Stop, That's a Command!

CROSSHARE

Sea eagles

Across

1A
Sea eagles
5A
Cabeza, across the Pyrenees
9A
Combat veteran's affliction, perhaps
13A
Scan a page
14A
The golden calf convinced Moses that ___ hands are the Devil's workshop?
15A
Dinner holder
16A
Hotly contested leases on government land
18A
Colleague of Mo and Miney
19A
Can't get a break
20A
They threw the comic in prison because he said he ___ at the club?
21A
The golfer who embellished the difficulty of where his ball was got caught in a ___?
22A
Gizmos
23A
Hobby with HO and N gauges
28A
"Smart" ones
29A
___ berries
30A
We never trusted him as treasurer because his name was ___?
33A
Mosquito repellent ingredient
34A
Text that is the foundational basis of our laws: ___ Carta
36A
First name of a famous Lisa
37A
Noah was accused of swearing because when he saw the water coming he said "God, ___ it"?
38A
Voice in the machine
39A
Giant fruit encountered by James
40A
Dame who played the late Queen Elisabeth II so well she won an Oscar
43A
Spicy bar snack, ___ wings
47A
Ash can
48A
Rub
49A
If you discuss you parent's spine, is that considered ___ ___?
54A
"Lorna ___"
55A
Nuisance
56A
Sharks and Jets
57A
Snack in a shell
58A
Cheryl from Charlie's Angels
59A
Airport board stats.
60A
Where to view an etoile
61A
USPS items

Down

1D
Picadilly Circus god
2D
This pulls a bit
3D
Simba's lioness
4D
Mt. Rushmore state, for short
5D
Morsel
6D
More "out there"
7D
Perfect fit
8D
Overhead trains in Chicago
9D
Beg
10D
Tuneful Tucker
11D
Confined to a pen
12D
Accomplishments
15D
Speaker who once lead a minority faction
17D
Actress Carter and others
20D
Hennie on skates
22D
Singer Celine
23D
Safety org.
24D
Olive genus
25D
Judge to be
26D
Outer: Prefix
27D
Longhorn rival
30D
A yell from 3D
31D
"___ bitten, twice shy"
32D
Road to the Rhein
34D
German brand of luxury appliances
35D
Woody's boy
36D
Debussy's "La ___"
38D
A popular book told us there were 50 of them
39D
One way to swear
41D
Subtle difference
42D
Hipster's persona (Joe, formally)
43D
Symbol of authority
44D
Depth charge target
45D
Fern feature
46D
Vampire's tools
49D
___ Brith
50D
One step down from a Grande at Starbucks
51D
Med School subj.
52D
McCoy's rank on TV's Star Trek: Abbr.
53D
Classic sneaker brand with a blue logo
55D
Grp. that pilots pilots

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dplass 6:26 · over 2 years ago

Woo hoo! Took me a few.

boharr 4s · over 2 years ago

Nice one, DrTom. I am boharr here and in the muggles forums.

I K Snamhcok 2s · over 2 years ago

Had nothing, then just like that, in a flash, I got the “click”. I’m trying to think of some Cecil B. DeMille sort of joke to make here, but it ain’t happening. God #%$&@ it!

DrTom constructor · over 2 years ago
So you were lost and then the seas parted...hmmm?

Hector 3s · over 2 years ago

Well I saw the commandment connections right away, and the nudge told me I hadn't missed any themers. Is there some canonical numbering of the commandments that gives REPENT on the top row? I thought they were numbered in dozens of different ways... Or is there another mech I missed?

DrTom constructor · over 2 years ago
Well I never knew there was any other way than how they are commonly shown, but it turns out the Roman Catholic commandments may differ. The common way I have seen them is : https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/10-commandments/the-ten-commandments/10-commandments-list/ Sorry for any confusion, this is kind of like the color one a while back where it depended on which color wheel you used to get the code. Unfortunately you are not the first to be tripped up by this.
- Hector 3s · over 2 years ago
  Oh, thank you. Here is what I found in looking for a canonical numbering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments#Numbering. Yours seems to be what they call "Reformed Protestant Christianity," descending from Calvin.
  
  I like the mechanism. It also occurred to me that there really didn't need to be such a mechanism -- the prompt is really enough once you know that the issue is what you need to do having sinned (and it's a six-letter word). That's how I got the answer, after all. But the "six" aspect made me pretty sure there was more to the mechanism.
  
  Thank you for this puzzle!
  - DrTom constructor · over 2 years ago
    Yeah, that's my Episcopalian (or I guess it is Anglican) upbringing. In that chart you mention I am either Septuagint or Reformed.

Laura M 🤓11:04 · over 2 years ago

Excellent! I had the six themers early on but couldn't think of where to go from there, in fact wasn't sure that was the right path until the early nudge. Should have made the connection to commandments given the title and the biblical references, but I got there eventually :-)

Tyrpmom 2s · over 2 years ago

The themers stood out as funny Dr. Tom clues. Completely missed them on Wednesday. My Catholic education makes me feel guilty for not getting it sooner. Ha!

markhr 🤓10:03 · over 2 years ago

Well, now I feel dense. I didn't get the connection to commandments, even with the Moses reference. They just seemed like typically wacky Dr. Tom clues. Guess I wasn't alone, though.

Ergcat 18:03 · over 2 years ago

Alleluia, I got it! The nudges helped! That was very clever ! Thank you!

DrTom, let me add that even after I knew it was the 10 Commandments, it took me a couple of iterations because of the different numbering of the 10 Commandments by different denominations. I grew up Catholic but now Lutheran … Lutherans have slightly different numbering!

DrTom constructor · over 2 years ago
Yes I know there are some differences. My "helper nudge" gives a link to the commandments as I know them. Actually even if you had stayed Catholic there would have been a difference I am told. Apparently Protestants throw in "No Idols" at #2 moving all the others down and make coveting all inclusive so it is one commandment. I really apologize because this was a HUGE oversight on my part.

Carolyn 4s · over 2 years ago

Embarrassed that it took me so long. I guess I need to go back to church!

Dow Jones 4s · over 2 years ago

Good one, Dr. Tom. I was looking down the "computer commands" rabbit hole (scan, text, view, sort, etc) until your nudges put me back on the "straight and narrow". Thanks for the wonderful entertainment.

Abide 2s · over 2 years ago
Same here with computer commands. Although the theme clues seemed like most other DrTom clues, I should have noticed those (?) were Across only. Good gimmick!

ReB 3s · over 2 years ago

After the first nudge confirmed the themers, I quickly noticed the overlap of the six themers with the Ten Commandments, which the second nudge confirmed. So then I got serious and decided first to look up the numbers for each (digging out my old JPS version which I expected would be closest to what you were using as a reference) and to look at the corresponding number box on the grid - and that worked right away.

DIS 🤓6:21 · over 2 years ago

It's about time knowing that stuff paid off :-)

kurtalert 🤓8:30 · over 2 years ago

Clever! This heathen needed all of the nudges, sadly!

Mr Tex 11:01 · over 2 years ago

I don't see the commandment themers at all. It drives me CRAZY that no one on this website -- creators or solvers -- explains the mechanism in the solution. Every other meta does.

DrTom constructor · over 2 years ago
The 6 "punny" clues, all with a blank space and a ? all imply commandments. So, IDOL, ROB. LIE, SLAYED, BACKTALK, DAM if you read their clues you will see a commandment tie in. Each of those commandments has a number of course and the square corresponding to that number carries a letter (in order of the answers) that spells out REPENT. I don't know if this will work, but the complete reveal is on the Xword-Muggles.com site under the Other Meta Puzzles, MEOW (https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?t=1839&start=40#p106506)

Thanks, Dr Tom, for explaining. I can't figure out why this isn't part of every solution. It's a frustrating, silly omission.

DrTom constructor · over 2 years ago
Well, you can check any of the Xword Muggles submissions by going to xword-muggles.com and looking through the various posts. We are a group of Meta solving goofballs who started out doing the WSJ Contests and then the Matt Gaffney weekly crossword and formed a group because we did not like the restrictions of the WSJ comment section. We grew from there and now many of us do our own puzzles and post them on that site (there is the MEOW, MMM, Pun of a Kind, MOAT, Pandora and others). You ought to join our group if you like metas, either solving or creating. It is free and we are very friendly. Putting them on Crosshare is rather new and done so that we do not have to answer a lot of e-mail; about whether people got it right. We always post the solution and the path on our site.

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