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Writing Down through the Ages

◆◆ · By woozy · Published 2022-09-07T04:01:50.762Z

Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is a piece of writing
This may be my most ambitious meta.
This was a learning experience but what I learned is not that pleasant.
I learned when a constructor sets himself up with an intricate problem of creating a puzzle that cleverly follows an intricate mechanism and the constructor gets the thrill of solving the problem.... Unfortunately for the solver there will not be the thrill of solving the problem, there's only doing of the puzzle which, although it may be amazing that such a puzzle could have been made, says nothing about what experience the solver may have in doing the puzzle.
Here I have a puzzle I am very proud of in the many intricate themes it incorporates. But... I have to be honest as a solver it would be arduous and a total work out.
So I don't know what to do. I love this puzzle and I want people to do it and maybe afterwords when they see the themes they'd appreciate how it works. But... I can't imagine it being enjoyable.
I don't know. Maybe someone can do it and tell me what the think.
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • Abide solved 2024-06-16T17:20:32.986Z

Comments

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  • benchen71 25:21 · 2022-10-01T05:06:44.682Z
    I gave this a good go but there was simply too much going on to be able to discern any sort of pattern in the noise. And revealing the answer didn't help! I imagine if this ran as a "week 5" on MGWCC then someone would probably persevere to the bitter end, but those metas are not ones I particularly gravitate towards. I prefer "week 2"s!
    • woozy constructor · 2022-10-01T15:57:27.977Z
      This was one of those ideas ideas that seem clever when you think of it but when you pull it through.... Well I'll add a a general comment to explain. But every down answer provides a letter to a 77 letter stream.
    • woozy constructor · 2022-10-01T15:56:53.003Z
      So I was watching a program about the history writing and about how the alphabet evolved from pictographs. (The letter A for instance was originally a pictogram of a BULL). I thought it be funny to have a clue be a letter, say S, have an entry of its original pictogram (Tooth). And I thought it'd be funny if clues referring to objects, say a HOUSE, would be a meta clue for its letter: B.
      So every single down entry begins with a word to describe a pictogram and if you spelled out the letters it would spell "Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirro" which are the first 77 letters of James Joyce's Ulysses.
      • Abide 4s · 2024-06-16T17:26:42.862Z
        Even after reading all comments, I have a loose idea of the objective but I don’t see what entries apply to which letters. Can you attach a spreadsheet?
        • woozy constructor · 2024-06-16T19:18:48.085Z
          Don't think I can to spread sheet but I'll give a complete instruction. Although working through it might be every bit as difficult as reading this work.
        • woozy constructor · 2024-06-16T19:43:57.455Z
          Solution is: Ulysses by James Joyce. THere are several across clues that refer to the origin of the written alphabet:
          1A. "A" originated as a pictograph of a Bulls head. Every down clue that contains a reference to a bull or cow should use the letter A.
          5A. "B" originated as a pictograph of a House. Every down clue that contains a reference to a house should use the letter B.
          10A, "C/G" originated as a pictograph of a Stick (maybe... some of these are iffy and conjecture). Every down clue that contains a referenct to a stick should use the letter C or the letter G
          ... and so on....
          EVERY down entry is a themer. Each clue refers to the pictocraphic origin of a letter. 1D "Toothily chomp down on" refers to a a tooth and 74A tells us that a tooth represents the letter S. 2D "Mark as a single tally" refers to 72A. That a mark or a signature (actually I'm not sure I really understand this letter) represents the letter T. So the first two themers spell out S-T.
          That's 2 down and only 75 more to go.
          So the 75 Down entries will spell out: STATELY PLUMP BUCK MULLIGAN CAME FROM THE STAIRHEAD BEARING A BOWL OF LATHER ON WHICH A MIRRO.......
          which are the first 77 letters of the probably over a million letter of Ulysses
        Play today's daily mini crossword
        1A
        A (alp, alep, alef, alpha)
        1
        2
        3
        4
        5
        6
        7
        8
        9
        10
        11
        12
        13
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        28
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        31
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        49
        50
        51
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        53
        54
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        56
        57
        58
        59
        60
        61
        62
        63
        64
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        71
        72
        73
        74
        75
        76
        77
        78
        79
        80
        81
        82
        83
        84
        85
        86
        87
        88
        89
        90
        91
        92
        93
        94
        95
        96
        97
        98
        99
        100
        101
        102
        103
        104
        105
        106
        107
        108
        109
        110
        111
        112
        113
        114
        115
        116
        117
        118
        119
        120
        121
        122
        123
        124
        125
        126
        127
        128
        129
        130
        131
        132
        133
        134
        135
        136
        137
        138
        139
        140
        Across
        1. 1A
          A (alp, alep, alef, alpha)
        2. 5A
          B (bayt, bet, bet, beta)
        3. 10A
          C,G (gaml, gimel, gimel, gamma)
        4. 15A
          D (dalt, dalet, dalet, delta)
        5. 19A
          Zoological ending
        6. 20A
          Everything and all
        7. 21A
          My, my, Ms. Grafton (your mysteries never cease to astound me)
        8. 22A
          Flo Rida and Usher both have a song with this title
        9. 23A
          Bell sound
        10. 24A
          Variation of Lindens
        11. 25A
          Prevaricators
        12. 26A
          British machine gun
        13. 27A
          Pour redémarrer, appuyez simultanément sur Ctrl, Alt -----
        14. 29A
          38A s Operating System released in 2015
        15. 31A
          Schism
        16. 32A
          If you change the third letter to a you get a dwelling in the wild; but as it is, with the third letter being it is a dwelling in captivity
        17. 33A
          Enough rope to hang yourself
        18. 35A
          95A erman who gathers a specific 95A; or his boat. 95A ing for these 95A used to be a lucrative industry off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland
        19. 37A
          Veritas --- liberabit
        20. 38A
          E (haw, he, he, epsilon)
        21. 41A
          F,U,V,W,Y (waw, waw, vav, digamma, upsilon)
        22. 43A
          Z (zayn, zayin, zayin, zeta)
        23. 46A
          Palindromic neighbor of Scorpius
        24. 47A
          Cap. of UT
        25. 49A
          Dangerous
        26. 52A
          Pasture
        27. 53A
          H (hayt, het, het, eta)
        28. 55A
          K (kap, kap, kaf, kappa)
        29. 57A
          L (lamd, lamed, lamed, lambda)
        30. 59A
          M (mayum, mem,mem, mu)
        31. 63A
          Internal prefix
        32. 64A
          Line of shrubbery; can be used as a 53A
        33. 65A
          Computer standards grp.
        34. 66A
          Photographer Ansel
        35. 67A
          Actual
        36. 68A
          Green prefix
        37. 69A
          Israel's parliament
        38. 71A
          Greek letters which originated as a pictograph of a snake
        39. 72A
          T (taw, taw, tav, tau)
        40. 74A
          S (sinn, sin, sin, sigma)
        41. 76A
          Film-making brothers' surname
        42. 78A
          O (ayn, ayin, ayin, omicron)
        43. 81A
          Like Right Said Fred as per his shirt
        44. 83A
          Game pieces
        45. 84A
          Actress Jessica (whose name means white)
        46. 88A
          One touched by Cupid's Arrow
        47. 90A
          Perhaps this puzzle's this is that it tries to do too much
        48. 91A
          Leg parts just below the knees
        49. 93A
          Opposition votes
        50. 94A
          N (nahas, nun,nun, nu)
        51. 95A
          X (samak, samek, samek, chi)
        52. 96A
          R (ra s, res, res, rho)
        53. 97A
          P (pay, pe, pe, pi)
        54. 98A
          Letter that began as a pictograph of a tooth (or the sun, maybe)
        55. 100A
          77 of the clues in this puzzle are this type. (That most be some sort of record.)
        56. 102A
          Your compass heading when the wind is from the north and you are on a port tack on a deep broad reach
        57. 104A
          Letter that began a a pictograph as a door.
        58. 105A
          Maybe he proofs the releases for bugs
        59. 108A
          Lithe 95A
        60. 109A
          Evaluate
        61. 111A
          I, J (yad, yod, yod, iota)
        62. 112A
          Q (qop, qop, qaf, koppa)
        63. 115A
          Latin for table
        64. 117A
          Maybe a den inside a 5A. Perhaps a man-cave.
        65. 119A
          Hindu fire god
        66. 120A
          Purity measure
        67. 123A
          Obsolete messaging app
        68. 127A
          The siege of Tripoli ended in this palindromic year. If you try to read it as pictographs it'd be something about .... flow through the entryway being prodded by an arm?.... Maybe numbers and letters shouldn't mix
        69. 128A
          Exhausts
        70. 130A
          108A are called Unagi in a restaurant specializing in this type of food.
        71. 132A
          La Citta Eterna
        72. 133A
          Blood conduit
        73. 134A
          Project dramatically
        74. 135A
          Runner Bolt
        75. 136A
          Thick noodle
        76. 137A
          To better explain 57A, goad, pastoral staff, shepherd's crook
        77. 138A
          This last row of clues is here to make more ----- of earlier clues
        78. 139A
          To better explain 10A. You throw it with a strap, a sling, it could be a spear, a sling spear
        79. 140A
          To better explain 71A. A tallying symbol, cross.
        Down
        1. 1D
          Toothily chomp down on
        2. 2D
          Mark as a single quantity
        3. 3D
          Cowboy Wildcat Kelly wanted this, lots of this, and the starry skies above! Don't 53A me in! (More earworms)
        4. 4D
          Recorded as a great story for the ages
        5. 5D
          Windowed enclosure for growing plants; ---- 5A.
        6. 6D
          These prod you into action as they are divinations of the future
        7. 7D
          Hook together
        8. 8D
          The mouth of a 59A, or , may be filled with this; deposit of sediment
        9. 9D
          When goading and prodding are at an end, you can allow yourself to be at this.
        10. 10D
          Hook to lure diurnal critters; you need this star (you just can't have day without it)
        11. 11D
          River length ranking of the Yangtze
        12. 12D
          Lips! Read my lips!
        13. 13D
          House returning to time; you don't want to break this
        14. 14D
          Hook-like talons this small falcon has
        15. 15D
          Sling the flat round platter
        16. 16D
          Hand sized printed page
        17. 17D
          Its rivers include the Deschutes, the Willamette, and the 94A
        18. 18D
          A hook between two ----- may occur if Sandberg, in his role of as a Baseball manager, would leave the dugout to replace pitcher, Stanek. That certainly never happened
        19. 28D
          Staff uses a ----- leaf filing system, the pages are individual and not bound together
        20. 30D
          Staff includes sergeants and other officers appointed from enlisted personnel
        21. 34D
          Armed with talons and night vision, this bird is a night predator
        22. 36D
          "Stick with 8 oz.? Sure, you don't want 16oz.?" "Alright, I go with 16 oz." (alternative woozyism clue: Striped artiodactyl --Network Edition)
        23. 38D
          Bulls will eat alfalfa pressed into this thin cookie like form
        24. 39D
          Snake-ily clever adversary of Sherlock
        25. 40D
          Stick with either the clue about the Indian Dynasty of the 4th century BCE, or about the half-sister of Siddhartha. They may be obscure but they aren't as obscure as your clues about Princess Langwidere's maid in "Ozma of Oz" and about Indian actress Karnataki
        26. 41D
          ----- like a Ox (sorry, I don't like to be so crass but for this one, it fit just too well.)
        27. 42D
          Sur une rivière, c'est un mouvement ondulant de l'eau. (translation: On a river, this is an undulating motion of water)
        28. 44D
          The windows in a filter allow air or oxygen to mix often resulting in fizziness.
        29. 45D
          Hooked a financial gain for services.
        30. 48D
          Head count
        31. 50D
          Eyes on you. The fifth director of the FBI from September 1993 to June 2001
        32. 51D
          Stream of employees. Must be hired fairly and without discrimination
        33. 54D
          Mark O'Reilly in "El Perfecto Desconocido" is a much lesser known role than "Star Trek"s Miles O'Brien for this actor Meaney
        34. 56D
          Fence jumping and garden digging and barking.... my dog makes a lot of commotion.
        35. 58D
          From the window to the cellar, falls and/or lowers
        36. 60D
          Tooth doctor's (or any other profession's) truck
        37. 61D
          Mark this one for the books: a flightless long-legged bird that can reach over six feet in height
        38. 62D
          "Not just Cows" Hey! does any-one remember that Internet guide? We can keep up on our internet feeds with this technology, but no matter how you look at it "Not Just Cows" is pretty much over.
        39. 64D
          Armstrong (Niel) was one to many of my generation.
        40. 69D
          Headshots of this comedian, Jo, show he has quite an expressive face
        41. 70D
          Borders on ages and ages
        42. 73D
          Window,looking out of.... that's one easy thing to do when you this; not working and relaxing
        43. 74D
          A bull#### clue: One of three natural satellites orbiting the Jiralhanae homeworld in the game "Halo". Or if you want a woozyism: The residue after burning Tellurium.
        44. 75D
          Doorway to the west: Conestoga wagons had this on its axle. (Has a reference to 1A in it)
        45. 77D
          Home in the billionth (10 to the negative nine) parts
        46. 78D
          Windowed building extensions in the shape an
        47. 79D
          Cattle that are far off-- they aren't hither; they're ----
        48. 80D
          Head-case Hitler's photographer girlfriend
        49. 82D
          An arm can go through one of these narrow cuts if that's appropriate.
        50. 83D
          A snake in a jar (dead) was a gift given to soccer great Hamm by her uncle.
        51. 85D
          Sling high praise
        52. 86D
          Cattle.... if you place them in groups of eight and consider whether the cow is black or white as one bit of information.... (In other words, not really anything to do with cattle)
        53. 87D
          House remnants after it has been burnt to the ground
        54. 89D
          Eye on the prize. Keep ones eye on the prize and maybe one manages to just make a living.
        55. 91D
          "Hook must be gentle When he shakes your hand. Captain Hook must be careful Openin' sardine cans" poet Silverstein
        56. 92D
          Prod for equal rack space to hang your towel next to the one marked "His"
        57. 97D
          Look at the ---- made when I threw all my food on the floor.
        58. 99D
          They're on the hook for governing by assembly
        59. 101D
          Goading and prodding are needed for the timorous (although the will inherit the earth)
        60. 103D
          Bull running in Pamplona is the highlight of the --- Fermin festival
        61. 105D
          Tallying records is a small part of the job of a person who professionally makes swaps
        62. 106D
          Fencer Salafia who won a silver medal in the team sabre event at the 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics. Too obscure? Okay, Charlie Sheen's brother.
        63. 107D
          Window washing is not on the regular course of action for most 5A-keepers.
        64. 110D
          The head is pretty much on the exact opposite end of the spinal column as this
        65. 111D
          Eye on the ball. If you keep your eye on the ball you may win this prize for an outstanding player. Well, if you are in the right league... there's another for the National League.
        66. 113D
          Snake-in-the-grass untrustworthy company whose deed caught up with them in 01-02
        67. 114D
          Hooked on faddish ways to loose weight
        68. 115D
          Boundaries and range are vast for these cattle-herding people of Kenya
        69. 116D
          Arm yourself with a set of moral principals
        70. 118D
          Sticky and tough outside skin of a fruit
        71. 121D
          A fence distinguishes properties and denotes that 5A over there as them and this 5A over here -- --.
        72. 122D
          "Cow with a mournful eye" is probably one of the most depressing images in the "Donna Donna" cover by Joan Baez. Far more upbeat is her "Diamonds and -----" about her turbulent relationship with Bob Dylan. (Upbeat is relative but .... sheesh.... "Donna Donna" is really depressing!)
        73. 124D
          Rivers, Joan, had been interviewed many times on the Today show by this host Kotb
        74. 125D
          O, ARM anagram. (It's a lovely anagram)
        75. 126D
          Head down the to water tower and see if this large receptacle for holding, transporting, or storing liquids is in good working order.
        76. 129D
          Heads have orbs called 78A s to do this
        77. 131D
          Eyes might be the only body part you can't get tattooed with this permanent marking substance.
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