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How Very Scenic (Meta)
◆ · By benchen71 · Published 2023-12-26T05:00:57.038Z
Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is an eight-letter word
Merry Christmas for yesterday! With this "week 4" puzzle we have reached the end of 2023 as far as MOATs are concerned. I trust you have enjoyed these weekly puzzles of mine. I know I have greatly enjoyed, not just the intellectual challenge of putting these meta puzzles together, but the two amazing online communities: xword-muggles and Crosshare! Your encouraging comments, groan-worthy puns, etc. are a big part of why I keep releasing these things each week. And here's to more to come in 2024! Answer & explanation: https://xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=152326#p152326
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)
- Hector solved 2023-12-26T05:23:56.892Z
- Berto solved 2023-12-26T05:54:49.374Z
- Laura M solved 2023-12-26T08:50:35.131Z
- SamKat9 solved 2023-12-26T14:05:20.130Z
- LarsCaine solved 2023-12-26T14:54:52.100Z
- Meg solved 2023-12-26T15:04:18.125Z
- Ergcat solved 2023-12-26T16:02:29.154Z
- boharr solved 2023-12-26T16:48:47.807Z
- DIS solved 2023-12-26T17:26:03.644Z
- DebbieC solved 2023-12-26T18:12:25.138Z
- Tim solved 2023-12-26T18:56:52.747Z
- MatthewL solved 2023-12-26T19:30:48.941Z
- lbray53 solved 2023-12-26T19:38:18.221Z
- Cindy Weatherman solved 2023-12-26T20:50:14.852Z
- I K Snamhcok solved 2023-12-26T21:33:07.476Z
- Tyrpmom solved 2023-12-26T22:32:10.517Z
- Darth solved 2023-12-26T22:51:05.563Z
- Golem solved 2023-12-27T00:39:34.981Z
- Philip Chow solved 2023-12-27T04:44:31.907Z
- hoover solved 2023-12-27T06:28:42.546Z
- whimsy solved 2023-12-27T10:22:17.526Z
- woozy solved 2023-12-28T05:37:45.189Z
- DCBilly solved 2023-12-28T14:08:05.483Z
- Pair O Ducks solved 2023-12-28T14:50:37.575Z
- BobJas solved 2023-12-28T15:15:01.577Z
- Spid4567 solved 2023-12-28T16:16:02.297Z
- Jaclyn solved 2023-12-28T16:50:07.956Z
- ajk solved 2023-12-28T17:31:03.235Z
- BarbaraK solved 2023-12-28T17:53:54.720Z
- Capn Rick solved 2023-12-28T18:07:56.984Z
- HeadinHome solved 2023-12-28T18:17:05.284Z
- JM solved 2023-12-28T18:24:08.749Z
- Carolyn solved 2023-12-28T19:16:45.585Z
- DrTom solved 2023-12-28T19:48:04.143Z
- Jeremy Smith solved 2023-12-28T20:06:49.067Z
- CPJohnson solved 2023-12-28T21:35:35.114Z
- Cindy Heisler solved 2023-12-28T21:57:45.012Z
- KayW solved 2023-12-28T22:59:08.707Z
- heidi solved 2023-12-28T23:19:10.497Z
- Mg305 solved 2023-12-28T23:53:00.849Z
- ReB solved 2023-12-29T00:53:28.661Z
- Dow Jones solved 2023-12-29T02:31:17.664Z
- Tom Wilson solved 2023-12-29T06:25:10.974Z
- rjy solved 2023-12-29T07:51:11.241Z
- edestlin solved 2023-12-31T15:06:45.890Z
- atsirica111191 solved 2023-12-31T17:23:27.959Z
- Qmark solved 2024-01-03T02:45:43.044Z
- Katiedid solved 2024-01-18T02:55:21.057Z
Comments
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- Laura M 🤓12:05 · 2023-12-26T09:02:32.926ZPerfect! Thanks for a year of great puzzles!
- SamKat9 🤓9:20 · 2023-12-26T14:05:39.413ZThanks for the puzzle, another great one!
- Meg 2s · 2023-12-26T15:05:17.211ZI think I just got lucky on this one. Beautiful construction, Ben!
- Ergcat 15:25 · 2023-12-26T16:04:47.373ZVery nice! Saw the four “MANGER”s but didn’t do the obvious thing first! Duh! Happy Boxing Day! Thank you, Ben, for your MOAT puzzles throughout the year! Love the challenge every week!
- What did you do first? And you're very welcome!
- Ergcat 15:25 · 2023-12-27T21:54:15.928ZMenagerie and then nativity ( I was thinking animals in the Nativity scene)
- MatthewL 🤓7:22 · 2023-12-26T19:32:46.042ZThanks for the puzzle Ben! Was most of the way there, but needed a little poke to refocus my thinking. Have enjoyed all the MOAT and other puzzles this year, and look forward to more Aussie trivia in the new year!
- Tyrpmom 2s · 2023-12-26T22:33:47.574ZThanks! Nice Christmas theme.
- seeing "angel" in ANGELES and "Mary" in SUMMARY in threw me off for the longest time... i was like who else looked after baby Jesus? i scanned the grid looking for "magi" and that's when i saw all the mangers... thank you for the cover picture to get me into the right mindset... merry Christmas and happy new year!
- Yes, those are unfortunately close to the meta theme, both in subject matter and location!
- hoover 10s · 2023-12-27T06:30:45.473ZI saw four ANGE first, but googling didn't yield anything useful related to childcare. MANGE should have nudged me to MANGER, but oddly enough it was ANGELES that did it. Once I saw the first MANGER there, the rest fell into place quickly. Happy new year!
- Thanks for revealing your solve process - always fascinating to a constructor!
- whimsy 15:15 · 2023-12-27T10:48:31.820ZI spent too much time harking to the herald angels before I noticed the manger. Very nice construction. Thanks, Ben!
- My inspiration was probably exactly as you would want. Had no idea what but saw several "ange"s an wondered what on earth could that have to with child care. Then thinking of christmas....
- I wasn't expecting this one to play as hard as a true "week 4" ;-)
- HeadinHome 🤓7:29 · 2023-12-28T18:20:49.924ZSaw angels and Mary and couldn’t stop looking for sheep or cows or oxen…. Also saw ANGE four times but not the MANGERS. Great puzzle .. normally I think I’d have gotten that quicker but I’m diving in the car on the way home from the holiday shenanigans with lots of littles including one tiny babe (not the manger one).
- Carolyn 2s · 2023-12-28T19:17:50.691ZLovely puzzle. Thanks so much.
- Nicely hidden! I looked and looked, thought about RAWHIDE (Disciplining) and UPLIFTING (Raising) when I saw all the ANGEs and thought ANGELS (given the season). Then I saw MANGE and could do little with it (add an R, take away an R on RANGE,????) and THEN I saw the wandering MANGER.Very Seasonal and solvable. Thanks' Ben
- Cindy Heisler 3s · 2023-12-28T21:59:30.138ZSometimes I am just blind to what is right in front of me. Very nice, Ben. Thanks!
- Very nicely done - thanks!
- ReB 5s · 2023-12-29T00:55:21.872ZNeeded some eyesalve, but an enjoyable meta for the season. Must have taken some doing for you to be able to cradle those needed letters in the grid
- Glad you made it in the end. Sorry for the kicking nudge!
- Qmark 3s · 2024-01-03T02:46:59.561ZLate to the puzzle...but no nudges needed....thanks for another year of great metas, Ben! I don't know how you do it each week (and then some...), but I'm so glad you do!!
1A
Uranium 238, for example
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Across
- 1AUranium 238, for example
- 8ASound of disapproval
- 11ALetters between A and E
- 14ABarbra Streisand live album, "The Music... The ___... The Magic!"
- 15APromise to pay
- 16AFair-hiring letters
- 17APart of L.A.
- 18APrecis
- 20AFormer First Lady of Argentina, ___ Peron
- 21ALine of mountains
- 22AEel-like fish
- 26ADead Sea documents
- 28ASlightly open
- 29ARiver that flows through Lutsk, Ukraine
- 31A"Mr. Blue Sky" band, for short
- 32ABa
- 35AProbability associated with a die roll
- 38AParental concern, and a hint for something you can find four times in the grid (so long as you're thinking historically)
- 40ATouched lovingly
- 43AOver in cricket with no runs
- 47ANumber that divides evenly into every prime number
- 48AAncient box, often used as a ossuary
- 50ANo longer here
- 51AGenus of the butterfly ray
- 54ASong the Blues Brothers sing at the bar with both kinds of music, country and western
- 57AItchy canine ailment
- 58AEnzyme suffix
- 59AOlder Gilmore girl
- 61AElevates, as the spirits
- 66AThe A of ETA
- 67APixar movie, "Monsters ___"
- 68A"___ Place" ('90s TV series)
- 69ACasual greeting
- 70AMessy place
- 71AMade furious
Down
- 1D"___ Mac" "And ___ PC"
- 2DRep.'s counterpart
- 3DOnline expression of disbelief
- 4DItalian for three
- 5DCrude-carrying tanker
- 6DMinor annoyance
- 7DEnglish teacher's weekend marking, perhaps
- 8D"___ the season to be jolly"
- 9DNachos topping, probably
- 10DKal Penn character, friend of Harold
- 11DSnoopy, Brains, and Underdog
- 12DCaptain with a mandolin in a 2001 film
- 13D"L.A. Law" actress, Susan ___
- 19DLetters between L and P
- 22DScientist's workplace
- 23DSteely Dan album of 1977
- 24D3rd month
- 25DAmount to pay
- 26DIn ___ (harmonious)
- 27D"Red" or "White" team
- 30DAlternate name for Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
- 33DHesitant sounds
- 34DMalefactor
- 36DParamilitary org. in "Peaky Blinders"
- 37DWhinnying sound
- 39DDarth Vader's daughter
- 40DSmall part in a machine
- 41DThe Kinks song, "I Don't Need You ___"
- 42DGet hitched a second time
- 44D"Absolutely!"
- 45DConclusion
- 46DFormerly named
- 49DPsychological injury
- 52DOpposite of SSW
- 53DJamaican tangelos
- 55DColorado ski resort
- 56DDSwiss product that is "a synergistic combination of nutrients and powerful botanicals such as bitter melon extract, fulvic acid, chromium, ALA and L-arabinose" (that should be plenty for a Google search)
- 59D"Well, ___-di-dah!"
- 60DFrosty (the adjective, not the snowman)
- 62DRage and fury
- 63DIn favour of
- 64D"Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" monogram
- 65DBut, to Brutus
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