Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James (whose last name is a type of tuna spelled backwards)
              23. 29D
                Lasting a very, very, very long period of geological time
              24. 30D
                Identity that may be nonbinary: Abbr.
              25. 31D
                Palindromic film studio with a roaring mascot
              26. 33D
                Small lump
              27. 35D
                Palindromic Ottoman title
              28. 37D
                Anti-art artist like Marcel Duchamp
              29. 39D
                Made a ___ for (went straight towards something as quickly as possible)
              30. 41D
                Italian frozen dessert
              31. 44D
                Aptly named ski resort in Vermont: Abbr.
              32. 46D
                ___ different tune (changed one's mind)
              33. 48D
                Fidgety
              34. 49D
                Fissure, as in the space-time continuum
              35. 50D
                Cabinet dept. with a sun, windmill, and atom, among other sources of power on its seal
              36. 51D
                1944 Normandy event
              37. 53D
                "And you haven't got a clue / Somehow I'll make ___ out of you" (lyrics from a "Mulan" song)
              38. 54D
                Empty space
              39. 55D
                Old spelling variant of an eagle's nest (with two y's in its name)
              40. 58D
                Reference work that was the subject of Simon Winchester's "The Meaning of Everything," briefly
              41. 59D
                ___-la-la (refrain syllables in a chorus line?)
              42. 60D
                Kind of file with extensions gif, jpeg, or bmp: Abbr.
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