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TEA MASCOT
◆ · By DrTom · Published 2023-11-29T12:30:25.779Z
Meta Prompt
The meta answer is a wild animal
This little meta is something silly that I came up with on a whim. It is probably not more than a level 1, but given that many are working on a real week 4 Matt Gaffney I am sure a more solveable diversion will be appreciated.
The meta answer is a wild animal
I deem this a:
KITTEN
Calico
Persian
Puma
Lion
Thanks to my testers: Cinny, Peter Abide and Whimsy
Apparently this is a kitten but a Lynx kitten and it is a lot more ferocious than it looked to me. I mean I am getting "you call that a kitten" from some good solvers and even other constructors. Therefore maybe a nudge or two are in order? (three more tomorrow if these do not help)
Nudge 1] Everyone is no doubt tired of hearing this phrase, but "The Title, The Title, The Title" say it aloud and fast...what does that sound like?
Nudge 2] OK, now that that's out of the way, how about the theme answers. They are suitably odd and curiously similar, why do you think that is?
Nudge 3] In an almost repeat of Nudge 1, the themers say them aloud and fast...what does that sound like you are stating??
Nudges seem to be helping so here are some more:
Nudge 4] There is often "precious real estate" in a meta. These are clues or answers that will point you toward the solution. I'll state up front that the middle of this puzzle is NOT one of those, but there are two!
Nudge 5] Other "precious" spots are often near the beginning to get you thinking and near the end to verify what you have thought. I particularly like those spots.
Nudge 6] I LOVE to hide nudges or clues in the graphic, and this one is no different. There are two, one very subtle but quite evident, the other you will probably need to enlarge the picture to see.
THE REVEAL
The intent was good; say the title and many would hear TEAM MASCOT instead of TEA MASCOT.
Then the next step was all of the crazy long fills:
BARKSANDPAWS
PARKSANDDRAWS
MARKINGSAWS
HARKINGFLAWS
Not terms that come up in everyday conversation but ALL that sound like ARKANSAS when said aloud.
Therefore, we are looking for the ARKANSAS TEAM MASCOT which happens to be a wild animal, the RAZOZRBACK (and I accepted several variations and species drift). If you needed verification, clue 1A and 70A give it in that 1A clues a razor and 70A clue the back of the neck.
I am sorry if I underestimated it, from here on out I'll get others to rate it or leave it unrated and let you all decide.
For the graphic reveal, please go to:
Checking for previous play data...
Leaderboard (updated hourly)
- Cindy Weatherman solved 2023-11-29T13:13:47.260Z
- Hector solved 2023-11-29T14:21:44.714Z
- I K Snamhcok solved 2023-11-29T14:47:52.994Z
- Pair O Ducks solved 2023-11-29T14:58:08.725Z
- DCBilly solved 2023-11-29T15:21:27.141Z
- Tom Wilson solved 2023-11-29T15:53:50.710Z
- Bird Lives solved 2023-11-29T15:56:40.798Z
- boharr solved 2023-11-29T16:12:18.355Z
- lbray53 solved 2023-11-29T16:19:54.551Z
- Meg solved 2023-11-29T16:48:05.193Z
- whimsy solved 2023-11-29T16:58:17.071Z
- kurtalert solved 2023-11-29T16:59:34.178Z
- Jaclyn solved 2023-11-29T17:07:09.578Z
- Darth solved 2023-11-29T19:18:10.999Z
- markhr solved 2023-11-29T20:28:38.510Z
- HeadinHome solved 2023-11-29T20:32:50.121Z
- JM solved 2023-11-29T21:26:34.462Z
- woozy solved 2023-11-29T21:41:02.446Z
- Gutman solved 2023-11-29T21:44:40.433Z
- CPJohnson solved 2023-11-29T22:06:25.906Z
- Laura M solved 2023-11-29T23:27:52.469Z
- benchen71 solved 2023-11-30T00:07:07.935Z
- KayW solved 2023-11-30T00:39:01.758Z
- BarbaraK solved 2023-11-30T03:03:43.829Z
- Berto solved 2023-11-30T04:05:56.846Z
- merlinnimue solved 2023-11-30T13:38:26.850Z
- MatthewL solved 2023-11-30T17:05:45.784Z
- LarsCaine solved 2023-11-30T19:20:59.585Z
- DIS solved 2023-11-30T19:42:31.608Z
- Sharkicicles solved 2023-11-30T19:42:54.939Z
- LB800 solved 2023-11-30T20:33:55.252Z
- Carolyn solved 2023-11-30T20:50:17.805Z
- Capn Rick solved 2023-11-30T20:59:26.017Z
- Mr Tex solved 2023-11-30T23:17:07.608Z
- Katiedid solved 2023-12-01T01:31:54.666Z
- SamKat9 solved 2023-12-01T04:04:00.078Z
- Dow Jones solved 2023-12-01T07:28:04.944Z
- Mg305 solved 2023-12-01T13:16:47.702Z
- Steve M solved 2023-12-01T14:30:25.074Z
- Cindy Heisler solved 2023-12-01T14:37:31.240Z
- Mikey G solved 2023-12-01T20:37:40.320Z
- andeux solved 2023-12-01T23:35:00.478Z
- hoover solved 2023-12-01T23:39:32.944Z
- Abide solved 2023-12-02T13:26:15.195Z
- Mwoychick solved 2023-12-03T01:09:15.245Z
- Philip Chow solved 2023-12-03T02:26:20.876Z
- Qmark solved 2023-12-04T00:57:14.369Z
- theZAzis solved 2023-12-07T06:41:55.775Z
Comments
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- Reminds me of my evil, dark in-laws for some reason. Not yet grokking the Tea thing?
- TEA MASCOT...if said together it sounds like TEAM MASCOT, the Arkansas Razorback hog. Originally I had TEAM ASCOT and had a bunch of rather stuffy people in an ascot (in Arkansas colors of course) but a tester said that they thought TEA MASCOT was better and since I was not married to the ascot idea I went with it. I figured that all the other sound alikes (HARKINGFLAWS, MARKINGSAWS) when said with TEA MASCOT would probably lead folks right to the answer. That and the first and last across clue are RAZOR BACK
- hoover 3s · 2023-12-01T23:41:45.770ZAll it needed was a SOO/SIOUX/SUE/SOU and a WEE/WHEE in other two corners...
- I wanted to try to put "Child's need after too many sodas" (WEEWEE of course) so that it ran up to a "Place on the range" (HOME) but I figured "Weewee all the way home" was overkill.
- boharr 4s · 2023-11-29T16:13:51.019ZThis wild animal is hardly a kitten. Thanks, DrTom.
- Bird Lives 5s · 2023-11-29T16:01:29.981ZMy first guess was HOG. I figured that since the initial word of the first and last across clues were, respectively, RAZOR and BACK, that couldn't be the answer. Wrong again. At least I didn't guess RAVEN, like Poe's nasty creature, all snark and caws.
- That's what made it a kitten....I was trying to emulate the Captain and have internal nudges. I suppose I could have left it more clouded, like "Little shaver of crossword fame" and "Where you might pick up a cat (like this one)" but I was going for ease of solution and, since it was inferred, confirmation. I see how that might ahve steered you away though.
- HeadinHome 🤓2:27 · 2023-11-29T20:35:57.889ZOr a black bear… all dark and maw!!
- At first, I thought maybe this was something about Team Ascot, which would have been a problem, as I am most assuredly on Team Cravat.
- whimsy 11:01 · 2023-11-29T19:05:25.806ZLOL
- Interestingly enough, the initial title WAS Team Ascot, but some of my testers wanted Tea Mascot and since it was one to one it came down to a tie breaker.....Thanks for solving
- whimsy 11:01 · 2023-11-29T19:10:09.870ZI fell into the same trap this time as I did when testing. Since I don't follow college football or their mascots and am not from the Midwest, nothing rolled readily out of my brain. Instead, being from fairly coastal New England, what I did see was Sharks and Jaws. Way to go, DrTom, filling in those gaps in my knowledge!
- HeadinHome 🤓2:27 · 2023-11-29T20:37:54.446ZIf there were no contributor listed, we would definitely know this was a Dr.Tom! A classic.
- Ah, my "voice" shines through!Thanks for running with the ball!!!
- Laura M 🤓14:59 · 2023-11-29T23:30:14.335ZExcellent! The first and last across clues went right over my head, or I would have submitted with a lot more confidence :-)
- Loooots of guesses before stumbling on the right thing! (BOAR, PIG, HOG, RUSSIAN BOAR...)
- I could see how it might be considerably harder for you given that you view football as the REAL football.Congratulations on the touchdown and thanks for solving.
- OMG I got a sportsing meta!!! LOL who'd a thunk. I kept trying to think of an animal name with those sounds and kept saying to myself "all it sounds like is ARKANSAS". Then I remembered hearing somewhere that their team was the RAZORBACKS. Fun one, DrTom. Thanks!
- My apologies to the sports naive but every now and then I have to do one.Thanks for solving Kay!
- Berto 🤓3:56 · 2023-11-30T04:16:11.434ZCouldn’t unsee Swamp right next to FL-aws - plus thought central (Hooke) clue was somehow linked, and ended up with “Ali”-gator (boxer/fisherman?)… As a Brit, Arkansas always used to give me trouble, but been here long enough to know both the pronunciation and college football team and it clicked!
- merlinnimue 18:40 · 2023-11-30T13:49:46.295ZTook me an entire day to get into the right STATE of mind to solve the puzzle... even the grid baffled me.... I need to get better at seeing things from the clues like you geniuses, all I can see is the grid (maybe I need to solve on pdf?)... and a level 1 for you smarties is like a level 58,243 for me... but anyway as always thanks for the puzzle and sorry for the intrusion
- Sharkicicles 2s · 2023-11-30T19:48:29.744ZI found that once I went from solving digitally to somewhat less digitally (on an iPad with a Pencil, which is basically just solving on paper minus the step of printing) my meta-fu went up considerably, especially since you can see all the clues at once without scrolling.
- Sharkicicles 2s · 2023-11-30T19:44:22.546ZI had to google the Arkansas team mascot, but to be fair I went to a college without a football team (the University of Illinois.)
- Carolyn 2s · 2023-11-30T20:54:01.393ZFigured the title meant team mascot, but didn't put it all together. Razor in 1A seemed too obvious. I should have paid attention!
- Mr Tex 🤓9:37 · 2023-11-30T23:18:53.737ZI tried a lot of variations on 'great white', the SHARK in JAWS. Seems to work just fine!
- Dang, if I had thought of that I would have made THAT the answer, that is brilliant!! Glad you got my much more boring piggy.
- SamKat9 14:39 · 2023-12-01T04:05:26.597Zcool puzzle! Definitely needed the nudges !
- Cindy Heisler 2s · 2023-12-01T14:41:03.301ZEasier this time around because I knew it was sports related. But many of the grid words had changed, so fill-in was quite different. My memory doesn't always help with metas that I test solved!
- Steve M 56:48 · 2023-12-01T14:43:48.069ZI must have said “Barks and Paws”, etc., a thousand times before I finally heard “Arkansas”!
- Well that no doubt has your family talking. Thank you for doing it the 1001th time!
- hoover 3s · 2023-12-01T23:40:14.321ZTeam Ascot? Like a football (fútbol) scarf? Ohhhh... Groan.
- Team Mascot...you can put a Razorback around your neck but people will say you are boaring! But of course that is not a feral evaluation.
Thanks for solving.
- nice puzzle - got it by saying the theme entries over and over again until i was like wait it sounds like arkansas!
- EXACTLY what I intended. I thought about a group of clues like ALIBABBA, ALLOBAMA, ANGRYMAMA but then there would have been that elephant in the room.
- Qmark 3s · 2023-12-04T00:58:41.557ZThanks Dr Tom. Nothing came to me for days after filling in the grid...but after reading the nudges today...bingo!
1A
Razor brand
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Across
- 1ARazor brand
- 5APrice of pot
- 9AOpposite of imagined
- 13ATreat roughly, maybe with a big wooden hammer
- 14ACarried on in public
- 15ARepeated three times for; well you know
- 16AWhen I was able, vis-à-vis seeing Elba
- 17AJazzy Jones
- 18AWhat you see when waiting on people
- 19ACanine business that focuses on your dog's voice and feet
- 22AMoney in the bank
- 23ADismiss, facially
- 27ADivisions
- 31A"Cool!"
- 32AEvening shifts: Abbr.
- 35ADrive-in artsy business where you grab your easel and never have to leave the car
- 38ARevealing cries
- 40AGood last name for a boxer or fisherman
- 41AArid
- 42ASmall cutting instruments designed specifically to make small identifying incisions in wood
- 45AOfficer's address
- 46AOil drum type of band
- 47AAsk for cash
- 49AAndy and Cherry
- 52ACharlotte ___ (dessert)
- 56ATroubles listening to herald angels singing
- 60APlay a non-speaking part
- 63AAppropriately named cartoonist Edward
- 64AExam for an aspiring atty.
- 65AWho got shot if I shot the Sharif
- 66AFinancial guru Suze
- 67AWoeful words
- 68AProbably forever
- 69AData collected, often rapidly
- 70ABack of the neck
Down
- 1DLow life?
- 2DO'Hara homestead and namesakes
- 3DPenitent people
- 4DTwins: look ___
- 5DWill's river
- 6DCalculator toting, pocket protector wearing epitome (or simply, me in college)
- 7DThings that, once opened. you can find yourself caught
- 8DAllen of furniture fame
- 9DBlack bits on your pastrami sandwich
- 10D"Dig in!"
- 11DMs. Lovelace
- 12DCruces or Vegas
- 14D"Don't stop me now, I'm ___ roll" (preferably a bagel)
- 20DPart of a process
- 21DFind your way through
- 24DHardest to find coins in collector lingo
- 25DThey don't make Pings but they made Pong
- 26DStructure aware of the plane truth
- 28D"High Hopes" lyricist
- 29DNot surprisingly, Joan Crawford's final film
- 30DSmall amount
- 32DRequest at a Asian restaurant
- 33D"Ain't ___ shame", Fats Domino
- 34DMadder than before
- 36DJapanese electronics giant known for their music keyboards
- 37DColorful salamander
- 39DPopular "slip-in" sports shoes
- 43DA set of hip bones
- 44DHang ten
- 48DDon, as boots
- 50DJason's ship and all its namesakes
- 51DCulottes kin
- 53DMalia's sister
- 54DNickname for the University of Florida stadium
- 55DSomeone who is quite a bit Lauder
- 57DHogwart's librarian Pince or Parisian evening worker la Douce
- 58DDisallowing ice
- 59DFemale doctor
- 60DAfter his death, the Pep Boy's Manny and Jack had to sadly say, "There ain't no ___"
- 61DI think (in text - and I am certainly not humble)
- 62DCreature with over 98% of the same DNA structure as a Bonobo
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