CROSSHARE
Print Puzzle
Download .puz File
Account / Settings
Construct a Puzzle
Profile

An inordinately stuipd meta

◆◆ · By woozy · Published 2023-03-19T05:40:22.535Z

Meta Prompt
The answer is where you will have to search to find a meta of this quality
Okay... because the straightforward and not that difficult meta was being completely obfuscated by complex and convoluted grid clues I have added simply grid clues in the majority of clues that have nothing to do with the meta. I'm not kidding. The actual meta was not meat to be hard per se. Weird, and I was getting punchy with the non-meta clues. But it wasn't meant to be hard.
======
Wow! Not a single attempt at the meta! Well, I've only got myself to blame for two reasons. 1) I played it up as a weird off the wall and bad meta. It's actually very straightforward and simple and 2) I chose to get punchy with the clues and have some quirky clues. With so many oddball clues its obscures and hides the legitimate meta clues.
So.... pretend all the weird convoluted clues are... straightforward and simple clues. All those weird clues about Hamlet? Irrelevant. Those strange cryptic clues? Immaterial. The only clues that pertain to the meta are those that follow the idea of the title and prompt In other words only the clues that talk about what a bad meta this is
======
Despite the self-deprecating nature of this puzzle, it should have a straight-forward mechanism with a recognizable AHA moment.
This was conceived when I was struggling with Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest #722 so there are a few reference to it in here.
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • dplass solved 2023-03-23T16:30:15.626Z
  • KayW solved 2023-03-25T23:35:14.640Z

Comments

Sign in with google to leave a comment of your own:

  • dplass 12:30 · 2023-03-23T16:30:33.867Z
    First!
    • woozy constructor · 2023-03-23T17:25:36.837Z
      Only!
      • dplass 12:30 · 2023-03-23T18:55:41.435Z
        Well, maybe people just don't know about it. I didn't see it on the muggles forum.
    • KayW 15:51 · 2023-03-25T23:47:16.070Z
      ...and just now "got" the title. In-ORDINATELY. Brilliant.
      • dplass 12:30 · 2023-03-27T11:52:26.464Z
        That's how I solved it!
      • KayW 15:51 · 2023-03-25T23:35:57.184Z
        Second! Or SCORNED LOL very clever!! and misnamed.
        Play today's daily mini crossword
        1A
        What this meta does (whereas good ones stick to the point)
        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
        68
        69
        70
        71
        72
        Across
        1. 1A
          What this meta does (whereas good ones stick to the point)
        2. 7A
          Down with four year degrees! [Or just "4 year degrees"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        3. 10A
          Canned meat that really doesn't deserve its reputation (unlike the communications that do) [Or just "Unwanted email"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        4. 14A
          Melancholy Dane
        5. 15A
          There's one in Columbus, another in Stillwater, another in Corvallis, and one in Nagoya, Japan [Or just "Corvallis home of The Beavers"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        6. 16A
          The Morrigna sisters, for example, or the Magi, or the Stooges (there's no shortage of examples) [Or just "Group of three"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        7. 17A
          Hansen's disease sufferers
        8. 18A
          I still remember going to a garage sale as a child and picking up this camera and being fascinated at being told the view through the viewfinder passes through the chamber and will be the same as your image. (I was a weird kid.) [Or just "Fancy camera"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        9. 19A
          A poetic measure
        10. 20A
          Anagram of 2D so...... "Norma ---"; a film about a cotton mill worker who starts an Irish airline [Or just "--- Lingus"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        11. 21A
          What this meta will likely be when I get around to publishing it
        12. 23A
          Buddy
        13. 25A
          Mature
        14. 27A
          French auto maker with a lion logo
        15. 30A
          Hurried
        16. 32A
          Unverifiable historic story
        17. 34A
          Group Patty Hearst sympathized with
        18. 35A
          She played Fluffy Peters in "Won Ton Ton: The Dog who Saved Hollywood" and Testy True in "Head"
        19. 37A
          State of agitation (like the one I am in when I write my meta clues)
        20. 39A
          Mouthy quality (um, wouldn't that just be ... mouth) [Or just "Quality of being mouthy"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        21. 41A
          Christian fish symbol. (In a good meta, the "themers" should be unique; a non-meta related entry, such as this one, should not be able to be mistaken for a meta key)
        22. 44A
          Shampoo in an iconic green bottle
        23. 48A
          Microsoft-specific method of dealing with anomalous runtime conditions. (What? If you don't know it just look it up. I provided an URL.) [Or just "Vectored Exception Handling"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        24. 49A
          Pure-minded
        25. 51A
          Car Talk's Director of Long-term Strategic planning: Kay ---- [Or just "Que ---- ----; Signature Doris Day tune"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        26. 52A
          Over The Ridge where you sign an affidavit at birth that you entered life by free will; where theft is an illness requiring hospitalization while pneumonia is a imprisonable offence; and where machines advance by natural selection [Or just "Samuel Butler work"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        27. 54A
          Abbreviated words
        28. 56A
          "-'-- never be sick" [Or just "Sick"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        29. 57A
          A good puzzle should not use alternate spellings, but this meta is ------- with such problems
        30. 59A
          Voodoo god in reverse tells you "You've got mail!" [Or just "'You've got mail' company"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        31. 61A
          According to MGWCC #722 a Best Actor winner is this [Or just "4 year degrees"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        32. 63A
          14A considered taking up arms against this quantity of troubles. (But he never did. He was quite indecisive, that one.) [Or just "Large body of water"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        33. 64A
          John Brunner's "Times Without Number" has the premise that the Spanish one of these was successful in 1588 [Or just "Fleet of ships"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        34. 67A
          Lodes
        35. 68A
          Dutch --- disease
        36. 69A
          Actress Louise; first person to win two academy awards in consecutive years
        37. 70A
          Covering
        38. 71A
          help! help! help! HHELLLLLLP! HHELLLLLLP! HHELLLLLLP! help! help! help! [Or just "Distress signal at sea"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        39. 72A
          What Mooch, the cat, calls a dead body. (Seriously? What kind of clue is that? Well, it's about par for this meta.)
        Down
        1. 1D
          Delivery company with yellow and red vehicles
        2. 2D
          Anagram of 20A so.... "--- Lingus"; airline with a debut album "Unguarded" and second album "Someone out there" (The clue for 20A might make more sense... barely) [Or just "Norma ---"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard... and by the way, all these clues with this caveat that you can use a shorter clue-- There is NO trick. I mean it. NONE of these clues have anything to do with the meta]
        3. 3D
          Vlad's sobriquet
        4. 4D
          Let's make like a blood-sucking vermin and ---- [Or just "Leave in a hurry"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard... The other clues that don't have this disclaimer? A few of them are about the meta but most aren't. Most were just simple clues.]
        5. 5D
          The more firma, the less ----- [Or just "Latin for earth"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        6. 6D
          Outside of New York City, it is completely arbitrary whether these cross Ave.s or not. I'd say most times they don't [Or just "Ave crossers" (although I've always hated the regional centrocism of that clue; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        7. 7D
          California Lt. Albert who along with Lt. Emmanuel d'Anjou and Cptn. Jebediah Bartlett liberated the Sonoma Plaza and flew the first California flag which had been mistakenly made with an image of a bear on it. (Would Snopes lie to you? Apparently it would, but Breitbart took it at face value.) [Or just "Type of pear"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        8. 8D
          A skew [Or just "Askew"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        9. 9D
          Did what the Wicked Witch demanded Dorothy to do [Or just "Turned oneself in"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        10. 10D
          Author Larsson who likes to write about a girl who does self-destructive things apparently [Or just "Author Larson"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        11. 11D
          Uttar-___, India
        12. 12D
          Goal
        13. 13D
          "She lugged it to the miller to grind it to flour; Cause the others would furnish her no manpower; And at baking time- they all declined-; To help her with the job; They were a dog gone no-good ---", Malvina Reynolds "The Little Red Hen" [Or just "Unruly group"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        14. 21D
          Those who know things before they happen
        15. 22D
          He shouldn't live in 26D.... just saying. [Or just "One who eschews clothing"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        16. 23D
          It ended on March 12, 2023 at 2:00 AM in Bend, Oregon [Or just "Oregon time"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        17. 24D
          Hominid or Hylobatid
        18. 26D
          If you live in these, you shouldn't throw stones
        19. 28D
          Bravo! That experimental band that played "10538 Overture" backwards was really superb! Bravo! Brave! [Or just "Bullring cheer"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        20. 29D
          Paving material
        21. 31D
          Serve up
        22. 33D
          Clutches effortless complaints [Or just "Clutches"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        23. 36D
          1928 Mickey Mouse short; "The Gallopin' ------": Mickey rides up to a cantina and does a tango with Minnie. When a big cat steals her away, Mickey gives chase, riding a drunken ostrich. At the hideout, Mickey has a swordfight with the cat. [Or just "Argentinian cowboy"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        24. 38D
          Thirds of Tbsps.
        25. 40D
          Measd. content tacitly inside a salamander [Or just "Content msrmt"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        26. 41D
          "--- got a lovely bunch of coconuts"
        27. 42D
          Someone who signs anonymously [Or just "Generation born in the 70s or so"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        28. 43D
          A poem by Donne that... is really kind of gross when I researched it on Wikipedia. It's also a fairy tale by Giambattista Basile, but that's too obscure and... also kind of gross (but not as). [Or just "Poem by Donne"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        29. 45D
          Hawaiian name meaning "heavenly garland of flowers"
        30. 46D
        31. 47D
          Companion on the Erie Canal and picker of blueberries [Or just "Companion on the Erie Canal"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        32. 50D
          Bianca and Nico di ------; children of Hades in the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series [Or just "Actress Beverly D'----"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        33. 53D
          When 14A tried to pull things by force away from his uncle Claudius, it was ineffective and unnoticed. That's why his final words were "The ----- is silence"? [Or just "Pull something away by force" (but you have to admit that's a good pun); these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        34. 55D
          She's the wife of Abraham but not the grandmother of Lisa (that would be Mona). Instead she is grandmother to Esau and Jacob [Or just "Wife of Abraham"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        35. 58D
          Do those legs of cured pork belong to Shem or Japeth? No, they are ---- [Or just "Cured pork product"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        36. 60D
          Leave out
        37. 61D
          Lru a rof xiffus nommoc or a soft shoe [Or just "Soft Shoe"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        38. 62D
          Ace's non-(non)-sexual partner [Or just "Disinclined to partnership"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        39. 64D
          They say these are longa but considering millennials never recognize my cultural references, they seem pretty brevis to me. [Or just "--- longa; vita brevis"; these convoluted clues inadvertently distracted from a meta that shouldn't be so hard]
        40. 65D
          "--- Leppard", Rick Savage's band
        41. 66D
          Sandy's dialog
        Loading...