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Earthquake Zone (Meta)

· By benchen71 · Published 2022-09-20T06:00:53.042Z

Meta Prompt
The meta answer is comprised of two words
Melbourne experienced an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale on the 22nd of September 2021. It was the biggest earthquake I've ever experienced, even though it only lasted for about 30 seconds and just made the house shake a little. What made it interesting, though, was that Melbourne was still in lockdown, but this was something we all experienced together. I made this crossword later that day to commemorate the moment! Answer & explanation: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=106977#p106977
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here: https://www.ephesusscroll.com/about/interest4.html. US$10 gives you access to 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game. You won't quite know what to expect: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, sometimes all of those, and sometimes none! One thing is for sure, these are some of the more creative metas my brain has been able to come up with. And there's more: this time there's a mega-meta!
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • Tobonic solved 2022-09-20T11:24:37.622Z
  • Tom Wilson solved 2022-09-20T12:50:12.904Z
  • Capn Rick solved 2022-09-20T13:14:16.070Z
  • Schmeel solved 2022-09-20T13:23:12.094Z
  • jbird solved 2022-09-20T13:27:36.562Z
  • Darth solved 2022-09-20T13:44:12.836Z
  • boharr solved 2022-09-20T14:11:06.586Z
  • lbray53 solved 2022-09-20T15:00:56.784Z
  • DIS solved 2022-09-20T16:08:40.000Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2022-09-20T16:41:09.280Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2022-09-20T18:03:03.421Z
  • KayW solved 2022-09-20T18:28:59.978Z
  • Meg solved 2022-09-20T18:48:45.560Z
  • Wendy S HeadinHome solved 2022-09-20T20:40:23.901Z
  • markhr solved 2022-09-20T23:35:20.092Z
  • ReB solved 2022-09-21T00:38:44.936Z
  • Tyrpmom solved 2022-09-21T00:41:21.863Z
  • Hector solved 2022-09-21T01:01:52.291Z
  • SeamusOL solved 2022-09-21T01:58:46.819Z
  • whimsy solved 2022-09-21T02:16:49.185Z
  • Bbaack solved 2022-09-21T02:32:54.765Z
  • Qmark solved 2022-09-21T03:57:45.542Z
  • DrTom solved 2022-09-21T14:05:06.084Z
  • JHSeeman solved 2022-09-21T21:16:52.814Z
  • Byron solved 2022-09-23T03:34:51.280Z
  • Ergcat solved 2022-09-23T17:10:19.635Z
  • MrTheHan solved 2022-09-23T17:53:31.316Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2022-09-23T19:17:24.140Z
  • Carolyn solved 2022-09-24T02:24:43.143Z
  • edestlin solved 2022-09-24T14:13:43.550Z
  • rjy solved 2022-09-24T14:31:38.665Z
  • woozy solved 2022-09-24T15:25:39.348Z
  • DebbieC solved 2022-09-24T16:54:38.873Z
  • Darrell solved 2022-09-24T19:53:43.933Z
  • Sharkicicles solved 2022-09-24T22:20:54.768Z
  • Dow Jones solved 2022-09-26T03:20:08.915Z
  • MH solved 2022-09-26T15:59:05.016Z
  • Lucas solved 2022-11-25T03:19:33.985Z

Comments

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  • Capn Rick 11:16 · 2022-09-20T13:14:29.772Z
    Great construction on this one, Ben!
    • Tom Wilson 11:21 · 2022-09-20T14:10:17.797Z
      Nicely done, Ben. Far greater minds than mine put these metas together, week after week after week. I'm not sure how you do it, but I sure am glad you do!
      • I K Snamhcok 2s · 2022-09-20T16:44:48.029Z
        As I often do with MOAT, I needed to do a bit of googling to complete the grid. The nice thing about this: I usually learn things. Thanks, Ben!
        • benchen71 constructor · 2022-09-21T00:51:51.886Z
          This is one of my older puzzles so that might account for the grid difficulty. I try a lot harder to smooth out the fill these days!
          • Sharkicicles 2s · 2022-09-24T18:48:42.509Z
            I like the tougher grids.
        • Cindy Heisler 3s · 2022-09-20T18:04:40.319Z
          Not the easiest grid, but a fun meta. Very nice, Ben!
          • KayW 🤓13:39 · 2022-09-20T18:29:35.803Z
            It took a while, but I finally CRACKED this one. Well done, Ben - thanks!
            • Wendy S HeadinHome 🤓5:19 · 2022-09-20T20:46:51.961Z
              ELIF45APart of a Python conditional statement[----], ACOSSE, TALESE52D60s Journalist for The New York Times and Esquire, Gay ___[------], TAPETA16AHorse racing surface[------] are all new to me, but the ability to pull LACUNA54DMissing portion of text[------], APOLLO23ATwin brother of 30 down[------] & ARTEMIS30DTwin sister of 23 across[-------] out of my old brain restored my sense of superior knowledge. 🤣. Glad you’re okay… we had a rumbler here a decade or more ago and for people who don’t expect or recognize a quake, it was pretty cool (no damage or it would not have been so cool). I was in a hammock on the back porch and felt the trembling, and my dog looked up at me with a puzzled look.
              • ReB 3s · 2022-09-21T00:43:04.591Z
                Can't find any FAULT with this one, Ben. Nicely done, I anticipated the answer, but wasn't sure how it was going to show up in the puzzle. Fortunately it popped right up once I started with the long diagonals.
                • Bbaack 23:00 · 2022-09-21T02:40:00.692Z
                  Wow, a DC Talk reference! I still listen to Toby Mac. I would also expect a Newsboys clue to pop up sometime, given where they were from! Fun puzzle, thanks!
                  • benchen71 constructor · 2022-09-21T03:20:09.291Z
                    If I'd known there were more fans for 90s-era CCM I would definitely move my cluing in that direction!
                  • Qmark 4s · 2022-09-21T03:57:58.225Z
                    Nice one, Ben!
                    • Byron 🤓16:39 · 2022-09-23T03:36:23.324Z
                      Nice puzzle! You mean either "The meta answer comprises two words" or "The meta answer is composed of two words"
                      • Ergcat 20:51 · 2022-09-23T17:19:31.062Z
                        I thought I submitted “fault lines” yesterday and it was incorrect . ( turned out I realized submitted “fault line” , singular…. So I tried again today and it worked!) So then I saw “after” scrambled in upper left corner and “shock” scrambled in middle right and submitted “after shock” but not right. I was really frustrated because I saw the diagonal fault lines, saw a scrambled “after shock” ( like after an earthquake) and couldn’t figure what you wanted! Looked up tectonics and saw “fault crossing” as a term so I tried that. Finally today realized I should try “fault lines” once more! And it worked! Still lost on your other meta “she sells seashells “ … even with the nudges! Not my week! Ha! Back to the WSJ puzzle
                        • whimsy 🤓18:57 · 2022-09-23T19:15:17.949Z
                          Took me a while to see the obvious -- but that's the beauty of these! Thanks, Ben!
                          • Carolyn 4s · 2022-09-24T02:26:12.626Z
                            I've been very distracted this week so needed the nudges, even though I figured it had to be something like that. Excellent construction. Thanks
                            • woozy 21:03 · 2022-09-24T15:27:11.377Z
                              Diagonals are always hard to see. I did notice a plethora of Fs but couldn't work them out without the nudges.
                              • Sharkicicles 2s · 2022-09-24T18:48:21.723Z
                                Immediately saw the fault lines, then tried to make sense of the letters around the lines… put it aside, looked at the nudges, saw I had already found them… finally said “what if the answer’s just fault lines?” Totally overthought it. Great meta!
                                1A
                                What a solid sublimates into
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                                Across
                                1. 1A
                                  What a solid sublimates into
                                2. 4A
                                  TV show that ran for longer than the war it was set in
                                3. 8A
                                  Speechless in the presence of someone you greatly admire
                                4. 14A
                                  Palindromic Turkish name that means "honourable"
                                5. 15A
                                  Lead vocalist of Panic! at the Disco, Brendon ___
                                6. 16A
                                  Horse racing surface
                                7. 17A
                                  Transmits or transports (verbal form of a word for the path followed by a projectile)
                                8. 19A
                                  Cover potato plants with soil to encourage more tubers
                                9. 20A
                                  Penguin from Bloom County
                                10. 21A
                                  Overact
                                11. 23A
                                  Twin brother of 30 down30DTwin sister of 23 across[-------]
                                12. 25A
                                  Something to do on Broadway
                                13. 28A
                                  Neither partner
                                14. 29A
                                  Founding editor of Cleo, the first magazine in Australia to feature a nude male centrefold, ___ Buttrose
                                15. 31A
                                  Baseball positions behind third base (abbr.)
                                16. 32A
                                  More formal than "yes"
                                17. 33A
                                  As far as
                                18. 35A
                                  Role for Shirley MacLaine, for which she received her third Oscar nomination
                                19. 37A
                                  Run the show
                                20. 39A
                                  Study of Earth's shifting crust, one feature of which can be found in this puzzle and provides the answer to the meta
                                21. 42A
                                  Bow partner
                                22. 45A
                                  Part of a Python conditional statement
                                23. 46A
                                  "Put a ___ in it!" (shut up!)
                                24. 50A
                                  Debtor's note
                                25. 51A
                                  24-hr. cash source
                                26. 53A
                                  Gridiron org.
                                27. 55A
                                  Witch, to Shakespeare
                                28. 56A
                                  Type of rope with strands running counterclockwise as you look along it
                                29. 59A
                                  America's Cup vessels
                                30. 61A
                                  What every collector dreams of
                                31. 63A
                                  Stage prompts
                                32. 64A
                                  As busy ___
                                33. 66A
                                  Plato's ___
                                34. 69A
                                  Notes in F major scales
                                35. 70A
                                  Precipitation
                                36. 71A
                                  Aust. business
                                37. 72A
                                  French for Scotland
                                38. 73A
                                  Village people song with alphabetic arm movements
                                39. 74A
                                  Mac platform
                                Down
                                1. 1D
                                  Obtain
                                2. 2D
                                  Genre that influenced Paul Simon's "Graceland" album
                                3. 3D
                                  Melbourne is the largest one in Australia
                                4. 4D
                                  Breakfast that comes in toasted and non-toasted forms
                                5. 5D
                                  What every good character needs
                                6. 6D
                                  Jedi adversary
                                7. 7D
                                  "___ good as dead!"
                                8. 8D
                                  "For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like ___ in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2)
                                9. 9D
                                  "Hold up a minute!"
                                10. 10D
                                  Passing grade, but nothing to be all that proud about
                                11. 11D
                                  Oracular
                                12. 12D
                                  A/C measurement
                                13. 13D
                                  Bark sharply
                                14. 18D
                                  7th mon.
                                15. 22D
                                  DC Talk lyric: "Pardon me, your epidermis is showing, sir. I couldn't help but note your shade of ___"
                                16. 23D
                                  Australian singer, Christine ___, known for her cover of "My Island Home"
                                17. 24D
                                  Ear-related
                                18. 26D
                                  Poem used in the 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th symphony, "___ to Joy"
                                19. 27D
                                  "___ is me, for I am undone!" (Is. 6:5)
                                20. 30D
                                  Twin sister of 23 across23ATwin brother of 30 down[------]
                                21. 34D
                                  Medical prefix related to 24 down24DEar-related[----]
                                22. 36D
                                  Chem. term that always confused the heck out of me at school
                                23. 38D
                                  Submissions to an ed.
                                24. 40D
                                  Apple Pay and Google Pay, essentially
                                25. 41D
                                  Sus
                                26. 42D
                                  Be under the weather
                                27. 43D
                                  "Michael ___ The Boat Ashore" (brilliantly punny artist and album title combination)
                                28. 44D
                                  Hulk actor, Mark ___
                                29. 47D
                                  "Well... fancy seeing you here!"
                                30. 48D
                                  Looks after a feline for a friend
                                31. 49D
                                  Units of mass here in Aust.
                                32. 52D
                                  60s Journalist for The New York Times and Esquire, Gay ___
                                33. 54D
                                  Missing portion of text
                                34. 57D
                                  Heavy metal instruments?
                                35. 58D
                                  Northern Irish comedy series, ___ Girls
                                36. 60D
                                  Bear baby
                                37. 62D
                                  Sports group
                                38. 64D
                                  Homer Simpson's dad
                                39. 65D
                                  University and college campus Christian org.
                                40. 67D
                                  Insta upload
                                41. 68D
                                  410, to Caesar
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