The sum of its parts
◆ · By woozy · Published 2022-10-03T17:47:20.577Z
Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is an animal
EDIT: I mentioned I might make a "cleaner" version of this puzzle. Well https://crosshare.org/crosswords/23ii8qZgoKXO3f7xKr6c/holism is done and it's a superior puzzle to this in nearly all ways. I suggest you attempt it first.
This one is .... different.
By the nature of the meta this was very hard to construct and the grid .... well, you see. Still it's a clever and unique idea that had to be done, although I am upset by the ugliness of the grid. I was about 1/3 of the way through construction when I thought of another why I can have the overall same meta (slightly less convoluted and slightly less clever) with a cleaner grid. However, Crosshare won't let you start a new puzzle until you have published (or abandoned) you current puzzle so I haven't done the other one yet. If this is too weird, in a few days I'll have a cleaner companion.
Advice: Figure out where the "essential areas of the meta" are first. It'll be utterly impossible to do this meta without them
Checking for previous play data...
1A
Traveling chest
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Across
- 1ATraveling chest
- 4AAstrological but more... you know.... trippy
- 8AMetamorphic rock (your brother's daughter might like this)
- 14AThat guy
- 15AExclamation of surprise (coming and going... but this way is going)
- 16APermission to read or change a file; or the internet domain suffix for Rwanda
- 18ATwo tablespoons
- 19ACable station that debuted with "Video killed the Radio Star"
- 20ABattered and sauted in butter
- 23AExam for prospective law students
- 24AWhile
- 25ASmall bit of an herb
- 26ARescuers down under
- 28APlace for a keystone
- 30AMusical aptitude
- 31AShape of the essential areas of the meta
- 32AArid
- 33AComic Publisher of the 40s and on. It had a reputation for being particularly gory. It was the original publisher of Mad Magazine.
- 34A"I beg your pardon"
- 35A... you know, people used to say this all the time before Seinfeld.... jus' sayin'
- 37AAdherent of the philosophy that the parts can not be understood without reference to the whole animal
- 39ASupport group for drinkers' families
- 41ACraggy peak. (This used to be as common in crosswords as OREO is now. What happened?)
- 42AObfuscated
- 44AI suspect this will be a common response to this grid
- 45ALabels for a toggle
- 47ARoman household god
- 48AHorse sound
- 49AStage of a journey
- 50AFoam toy ball
- 51AIncensed
- 53ACapital of the U.S.
- 55AAct
- 56ANetflix drama series starring Brit Marling (with "The)
- 57AA bit off-color; you wouldn't want a coworker to see you looking at this
- 58ARailroad
- 60AChief prosecutor
- 62AHandhelds; and held hands
- 66ABe lavish in attention
- 67AYou and me
- 68AMaybe the cat is saying "I hurt"... or maybe he is saying "I pity you"...
- 70ALiterary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn
- 72ADepression or hollow made by a blow
- 74A"And Voila!" (vat. spelling)
- 75AAll Mustang Sally wants to do
- 76AChildren's book illustrator Williams, illustrator of Charlotte's Web and The Little House on the Prairie books, but my favorite is Randall Jarell's "The Gingerbread Rabbit"
- 77ASoldier
- 78AJapanese currency (abbr. [of course])
- 80A"What more useful piece of equipment, in times of emergencies, can a palindromist have than a pair of -------?" (from "The Life and Death of Sydney Yendys" by George Marvill)
- 82ACurvy, like a letter?
- 83APast tense of 99A
- 85ANickle
- 86AHumble response to "Good job, guys"
- 87AAnd therefore
- 89AOpera by Jean-Philippe Rameau (the title character is a water nymph pursued by Neptune)
- 90AHighly respected originals
- 91ASilly clue: Nature without cerium; Serious clue: Eat that German city (ok, not that serious a clue)
- 92ARear end
- 94AHow many hints there are in the rows above essential areas of the meta. These are hints to the cluster of essential areas below the line.
- 95APrefix meaning of a people or culture
- 96AComputer key on the for corner of the keyboard
- 97AHe said "Inside a dog its too dark to read" (but is it?)
- 98ACarbon copy; or cubic centimeter
- 99AStrongest and securest parts or a castle; (or a verb describing what that part of the castle does for you regarding safety)
- 101ASilly clue: Law enforcement agency in Piers Anthony's country; Serious clue: spy novel by Len Deighton; its title refers to the code for "expedient demise" (meaning assassination)
- 102AKentucky
- 104ACries of disgust
- 106ABring your own
- 107ASilly clue: Floral neckware-- Internet edition; Serious clue: Dutch name for the river Lys.
- 109AMachine mimicry or display of human cognitive skills
- 110AEt --, Brute
- 111ASlide instrument
- 113ADeparture from the norm
- 115AExactly how many squares are in each of the essential areas of the meta
- 116AA narwhal's horn is this essentially
- 117A"The Phenomenology of Spirit" and "Science of Logic" author
- 118AYukon Territory
- 119AHello
- 120AWide shoe but not the widest
- 121AEconomist Greenspan
- 122ACalifornium
- 123AProvince of Canada known for its potatoes, mussels, a plucky red-head
- 125AChilled
- 127ANew Mexico facility that began with the Manhattan Project
- 128ABelonging to
- 129AHamlet's home
- 131ADoes this entry have Buddha-nature?
- 132ACelestial alignment. When the moon, sun and earth are in this, we have the opposite of 46D
- 133AMace is the ground rind of the Myristica fragrans fruit; this is its seed
- 134AUseful quality
Down
- 1D---- the Tank; Doubting -----; ------ Hardy, the most depressing author in history.... with a lack of cross clues I'm not going to make it hard on you.
- 2DConcerning
- 3Dwith "in a", encapsulated briefly
- 4DSilly clue: coins in your makeup case; Serious clue: Music storage media
- 5DFeng ___; which this grid certainly lacks
- 6DMutt
- 7DHaving the shape of a quarter moon
- 9DDo the essential areas of the meta exclude black squares? Do they include any white (unhighlighted) squares?
- 10DMemorial tribute
- 11DBuffer to the flow of hear and/or electricity
- 12DIntimidated and warned away
- 13DComplete collections
- 17DHerzog movie: "Aguirre, the -----"
- 19DArtisans of the large
- 21DMake a mistake
- 22DPeron or Gabor or Longoria or ......
- 25DDate Ms. Grafton?
- 27DFashionable
- 29DAppeal the carbonated beverages' verdict
- 36DSandy the dog says this
- 38D"Gas, Food, Lodging" actress Skye
- 39DWhy a smart guy like me seldom completes a meta above a week 3 maybe? (Or maybe not)
- 40DHole punching tool which blinded Louis Braille when he was three years old
- 42DWhat you might be if you can't see the animal
- 43DFor example
- 45DLennon widow
- 46DTwice a month when the low and high waters have the least difference. This occur when the moon and sun are at 90 degrees to the earth and 132A is most certainly not occurring
- 52DHow many essential areas this meta has
- 54DAt the end of movies it can be a relationship landmine whether to sit through these
- 59DMaori word for the kiwi; (if we changed 58 to two other equally acceptable alternatives; this clue could be an extinct bird not very related to the kiwi; or it could be a wrap made from kiwi feathers [none of these changes effect the meta)
- 61DBecause
- 63DHorrible excuse for bumping into someone
- 64DOverall regional reaction
- 65DArch to Trombone in this grid
- 68DLarge birds known for their raucous cries and the habit of stealing shiny objects
- 69DSometimes the best response to this is "Because I said so"
- 71DWhat a reconciling friend might ask after an awkward incident
- 73D"The Once and Future King" Author White
- 76DOh, I'd love to do a clue about Kurt Vonnegut and the fictional Ilium Works, but I'm just going to do a dumb clue about the company with the slogan "We bring good things to life"
- 79DA code which soldiers can read by touch without a light source; a precursor to braille
- 81DMatches up (as 92D doesn't)
- 83D"Cut it out"
- 84DGeneral all purpose suffix indicating belonging to a class or classification; or ---- Evans, bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd from 2001 until his death in 2009
- 88DFamiliar (colloquially)
- 92DOffset in time something is recorded and time something is aired
- 93DAutomobile prototype, built in 1930 by German engineer Josef Ganz at the German motorcycle manufacturer Ardie
- 97DSilly clue: Individual tax form in ancient Rome; Serious clue: Year of the Battle of Dandanaqan
- 100DWhen the water is going out
- 103DSwath of the southern and southwestern U.S. where winters are mild
- 104DSilly clue: The ---- Betsy Spidder went up the water spoot; Serious clue: Internet craft site
- 105DBall team named for clothing
- 108DHow the essential areas of this meta are distributed over the grid
- 109DSpiky volcanic rock
- 110DPreposition to indicate purpose (one of about a dozen meanings)
- 112DTo barely make a living
- 114DIllinois
- 117D"Laughing Cavalier" artist
- 119DMatriarch of the Olympians
- 122DPlayfully demure
- 123DA little French
- 124DBelief
- 126DColorado
- 130DThat is to say
- 131DI am accused