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Lonely Negatives (Meta)

◆◆ · By benchen71 · Published 2024-10-22T05:00:38.061Z

Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is a movie
Well, I know I've bitten off slightly more than I can chew with this one, which is why I'm running it as a "week 4". But I think I've left you enough to find your way to the meta answer, which is a movie. And let's do the prize thing again! If you check the box during submission, your name will go into the draw for the latest MOAT pack, the MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands. Answer & explanation: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=183071#p183071
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...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • Berto solved 2024-10-22T11:41:31.645Z
  • Dave C solved 2024-10-22T15:48:22.905Z
  • Hector solved 2024-10-22T18:02:04.595Z
  • LarsCaine solved 2024-10-22T18:49:45.718Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-10-22T22:09:14.222Z
  • MatthewL solved 2024-10-22T22:47:44.419Z
  • Tim solved 2024-10-22T23:31:55.727Z
  • markhr solved 2024-10-22T23:35:17.755Z
  • whimsy solved 2024-10-22T23:44:52.026Z
  • Steve M solved 2024-10-23T00:47:57.075Z
  • DrTom solved 2024-10-23T00:51:18.524Z
  • KayW solved 2024-10-23T00:57:16.286Z
  • Meg solved 2024-10-23T01:33:39.299Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2024-10-23T01:35:46.134Z
  • woozy solved 2024-10-23T02:13:00.755Z
  • boharr solved 2024-10-23T02:23:03.344Z
  • HeadinHome solved 2024-10-23T02:24:27.605Z
  • DebbieC solved 2024-10-23T02:57:32.715Z
  • Carolyn solved 2024-10-23T05:09:35.914Z
  • Morendil solved 2024-10-23T07:47:22.839Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2024-10-23T13:41:27.424Z
  • edestlin solved 2024-10-23T16:42:58.974Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2024-10-23T18:27:36.089Z
  • Serafin solved 2024-10-23T19:48:34.493Z
  • heidi solved 2024-10-23T20:01:38.545Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2024-10-23T22:02:03.433Z
  • JM solved 2024-10-23T22:38:09.288Z
  • iceman solved 2024-10-23T23:20:17.400Z
  • rjy solved 2024-10-24T03:50:33.741Z
  • DaveG solved 2024-10-24T03:52:09.345Z
  • Laura M solved 2024-10-24T08:42:08.260Z
  • lbray53 solved 2024-10-24T23:55:21.948Z
  • Danny K Bernstein solved 2024-10-25T01:39:34.676Z
  • DIS solved 2024-10-25T15:49:45.359Z
  • rfj solved 2024-10-26T01:43:01.051Z
  • DCBilly solved 2024-10-26T13:19:22.847Z
  • Mr Tex solved 2024-10-26T17:13:24.168Z
  • kurtalert solved 2024-10-28T21:18:20.562Z
  • jonny solved 2024-11-01T15:10:23.992Z
  • Sanna solved 2024-11-04T00:22:31.713Z

Comments

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  • Berto 1s · 2024-10-22T11:42:16.994Z
    Woohoo! Thought I’d (never) get there, but jumped out in the end! Thanks Ben!
    • benchen71 constructor · 2024-10-22T23:30:05.714Z
      Well done on being the first solver... by a good 4 hours!
    • Dave C 3s · 2024-10-22T15:49:17.657Z
      Got the first step right away then struggled a bit to find the synonyms. Nice one.
      • MatthewL 🤓16:47 · 2024-10-22T22:48:46.586Z
        Needed the nudges, but then kept saying -- what the heck is TINGHILL? Then finally remembered the cardinal rule of metanisms -- when in doubt, apply the rule again. Thanks for the puzzle, Ben!
        • benchen71 constructor · 2024-10-22T23:29:35.707Z
          That's a very good rule to keep in mind!
          • whimsy 🤓20:18 · 2024-10-22T23:52:32.931Z
            ^^^ Exactly! And yes, needed the nudges to pinpoint the synonyms -- was distracted by "other" synonyms in the grid such as RUE, LOATH (sic.) A week 4 doozy of a challenge to be sure, but terrific when I realized the necessary "jump" I had to make. Thanks, Ben!
          • Steve M 47:34 · 2024-10-23T00:50:12.285Z
            I was looking for synonyms in the grid (without luck). Needed the nudge to find them in the clues. Thanks for the fun puzzle!
            • KayW 🤓3:46 · 2024-10-23T00:58:17.872Z
              Wowza!! Took the nudges and (as usual) then asked myself why I needed them. Fantastic concept and construction, Ben. Thanks!
              • HeadinHome 🤓2:33 · 2024-10-23T02:26:35.935Z
                Had given up on initialisms and figured this was one that just had to occur to you. Tried Inception, Unbroken, Unforgiven, Hitch…. The nudge to look in the clues is all it took. Duhhh…. (Even so, I thought I was way off when the word started “TINGH…”. Huh?? ( :
                • benchen71 constructor · 2024-10-23T05:23:21.515Z
                  I was hoping the jump to the answer would be a fun moment! ;-)
                  • HeadinHome 🤓2:33 · 2024-10-24T23:59:03.177Z
                    definitely was!
                • boharr 3s · 2024-10-23T02:23:20.704Z
                  Nudged
                  • woozy 16:54 · 2024-10-23T02:18:19.620Z
                    Yeah... the synonyms were hard for me. Had to read every grid entry and clue six times before I found them all. I sort of saw teeny bits of this but didn't really.
                    I really thought I had to do something about finding some word meaning pet inclusion. I didn't really think I was supposed to do something about putting negatives in.
                    • Carolyn 4s · 2024-10-23T05:11:13.446Z
                      I had all eight words without the nudges but it took forever to find the synonyms. Good one!
                      • DrTom 3s · 2024-10-23T00:53:26.685Z
                        TOUGH grid and puzzle. I got step one then faltered. I had the right idea because I was looking at LUNATIC for INANE but never thought to look in the clues...silly me. Needed that nudge to get me past what I already had. Loved the movie, and loved the last step.
                        • lbray53 2s · 2024-10-24T11:01:01.952Z
                          I needed the last nudge. I saw PRACTICAL in the clues as a synonym for NANE and spent WAY too much time looking for more of those. Ironically, I connected TRANSCENDENT and HOLY but when I tried to use the last nudge my brain dismissed it because I was looking for first words and not single words.
                          Also, I struggled to see the How and DEBUNK connection, assuming that is correct.
                          Fun challenge.
                          • benchen71 constructor · 2024-10-24T19:59:22.288Z
                            DEBUNK > PUNCTURE
                          • jonny 14:03 · 2024-11-01T15:12:34.245Z
                            Oh, this is super clever. I'm only now hearing about meta puzzles, but I'm amazed at the level of planning and creativity involved — amazing work! I felt like I was beginning to work out the meta puzzle as I was solving, which kept it from feeling like I hit an immediate hard wall. Lovely work.
                            • benchen71 constructor · 2024-11-01T21:01:54.896Z
                              Metas are definitely a lot of fun. The WSJ Friday puzzle was where I encountered them first.
                            1A
                            Breakfast cereal based on everyone's favourite crossword cookie
                            1
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                            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
                            68
                            69
                            70
                            71
                            72
                            73
                            74
                            75
                            Across
                            1. 1A
                              Breakfast cereal based on everyone's favourite crossword cookie
                            2. 7A
                              Sensible?
                            3. 10A
                              Sin / Cos
                            4. 13A
                              Tangled?
                            5. 15A
                              "So adorable!"
                            6. 17A
                              Details of a person's life, education, and career
                            7. 18A
                              "Oh, but it just may be a ___ you're looking for" (lyric from Billy Joel's "You May Be Right")
                            8. 19A
                              Separated colour (like "cyan", for example)
                            9. 20A
                              Gift shop section (and also a song by Chris Lane if that helps)
                            10. 22A
                              Prove?
                            11. 23A
                              Chinook salmon
                            12. 25A
                              Chinese electric vehicle company
                            13. 26A
                              Cold-shoulder (with "out")
                            14. 28A
                              "I can ___ obstacles in my way" (lyric from a Johnny Nash song)
                            15. 31A
                              Play ___ (act)
                            16. 35A
                              Actor, Ron ___, who was in a relationship with his ER co-star Julianna Margulies from 1991 to 2003
                            17. 38A
                              1991 or 2003, for example
                            18. 40A
                              Morgue in a short story by Edgar Allan Poe
                            19. 41A
                              Confidence?
                            20. 43A
                              Describable?
                            21. 45A
                              Doubts that ___ exists (is a religious skeptic)
                            22. 46A
                              Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, ___
                            23. 48A
                              Do some grapplin'
                            24. 49A
                              Beginning stage
                            25. 51A
                              Matthew Broderick movie, "___ Blues"
                            26. 53A
                              Blog feed letters
                            27. 55A
                              How-___ (instructional books)
                            28. 56A
                              Japanese grapplin' (maybe that will help with 48 across)
                            29. 60A
                              Love?
                            30. 63A
                              Big laugh
                            31. 66A
                              Silly spy movie, "___ Secret!"
                            32. 67A
                              Chris Hemsworth and benchen71, for two
                            33. 69A
                              French meatloaf named after the pottery mold it's cooked in
                            34. 71A
                              Stinging plants
                            35. 72A
                              Neat?
                            36. 73A
                              "Mr. Blue Sky" band, for short
                            37. 74A
                              Reactive?
                            38. 75A
                              Common motel restriction (and given this entry contains the only negative in the entire puzzle - grid and clues - maybe you should do something about that!)
                            Down
                            1. 1D
                              Planetary path
                            2. 2D
                              Day when you finally get to use all those things you saved, perhaps
                            3. 3D
                              Bring to mind, as a memory
                            4. 4D
                              UK multi-volume lexicon
                            5. 5D
                              Anna's "Frozen" snowman friend
                            6. 6D
                              Like the teeth of someone listening to fingernails on a blackboard
                            7. 7D
                              Tamarisk salt tree
                            8. 8D
                              "Flashdance" actor, Michael ___
                            9. 9D
                              Very long time
                            10. 10D
                              South African bishop, Desmond ___
                            11. 11D
                              Has ___ ear (is tone-deaf)
                            12. 12D
                              Puncture site in a vampire movie, perhaps
                            13. 14D
                              Character from the MTV animated series "Beavis and Butt-Head" who got her own self-titled spin-off
                            14. 16D
                              Pole tossed at the Highland Games
                            15. 21D
                              Transcendent
                            16. 24D
                              "La Bamba" actor, ___ Morales
                            17. 27D
                              Auto data company that sounds like a ridiculously superfluous communications accessory
                            18. 29D
                              Belonging to 50 down
                            19. 30D
                              "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" director, Ang ___
                            20. 32D
                              Eyes, poetically
                            21. 33D
                              Dormant period
                            22. 34D
                              Very wide shoe
                            23. 35D
                              Big name in toaster waffles
                            24. 36D
                              Wild animal of the African savannahs
                            25. 37D
                              Contents of a package from Netflix, once upon a time
                            26. 39D
                              Iconic 60's brand for those with naturally curly hair that relaunched recently
                            27. 42D
                              Family member, for short
                            28. 44D
                              Sale stipulation
                            29. 47D
                              Jedi foe
                            30. 50D
                              Young's accounting partner
                            31. 52D
                              Far from eager
                            32. 54D
                              Diaphanous
                            33. 57D
                              Practical
                            34. 58D
                              Noted painter of water lilies
                            35. 59D
                              Opinion pieces
                            36. 60D
                              Hamlet, for example
                            37. 61D
                              "The Clan of the Cave Bear" author
                            38. 62D
                              Ratio words
                            39. 64D
                              Helper (abbr.)
                            40. 65D
                              67 across's p.m.
                            41. 68D
                              ___-de-France
                            42. 70D
                              Workout unit
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