Double Dealing
◆ · By Wendy Walker · Published 2023-07-16T12:00:10.411Z
Meta Prompt
The meta answer is a U.S. state capital.
That thing you pay attention to in other meta puzzles and it turns out to be irrelevant? In this one, it's not.
The inspiration for this puzzle was the frequency with which a certain potential solving strategy is raised in our Group Solves. Hmm, I thought. That's actually a great idea for a meta! I had a lot of fun creating this one but struggled to think of a suitable meta answer. It came to me, of all times, during my weekly meditation group!
Thank you to Bird Lives and to Abide for their tweaks, which improved the puzzle greatly.
Checking for previous play data...
1A
Beauty brand
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Across
- 1ABeauty brand
- 6ALauder legend
- 11AAuthor of "Too Funny to Be President"
- 12AVoice of Amazon
- 13AValue
- 14APennies
- 15AChesapeake or Fundy
- 16AExpressed amazement toward, using a two-word alliterative phrase
- 18ADashboard data
- 19ALots
- 20ARented residence
- 23AApothecary's amount
- 24ABig ref. work
- 25AEcho
- 27AMatterhorn, maybe
- 30A"No worries!"
- 31ACheshire Cat's self-assessment
- 33ARatfink
- 34AStadium
- 35ARuns smoothly
- 36APuts the kibosh on
Down
- 1DAdminister anesthesia
- 2DWhen solving a meta, looking at the clues is often a good ___
- 3DDiffer
- 4DPer Three Dog Night, he is en route
- 5DBrightest star in Aquila, the Eagle
- 6DPer person
- 7DRained down icily
- 8DSinew that connects bone to muscle
- 9DPresent
- 10DBridge positions
- 17DPlaywright Chekhov
- 18D"Skedaddle! Stat!"
- 20DRecess retort
- 21DSkip
- 22DTraffic separator
- 23DDIYer's device
- 26DIsrael Kamakawiwo’ole plays them
- 27DCredit card
- 28DBroadway star Nathan
- 29DHandheld PCs
- 32DImaging study that is really tubular