First Responders (Meta)

Easy-ish meta --- thanks!

Meow! Thanks Ben!

Easy grid, but meta took me a minute. I have never heard of this acronym. Nice to learn something new. Thanks,Ben.

Had to look that one up. New acronym to me. Go to know!

Well, that was appreciated - believe me I needed to be resuscitated because I am drowning trying to cross the MOAT. Thanks for one in my wheelhouse Ben. Now here is an update of sorts, the new acronym from the American Heart Association for first responders is CAB (+D) The "danger, response, send" part are pretty much for civilians, and from what I can see are Aussie specific; though certainly pertinent. the AHA changed the order in 2010 because immediate compressions got blood moving to the brain and heart which is vital (two other common statements are "time is brain" or "time is heart") AND they can be done immediately whereas checking for a patent airway and circulation (especially in someone with a weak output) can take time. It is also why, particularly for non-professionals, mouth-to-mouth is no longer recommended. It is mostly done wrong, and takes time away from the important part, compressions. So, there is 10 minutes of your life you'll never get back - but rapid intervention is soooo important in preserving cardiac and brain function that I had to suggest we take a CAB to get there faster! Great puzzle, glad I did not get a chance to pre-test it because I loved solving it.

It's not an acronym... it's an initialism, and seems to be Australia specific...but I digress.

TFTP!

Thanks, Ben!

comment by anonymous is right on

there's a typo in your 26D answer

Also, anonymous is correct - we've an initialism here :)

It was indeed easier than crossing the moat. Educational.

Needed a second look to see the clue in the clues. Nice!

Thanks for the puzzle, Ben - I learned something new both from your puzzle AND Dr. Tom's follow up!

Learn something new with every MEOW. Thanks, Ben!

never heard of this! Great to know, and fun puzzle. (I did learn the 6 warning signs of cancer acronym .. CAUTION .. about 40 years ago by making up a dumb song, which I can still sing. So there’s that.)

Thanks.

Fun one, thank you!

Very clever and educational! Thanks for the puzzle!

Wow! I never heard that one before. I got hung up on thinking 51a could more appropriately be ROMANTIC COMEDIES. And kept trying to find other FIRST words missing from entries. I could not budge out of that rabbit hole until your nudges shifted my eyes a bit. Thanks, Ben!

What the heck is DRSABCD?

Well, after the second nudge, I first tried EMT, followed by the acronym I was familiar with, which was ABC (Airway, Breathing, Circulation). Then, I stopped trying to mastermind and just obediently followed "Meta 101 rules" and took the first letter of the seven grid theme entries - even though what they spelled out was was not a familiar acronym - which turned out to be correct.

I guess my emergency response education is in serious need of an update - or at least an expansion. Though from Dr. Tom's comment, it also sounds like C (Circulation/CPR) is now a higher priority than A or B in current thinking - which would mean that this acronym may need an updating?