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"It Takes Two"
■ · By Capn Rick · Published 2022-11-14T05:05:39.790Z
Meta Prompt
The meta answer is a fitting two-word phrase.
HINTS (https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?t=1934&start=20#p111841) and SOLUTION (https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?t=1934&start=40#p112348) on the "XWord Muggles Forum".
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Leaderboard (updated hourly)
- Hector solved at 14:38 on 11/14/2022
- Alex Sisti solved at 15:19 on 11/14/2022
- Tyrpmom solved at 15:20 on 11/14/2022
- DrTom solved at 17:24 on 11/14/2022
- whimsy solved at 18:43 on 11/14/2022
- DIS solved at 18:51 on 11/14/2022
- Cindy Weatherman solved at 19:38 on 11/14/2022
- oldjudge solved at 19:47 on 11/14/2022
- JHSeeman solved at 20:15 on 11/14/2022
- Gutman solved at 20:32 on 11/14/2022
- Anita and Steve solved at 21:57 on 11/14/2022
- Mr Tex solved at 22:09 on 11/14/2022
- KayW solved at 23:10 on 11/14/2022
- Meg solved at 0:05 on 11/15/2022
- markhr solved at 0:06 on 11/15/2022
- I K Snamhcok solved at 1:23 on 11/15/2022
- Darth solved at 1:42 on 11/15/2022
- Bbaack solved at 1:54 on 11/15/2022
- Abide solved at 5:19 on 11/15/2022
- Mikey G solved at 6:21 on 11/15/2022
- dannyvee solved at 13:28 on 11/15/2022
- Schmeel solved at 14:58 on 11/15/2022
- Eric Porter solved at 22:39 on 11/15/2022
- lbray53 solved at 22:54 on 11/15/2022
- BrennerTJ solved at 0:45 on 11/16/2022
- Darrell solved at 0:59 on 11/16/2022
- wendy walker solved at 1:40 on 11/16/2022
- michaelm solved at 15:02 on 11/16/2022
- jbird solved at 15:16 on 11/16/2022
- Johnny Luau solved at 15:57 on 11/16/2022
- Dave C solved at 16:02 on 11/16/2022
- Sharkicicles solved at 16:59 on 11/16/2022
- heidi solved at 17:47 on 11/16/2022
- david solved at 18:10 on 11/16/2022
- Cindy Heisler solved at 18:40 on 11/16/2022
- Carolyn solved at 20:00 on 11/16/2022
- ajk solved at 20:32 on 11/16/2022
- Teamdoubletow solved at 22:30 on 11/16/2022
- Laura M solved at 23:37 on 11/16/2022
- CPJohnson solved at 0:21 on 11/17/2022
- Jim Dean solved at 0:42 on 11/17/2022
- JM solved at 2:47 on 11/17/2022
- minimuggle solved at 3:05 on 11/17/2022
- Dow Jones solved at 6:30 on 11/17/2022
- rjy solved at 14:29 on 11/17/2022
- Jaclyn solved at 0:17 on 11/18/2022
- hoover solved at 3:34 on 11/18/2022
- Naptown Kid solved at 4:41 on 11/18/2022
- Alan Connor solved at 14:05 on 11/18/2022
- benchen71 solved at 2:45 on 11/19/2022
- ReB solved at 0:11 on 11/20/2022
- frostyjhammer solved at 3:47 on 11/20/2022
- Charles Montpetit solved at 16:40 on 11/24/2022
- Liam O'Brien solved at 13:53 on 11/25/2022
Comments
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- Tyrpmom 2s · 2022-11-14T15:20:37.696ZAnother awesome puzzle. Thanks.
- Still in awe at how well these names are hidden in plain sight. "Cetera," probably best of all...
- Thanks, Al. Yeah, it took a while to find 12 artists with easily-camouflaged names, who performed together, and with common letters that spelled something relevant in the end.
- Hector 3s · 2022-11-14T15:24:38.061ZVery smooth grid for so much meta material.
- Thanks for solving, Hector. I appreciate your comment.
- I tested this a while back and enjoyed it then, but it had been a while and I forgot the answer. That only meant I could solve and enjoy it again. Nice puzzle Rick
- Thank you, DrTom. Glad I could double your pleasure!
- Fabulous!!! PEACHES5ACobbler fruits[-------] & HERB9DOregano, e.g.[----] leapt out at me. But there seems a little partner swapping going on in this grid... the next duo I found was USHER63ATheater employee[-----] and Alicia KEYS88AFlorida tourist destinations[----]. But it didn't take me long to realize that the pairs had to cross, so I soon sorted them all out. Thanks Cap'n - very clever and fun! Even for those of us that don't know much music.
- Glad you liked it, Kay. A little something different this time.
- I K Snamhcok 1s · 2022-11-15T01:25:36.273ZSeeing PEACHES5ACobbler fruits[-------] cross HERB9DOregano, e.g.[----] is what got me going on this one — which tells you my age! Very nice, Cap’n!
- Thanks, Chris. Yes, the PEACHES5ACobbler fruits[-------] and HERB9DOregano, e.g.[----] "reunion" was the entry point for a lot of Muggles of our age group. Thanks for solving.
- Bbaack 🤓11:11 · 2022-11-15T02:00:55.011ZWow, there are some unlikely duets in there. Who knew! Thanks for the fun and informative meta!
- Yes, and fortunately their names could be easily camouflaged! Thanks for solving, Bbaack.
- Got it thanks to some help from the Tuesday Muggle Meet-up. Thanks, Rick!
- Glad you got it, Wendy. Sorry I could not attend the meet-up. Was having dinner with my crew.
- michaelm 🤓3:15 · 2022-11-16T15:17:33.407ZWow Cap'n Rick. Your duet knowledge certainly spans the years Needed Wednesday Nudge 1 and had to google the Usher crosses - ya never know these days. Were you sacrificing rabbits by including twosomes in clues, i.e Adam & Eve, Keats/Shelley, Jane Fonda/Jon Voigt, Almond or Cashew, Univ. or Acad.? First letters of those answers to those + DUETS33DSongs for 51-Across[-----] gets you SECOND; Almost made it to SECOND BASE. Love duets but quartets are great too - the 4 TTOPS54ASporty car roofs[-----] especially. As always, thanks for the MMM!
- You're welcome, Michael. Thank you for solving! I guess I wasn't aware of all those pairs in my clues. Will have to use that mechanism another time!
- Sharkicicles 15s · 2022-11-16T16:59:44.898ZNeeded the first two nudges, but in! Great puzzle.
- Cindy Heisler 2s · 2022-11-16T18:44:09.647ZA couple of them I spotted right away, but it took some searching and Googling to come up with the rest. It was pretty satisfying when I finally came up with the last one. Pretty awesome puzzle! Thanks!
- Thank you, Cindy. Yes, I needed artists with names that could be easily camouflaged. I figured that most solvers would need to do some Googling.
- Carolyn 3s · 2022-11-16T20:02:12.972ZI saw Peaches and Herb before any of the hints but didn't see the rest until I got Google involved. I wasn't familiar with all the names so definitely needed the help. Thanks
- Thanks for solving, Carolyn. I was hoping that PEACHES5ACobbler fruits[-------] and HERB9DOregano, e.g.[----] would help clue solvers in to the mechanism.
- Teamdoubletow 3s · 2022-11-16T22:32:10.723ZAll credit on this solve goes to the other half of the duo!
- Laura M 🤓12:11 · 2022-11-16T23:40:42.312ZToo many rabbit holes on this one, I needed the nudges!
- Thanks, Laura. It was definitely one of my more difficult metas.
- Dow Jones 4s · 2022-11-17T06:43:28.132ZWell done, Cap'n Rick. Being an old Chicago fan drew my attention to "cetera" (Peter). I learned about Yuna today.
- Thanks, Dow. Yes, I had fun slipping Peter Cetera in there with Amy Grant. I really needed that "U" from Yuna and Usher to make the answer work out.
- hoover 3s · 2022-11-18T03:37:41.736ZPeaches and Herb jumped right out at me because I'm old. I saw GRANDE29ARio ___[------] but since I was looking for pairs who performed as "X and Y" I didn't find any of the other pairs by myself. Once I was given the bonus nudge, I didn't have any trouble finding the crossers, but I really feel like I was dragged kicking and screaming off the couch.
- Ha ha! Way to stick with it, Hoover! Thanks for solving.
- Not sure what it says about me, but CETERA40AEt ___[------]/GRANT31DResearch money[-----] was the first pair I saw. Great puzzle, Cap'n Rick!
- Thanks, Ben. It must be your constructor's eye. Several other solvers felt that that pairing was the best camouflaged.
- ReB 4s · 2022-11-20T00:17:13.221ZNeeded every last nudge as I didn't know any of the pairs on my own. Remarkable construction that required (1) finding six pairs of singers with (2) a common letter and (3) whose names also have non-name definitions. (4) You then had to fit these six crossing pairs into a 15x15 grid while maintaining grid symmetry. Quite a feat indeed!
- Thanks for noticing and commenting, ReB. I think I'll borrow some of that for my reveal tomorrow. :)
1A
Crossword with an extra challenge, like "It Takes Two"
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Across
- 1ACrossword with an extra challenge, like "It Takes Two"
- 5ACobbler fruits
- 12A"Don't have ___, man!" (Bart Simpson line)
- 16AWicked
- 17AActor Chad of "Medical Center"
- 18A___ contendere (court plea)
- 19AContact lens solution brand
- 20AFormer Yankees manager Joe
- 21APoker player's declaration
- 22ABrothers ___
- 24ASearch thoroughly
- 25A"Pay it ___" ("Ignore it")
- 27AJustice Kagan
- 28ARecipe amt.
- 29ARio ___
- 30AVaccine deliverer
- 32AKeats or Shelley
- 35ALong-jawed fish
- 36AMined-over matter
- 37AAlmond or cashew
- 38AUniv. or acad.
- 40AEt ___
- 44A"Have ___" (waiting room words)
- 46AMusic genre
- 49ASmug brew "expert"
- 51APairs (and a hint to solving the meta)
- 53AShut noisily
- 54ASporty car roofs
- 56ABeachgoers' needs
- 57APony up
- 59AEgg cells
- 60AAlways, to a poet
- 61ASmartphone ancestor
- 63ATheater employee
- 65AMore stylish
- 70A"Gran ___" (2008 Eastwood flick)
- 72ACrunch targets
- 74AClinton Labor secretary Robert
- 75AOne half of the "Dynamic Duo"
- 76AHook's henchman
- 77AVacant
- 78AKimono sashes
- 79AIncessantly
- 82AMolecule part
- 83AAway from the wind
- 84A"___ of prevention..."
- 85AItaly's capital
- 86ATry out
- 87ASeries of bloopers
- 88AFlorida tourist destinations
Down
- 1DJoins the flow of traffic
- 2D___ Brothers
- 3DMore diminutive
- 4DHomecoming returnees
- 5DCribbage piece
- 6DAdam or Eve, notably
- 7DFormer Houston hockey team
- 8DMountaineer's shoe spikes
- 9DOregano, e.g.
- 10DFlight board posting, for short
- 11DUndercover operations
- 12DJung's inner self
- 13D1978 Jane Fonda / Jon Voight film
- 14DBrazilian beach resort
- 15DAmazement
- 23DStately homes
- 26DTable scraps
- 31DResearch money
- 33DSongs for 51-Across51APairs (and a hint to solving the meta)[--------]
- 34D"... ___ a puddy tat!" (Tweety exclamation)
- 39DCornfield bird
- 40D"60 Minutes" network
- 41DSushi fish
- 42DMad Hatter's affairs
- 43DHumorist Bombeck
- 44DOverhead
- 45DTribal emblem
- 47DBugs Bunny collectible
- 48DKohl's stock symbol
- 50DTexter's "Then again..."
- 52D1957 Jimmy Dorsey hit
- 55DSecret lover
- 58DName meaning "kindness" in Japanese
- 60DPerfume
- 61DJFK's vessel
- 62DNot impossible
- 64DNovelist / essayist Susan
- 66DComment
- 67DWalk stealthily
- 68DSurgery suffix
- 69D"Nursery" poems
- 71D"No more for me, thanks"
- 73DGeoffrey of fashion
- 76DMake out, in Manchester
- 80D"Cat ___ Hot Tin Roof"
- 81DTierra ___ Fuego
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