It's a Disaster
◆ · By DrTom · Published 2024-02-07T12:30:22.363Z
Meta Prompt
The meta answer is a famous environmental treatise
I will fully admit that the idea for this meta was blatantly stolen from another constructor (actually two). The meta answer is, of course, different but the mechanism is the same. It came together rather quickly and thankfully I had the expert help of ajk as a tester and he really helped improve it.
So, quietly so you do not disturb the monster, see if you can dust off the cover and reveal the name of this work.
Kitten
CALICO
PERSIAN
Puma
Lion
Nudges Friday (I will try to remember to put them everywhere this time I promise!)
NUDGES!!!
Nudge 1] The 6 theme answers are very obvious because they are environmentally associated (particularly after I changed one to include the word environment)
Nudge 2] Symmetry is your friend...
Nudge 3] Do you think there is a reason I clued 27A to be so "Boston"? I mean there are a lot of clues for that word that don't include bean town.
Nudge 4] Say all 6 theme answers alound, what do they have in common?
Nudge 5] This mechanism usually comes up around Christmas, albeit with a different word, but the Mx is the same
DANG IT!!! I know I asked the program for symmetry, and during the editing process (trying to find a fill that did not include the name of dogs of 13th century pamphlet authors) I must have moved a themer and messed it up. Therefore Nudge #2 is incorrect; symmetry may be your friend, but not in this meta. Thanks to HeadinHome for pointing out this glaring mistake in my nudges.
The theme answers are "almost" symmetric, but they DO have the same qualifier that should let you know who they are.
BIG nudge 1] All of the theme clues have the word environment (in some form) in them.
BIG nudge 2] If I said "You knew what the dumb answer could be" I've used the mechanism five times.
REVEAL:
There were 6 clues with the word environment (or some form of that word) in them. Those six clues yielded the following words:
AISLE - with a silent S
CORPS - with a silent P
PARKS - with a silent R (when pronounced ala Boston)
FRUIT - with a silent I
HYMNS - with a silent N
LIGHT - with a silent G
That spells out SPRING with silent letters, or SILENT SPRING, the book by Rachel Carson about the environmental disaster that DDT was causing.
I realize that there were some problems with this meta, which are too long to go into here so
For a complete explanation and graphic solve go to:
Checking for previous play data...
)
But of course, the internet confirmed my error:"In fact, if the 'gh' pair is preceded by an 'i', the 'i' makes a long vowel sound as in the words 'light', 'fight', 'night', and 'sight'." - so yes "align" would have been the much better choice, DAM(N)!1A
Grocery store area with an environment impact, Cleaning ___
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Across
- 1AGrocery store area with an environment impact, Cleaning ___
- 6AMuch maligned fiddle player
- 10AThat girl there
- 13AEntreat
- 14ANew Deal environmental movement Civilian Conservation ___
- 15APossessed previously
- 16AEloise's home
- 17AAdjective for a queen
- 18AIncense
- 19ARuler with Arabic numbers
- 21AMuslim's "good book"
- 23AThe person Mom always tells you to ask
- 25ALarge choker around the neck
- 27AWhat an environmentally conscious “Southie” does with his car and then walks to Fenway
- 28AFix the squeaks
- 29APerson with a very sore foot
- 31AIdiot
- 32AMufti's opinions
- 34AWhat you need for when the chickens come home
- 36AConcoction of ice cream and Hires
- 37AEmerged victorious
- 38A"Siddhartha" author
- 42APasture curlyheads
- 44ASource of Crunches for your waistline
- 45AAfter-school activity for Mom and Dad; Abbr.
- 47AWhat Biblical wrongdoers, or 60's college students, often were
- 49APoetic "over there"
- 50AOne of the few things you are lauded for breaking
- 52AKeep people in stitches
- 53AMatch a raise
- 54ATarget of the environmentally dangerous spray Alar
- 55A___-A-Sketch
- 57ADisruption in your YouTube video
- 58AWept
- 62AVerdant desert areas
- 66ALeft over residue from burning a baseball bat
- 67AReverent songs that laud the beauty and abundance of nature and our environment
- 68AMad as hell and not going to take it anymore
- 69AReceive
- 70ACowboy confirmations
- 71AWith all the TV specials on the environment, people are starting to see the ___
Down
- 1DPhone, calculator or compass
- 2DNot well
- 3DCan be Red, Yellow or Black
- 4DHung out in a hammock
- 5DGouda's lower fat cousin
- 6DHere-there go between
- 7DIt is a choice when the Tide runs out
- 8DHow fast what goes around comes around: Abbr.
- 9DNaomi of tennis
- 10DIs derelict in duty
- 11DContinually torment
- 12DLocation of the tree of knowledge
- 14DHistoric drive for acquisition
- 20DFowl Egyptian
- 22DGoes on at length
- 23DObsolete phone component
- 24DCher made this pitch but not Sonny
- 26DGermane
- 27DPolitician who is an ex-con
- 28DSpray that deters, but does not kill, mosquitoes
- 29DIt might get plastered on the job
- 30DForever and a day
- 33DSinus clearer at the sushi bar
- 35DPlace to put something you want to be rid of
- 37DNot merely moist
- 39DEye zit, for all intents and purposes
- 40DBerry good gin
- 41DEvening for the same guy who says 49A
- 43DThe desired finish of choice
- 44DWhat Sir Bedevere claimed he was turned into in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"
- 45DIt is often best when turned
- 46DEducated
- 48DRequirements
- 51DImpatiently eager
- 53D"Lambchop's" Mom?
- 54DFoul sign on a football field
- 56DAct like a snake in the grass
- 59DDoes a laughing Manhattan drinker have a ___ humor?
- 60DBabysitter's handful
- 61DKennedy Center
- 63DDecline
- 64DAddis Ababa's land: Abbr.
- 65DOne of several match-makers?