The answer to the meta is an 8-letter word that suggests things might be looking up
Last night as I was reading in bed, I thought of a possible metanism. I did a quick OneLook.com search for a few terms, just to see if the idea could work, wrote a short note so I wouldn't forget it, and then went to sleep. Then, in the early morning, I spent a couple of hours tossing and turning, coming up with the puzzle specifics. Memo to self: don't get meta ideas late at night! The answer to the meta is an 8-letter word that suggests things might be looking up. Answer & explanation: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=135933#p135934
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)
SeamusOL solved almost 2 years ago
markhr solved almost 2 years ago
Laura M solved almost 2 years ago
JM solved almost 2 years ago
rjy solved almost 2 years ago
Capn Rick solved almost 2 years ago
boharr solved almost 2 years ago
Alex Sisti solved almost 2 years ago
Tom Wilson solved almost 2 years ago
Pair O Ducks solved almost 2 years ago
jbird solved almost 2 years ago
Cindy Heisler solved almost 2 years ago
MrTheHan solved almost 2 years ago
Meg solved almost 2 years ago
Hector solved almost 2 years ago
Tyrpmom solved almost 2 years ago
Berto solved almost 2 years ago
merlinnimue solved almost 2 years ago
whimsy solved almost 2 years ago
MatthewL solved almost 2 years ago
DIS solved almost 2 years ago
hoover solved almost 2 years ago
Schmeel solved almost 2 years ago
DrTom solved almost 2 years ago
Dow Jones solved almost 2 years ago
heidi solved almost 2 years ago
HeadinHome solved almost 2 years ago
ajk solved almost 2 years ago
Johnny Luau solved almost 2 years ago
kurtalert solved almost 2 years ago
CPJohnson solved almost 2 years ago
KayW solved almost 2 years ago
Cindy Weatherman solved almost 2 years ago
I K Snamhcok solved almost 2 years ago
violet solved almost 2 years ago
Bird Lives solved almost 2 years ago
Spid4567 solved almost 2 years ago
BarbaraK solved almost 2 years ago
Flora Wynn solved almost 2 years ago
Mikey G solved almost 2 years ago
Qmark solved almost 2 years ago
ReB solved almost 2 years ago
woozy solved almost 2 years ago
Carolyn solved almost 2 years ago
Ergcat solved almost 2 years ago
rayyandroid solved almost 2 years ago
Jaclyn solved almost 2 years ago
PuzNewbie solved almost 2 years ago
Gutman solved almost 2 years ago
Darrell solved almost 2 years ago
Lil Moody solved almost 2 years ago
Darth solved almost 2 years ago
sledge solved almost 2 years ago
Comments
Sign in with google to leave a comment of your own:
Stymied as to how to get more letters until I recalled the prompt was "suggests." :-)
Thank you, Ben, for a fun one!
merlinnimue 🤓8:50 · almost 2 years ago
Great puzzle. I am so envious of all of you coming up with ideas and I can only hope to lose sleep over getting one... then again, if it takes me over an hour to solve such a simple meta, perhaps I should leave well enough alone (and simplicity is not a dig on you or your puzzle, but on me and my complete failure to just look at the initial letters... sigh)
Berto 4:02 · almost 2 years ago
I loved it, thanks Ben.
Originally went with “Tailwind” but eventually got to the right answer.
MatthewL 🤓8:34 · almost 2 years ago
Clever one. Took me a bit to grok the meta, but ultimately it clicked. Grid was very good, as were the clues. Got a chuckle out of 34D. Thanks, Ben!
My thinking was WATER, ICE, NIGHT and DOWN can all be followed by FALL (as suggested by the puzzle title). I think that makes WINDFALL work better than TAILWIND.
hoover 2s · almost 2 years ago
Whew! Finally hit on the right WIND compound. I tried DOWNWIND, TAILWIND, HEADWIND, EAST WIND, WINDWARD, and a few others. I agree with the other folks that TAILWIND is better.
What no one has commented on is that WATER, ICE, NIGHT and DOWN can all be followed by FALL (as suggested by the puzzle title). I think that makes WINDFALL work better than TAILWIND.
OK, got it but not without going with what I thought was more logical with wind being spelled by the down words and the Title being Quick Descent. So I went with WIND DOWN because that is when the worst is over, stress is declining and things are starting to look good again. Still it is not a word as much as it is two words. I had already discarded WIND BACK because rewinding doesn't mean things are looking up. But WINDFALL fits the definition, the theme and prompt (AN 8 letter word) perfectly. Oh, and I don't care about unchecked squares or two letter words if the meta is fun, and it was!!!
HeadinHome 🤓4:03 · almost 2 years ago
Agree with all that TAILWIND is a cute answer, but WINDFALL was what occurred to me first. I considered FAIR WIND for a second too, but “fall” is obviously what is going on! Also agree that we are glad that you, Sir Ben, are a member of this table!!
Another hand raised for TAILWIND (same thought as DIS), but click was obviously stronger for WINDFALL once I saw it. Also spent some time looking for other examples in the grid -- I SAID NO at 26A, WEEK at 33A, VAN UNLOAD(?) at 46A, ELIE (??) at 60A. But when none of those matched alternate clues I gave up. :)
The idea was WATER, ICE, NIGHT and DOWN can all be followed by FALL (as suggested by the puzzle title). I think that makes WINDFALL work better than TAILWIND.
Completely agree, for the reasons you give. When I entered TAILWIND I momentarily forgot that I had decided it was important that the down parts were all real words. :)
woohoo! A very creative metanism. I saw WIND when I first solved this puzzle, but it took letting it percolate on the back burner for a few hours for the rest to come to mind. Thanks Ben!
Qmark 4s · almost 2 years ago
Nice one, Ben!
ReB 4s · almost 2 years ago
Good puzzle, just couldn't connect the threads without nudging. But alas, windfalls all too often blow away...
Carolyn 3s · almost 2 years ago
I got lost in a rabbit warren but finally saw the light. Nice puzzle!
Ergcat 🤓13:58 · almost 2 years ago
very nice puzzle. After I read the nudges, I looked back at my notes and saw that I had it but didn't see it at the time! Duh! Thank you, Ben!