Holding Out For A Hero (Meta)
◆ · By benchen71 · Published 2023-09-06T06:00:45.458Z
Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is a hero
It's time for another BenChen71-attempts-to-channel-Madhatter5 puzzle. Once again, the conventions of crosswords have been thrown out the window! Well, it's perhaps not quite as drastic as all that. OK, so there's no symmetry, but I made sure to avoid 2-letter words this time (which was hard, let me tell you!) All told, I consider this one to be "Persian" in difficulty (equivalent of a "week 3"). The answer to the meta is a hero. Answer & explanation: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=141635#p141635
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...
1A
Piece by Marina Hyde, for example (check her out on The Guardian; she's bitingly hilarious!)
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
Across
- 1APiece by Marina Hyde, for example (check her out on The Guardian; she's bitingly hilarious!)
- 5A"Good" cholesterol (abbr.)
- 8AStrait-laced
- 12APalm fruit
- 13A68 across, for example
- 15AFence opening
- 16ARamones single that opens with "Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go"
- 19APrinter's measures
- 20AGland near the kidneys
- 21APrinter's measures (the other ones)
- 22ACentral American orchid ___ (Euglossa dilemma)
- 23APesto ingredient
- 25AUse as a dinner table
- 28AEstonia, once upon a time (abbr.)
- 29ALocations
- 33AHooptown USA
- 35ANot more than
- 36AGovernment payment
- 37AAural blockage, perhaps
- 40AReply to "Are not!"
- 41AIdle member of Monty Python?
- 43AScrape, as a windshield
- 44ARoad Runner sound
- 45ASicilian hot spot
- 46A2.54 centimetres
- 47AHorse holders
- 48ACharacter who crosses the moat and storms the castle while Fairy Godmother sings "Holding Out For A Hero"
- 50APod occupant
- 51A"What do you call cheese that's not yours?" "___ cheese!"
- 54AMouse-catcher on a farm, perhaps
- 58ASound of satisfaction
- 59AFlammable gas
- 63AOrnamental pond fish
- 64AAuthor ___ Tolstoy
- 65AObelix has a crush on her in Asterix the Legionary (the word also means "Universal remedy" if you're not an Asterix fan)
- 66AShad delicacy
- 67ACCM luminary ___ Grant
- 68AMay birthstone
- 69ASum up
Down
- 1DGarfield's foil
- 2DMinor chess piece
- 3DZeta followers
- 4DLion's home
- 5DLanguage almost all of the OT is written in
- 6DNerds
- 7DProfessional wrestler Brock ___
- 8DGolf org.
- 9DAssign stars to, say
- 10DAny thing
- 11DDrugs, familiarly
- 13DCarved gemstone
- 14DPlaces to graze
- 17DDance craze with a repetitive name
- 18DBottom of the celebrity barrel
- 22DWith 53 down: Chinese cabbage
- 24DSuccotash ingredient
- 25DCosmetician ___ Lauder
- 26DNot together
- 27DPoison of plant or animal origin
- 28DAt peace
- 30DOscar winner Marisa ___
- 31DIndustrial city on the Ruhr
- 32DTrain stations
- 34DLowest point
- 35DWolf killer in a fairy tale
- 38DJohn ___ (four-time role for Keanu Reeves)
- 39DExclamation heard in 31 down
- 42DUS "cabbage"
- 47DEnjoy a favourite book again
- 49DBilliards ace Willie ___
- 50DGroup of experts
- 51D"The Lion King" queen
- 52DThroat-clearing sound
- 53DSee 22 down
- 54DValley of Weeping (Ps. 84)
- 55DCreole vegetable
- 56D35 down target
- 57DTold a falsehood
- 60DBattering device
- 61DNot divided
- 62DGolfer's standard