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Safe Cracking (Meta)

· By benchen71 · Published 2023-11-08T05:00:33.062Z

Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is a quotation of dubious origins
Here's another MEOW for you where the grid entries are all made up and the clues don't matter. That's right, the clues are like signatures on credit cards or bank websites that prevent you pasting your ID number - two excellent examples of security theatre! The answer to the meta is a quotation of dubious origins (whose line is it, anyway?)
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)

  • Mr Tex solved 2023-11-08T06:26:15.340Z
  • kurtalert solved 2023-11-08T13:10:02.078Z
  • merlinnimue solved 2023-11-08T13:13:19.324Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2023-11-08T14:40:19.060Z
  • Hector solved 2023-11-08T17:58:15.399Z
  • woozy solved 2023-11-08T18:01:38.031Z
  • boharr solved 2023-11-08T18:24:36.494Z
  • Meg solved 2023-11-08T18:56:39.169Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2023-11-08T20:14:04.826Z
  • Sharkicicles solved 2023-11-08T20:26:58.391Z
  • DIS solved 2023-11-08T20:52:29.508Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2023-11-08T22:56:24.719Z
  • DrTom solved 2023-11-08T23:22:43.172Z
  • hoover solved 2023-11-09T06:28:41.434Z
  • Ergcat solved 2023-11-09T19:17:01.048Z
  • Darrell solved 2023-11-10T04:21:32.040Z
  • Jaclyn solved 2023-11-10T22:23:57.233Z
  • Johnny Luau solved 2023-11-10T22:34:50.539Z
  • MatthewL solved 2023-11-10T22:58:04.529Z
  • JM solved 2023-11-10T23:06:03.576Z
  • KayW solved 2023-11-11T00:33:29.692Z
  • ajk solved 2023-11-11T01:00:47.228Z
  • whimsy solved 2023-11-11T01:01:28.795Z
  • Berto solved 2023-11-11T01:40:40.595Z
  • Laura M solved 2023-11-11T01:44:35.962Z
  • Sasha Campbell solved 2023-11-11T07:51:00.926Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2023-11-11T12:36:05.899Z
  • Gutman solved 2023-11-11T13:12:48.426Z
  • lbray53 solved 2023-11-11T14:57:41.413Z
  • edestlin solved 2023-11-11T19:22:26.259Z
  • SamKat9 solved 2023-11-12T00:05:45.035Z
  • Eric Porter solved 2023-11-12T02:41:45.283Z
  • HeadinHome solved 2023-11-12T04:26:06.482Z
  • SeamusOL solved 2023-11-12T05:03:25.783Z
  • Tyrpmom solved 2023-11-13T04:18:10.735Z
  • Darth solved 2023-11-13T21:30:20.516Z

Comments

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  • Hector 🤓1:24 · 2023-11-08T18:17:17.157Z
    Wikipedia article concerning the quotation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutton%27s_law
    • woozy 🤓2:09 · 2023-11-08T18:01:57.376Z
      Very very very cute.
      • Hector 🤓1:24 · 2023-11-08T18:10:20.923Z
        Whew, an interestingly different kind of challenge. I ended up making a spreadsheet that would "turn the dials" given a three-number combination. But instead of running through the 480 combinations, I ended up maneuvering MONEY to be in reading order, and the rest fell in place in short order -- something I could easily have done without the spreadsheet. Thanks!
        • Pair O Ducks 🤓22s · 2023-11-08T18:54:27.532Z
          I'm glad I'm not the only one to try spinning the rings through ALL the possibilities, I should have known Ben wouldn't be so cruel. I ROB BA... was what finally clicked it into place for me.
          • Sharkicicles 1:44 · 2023-11-08T20:27:51.559Z
            Ha, I wrote an iPhone app to be able to turn the dials by clicking. Probably took less time than doing it by hand!
          • boharr 4s · 2023-11-08T18:29:05.670Z
            I don't understand this line in the intro: "clues are like signatures on credit cards or bank websites that prevent you pasting your ID number."
            • benchen71 constructor · 2023-11-08T21:07:02.047Z
              It's just part of my riff on the opening monologue from "Whose Line Is It Anyway".
              • benchen71 constructor · 2023-11-08T21:29:51.288Z
                So "signatures on credit cards" and "bank websites that prevent you pasting your ID number" are two examples of things that don't matter.
                • boharr 4s · 2023-11-09T00:25:47.403Z
                  Aha. They are two things. Got it.
            • DrTom 🤓1:39 · 2023-11-08T23:25:27.707Z
              Fun, but frustrating. I figured one has to twirl the dials the right number of turns each way BUT, (1) I know the famous quote and (2) I know he did not say it really so I went with what I thought and then finally did a process of elimination (I kept putting THAT IS instead of THAT'S - should have known old WIllie didn't use the best English)
              • benchen71 constructor · 2023-11-09T08:06:54.688Z
                ... plus I needed to fit the quote into exactly 36 letters!
              • DrTom 🤓1:39 · 2023-11-08T23:34:39.917Z
                I'm not completely sure how it was supposed to have been solved, but I see I got it exactly right, but backwards, with my first turn, I went 6 L with the outer dial (since there were 6 letters - so SIYENO on the top, and 4 R with the second - so EHTE there, and left the middle alone. Dumb luck obviously.
                • benchen71 constructor · 2023-11-09T08:08:42.143Z
                  I was assuming solvers would use trial and error. When you turn the outer "dial" 90 degrees clockwise, you get IROBBA; I was hoping people would see ROB and connect that to safe cracking!
                • hoover 🤓2:24 · 2023-11-09T06:31:04.947Z
                  Because this is how I open combination locks, I went right first, then left, then was a little confused at having to turn the middle 180º.
                  • DrTom 🤓1:39 · 2023-11-09T19:52:16.040Z
                    Ditto, standard is R-L-R and I saw it COULD have been that way if the middle was slightly different. But, if you go R 6 spaces (the number of letters per side) then L4 spaces with the next “dial” and finally R 2 spaces with the last it all lines up to make the quote. I don’t know if that was intentional, to have the side letters be the number of “clicks” but it works it appears.
                  • MatthewL 3s · 2023-11-10T23:01:47.997Z
                    Finally got it, but only with the nudges. Would never have thought to "turn the dials". But, with that nudge, saw "I ROB BA" in one row and it fell pretty easily after that. Thanks for the puzzle, Ben!
                    • ajk 1:07 · 2023-11-11T01:06:19.644Z
                      As usual I was kind of but not really doing the right thing pre nudges. Had the dials idea, but forgot the answer was a quotation so I was thinking about picking out certain letters after rotating a certain number of spaces in a L/R/L sequence or something. Fun idea, thanks.
                      • Laura M 🤓34s · 2023-11-11T01:47:04.881Z
                        Nice one! I had almost entirely the right idea but needed the hints because it seemed like there were too many combinations and I'd never get it, so I gave up... If I had stuck to multiples of 90 degrees I would have figured it out :-)
                        • SamKat9 🤓2:03 · 2023-11-12T00:06:15.495Z
                          Tricky one! I got it with nudges :). Thanks, Ben
                          • HeadinHome 🤓43s · 2023-11-12T04:29:14.001Z
                            FINALLY! Just kept marching those letters around their circles and coming up with nothing! Not til I looked at the last nudge did I just get out some scissors and start turning the whole shapes (rather than move the letters around a random number of spaces, marquis style). I thought maybe the number of the puzzle (#154) was the combination! Wow that was challenging.
                            • Tyrpmom 12:05 · 2023-11-13T04:22:43.927Z
                              I wonder how many times I did it right before reading the whole thing. Pitiful solving, but I did it!
                              1A
                              ACHEMS
                              1
                              2
                              3
                              4
                              5
                              6
                              7
                              8
                              9
                              Across
                              1. 1A
                                ACHEMS
                              2. 3A
                                ETUK
                              3. 5A
                                WS
                              4. 7A
                                ES
                              5. 8A
                                EHTE
                              6. 9A
                                INAARO
                              Down
                              1. 1D
                                ABBORI
                              2. 2D
                                SIYENO
                              3. 3D
                                ETHE
                              4. 4D
                                KSBE
                              5. 5D
                                WE
                              6. 6D
                                SS
                              Loading...