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Never Forget... and never mind.

· By woozy · Published 2024-03-25T16:02:10.997Z

Meta Prompt
The answer to this meta is a word that help you organize your thoughts
It's come to my attention this puzzle has a fatal (but minor?) flaw. A corrected version without the flaw can be found here: https://crosshare.org/crosswords/Pf384mR9sDqeOzo7UFAC/never-forget-and-never-mind (Apparently my second one also had an error)
This puzzles came to me when I was struggling to solve the WSJ Crossword Contest, "Never Forget" (which took me quite a long time to see). I'm sorry I couldn't fit it all into a 15 x 15 grid. I hope the mechanism is not too difficult although I imagine the execution may require some thought. I may have done one like this before but I can't remember. Anyway, I didn't do this one before.
Hopefully this will be fun. And remember, there's no shame in googling.
Don't worry about the unnecessarily verbose clue. This is a woozy puzzle and that's par for the course. They need not necessarily pertain to the meta.
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-03-25T19:12:23.600Z
  • hoover solved 2024-03-26T19:13:31.243Z
  • rjy solved 2024-03-27T20:45:52.055Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2024-03-28T03:31:12.412Z
  • LarsCaine solved 2024-03-28T13:44:41.226Z
  • MatthewL solved 2024-03-28T18:46:07.414Z

Comments

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  • Pair O Ducks 13:33 · 2024-03-25T19:15:59.595Z
    Clever! I learned a lot of new mnemonics. I couldn't locate the C — I assume the word must be CLASS from biology?
    • woozy constructor · 2024-03-25T21:24:32.768Z
      I learned it as Kings Play Chess On Fine Grain Sands but I found variations of King Philip (or Dear Kate Please, or Katy Perry) Come/came over for good spaghetti/soup/sex and I thought a fresh one would be good. That was the first mnemonic to get the first letter C for CLASS. ([Domain== a newer classification as germs and bacteria are not only no longer considered animals but that are so different from plants, animals, and fungi, they aren't even a Kingdom anymore and we have a separation higher than Kingdom] Kingdom, Phyllum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species)
      I debated about including the reference to Fine Grained Sand on the non-meta related clue CHESS, but in the end I figured the metanism was so precise that abandoning things that weren't precise would be okay and it could be a hint.
    • woozy constructor · 2024-03-25T22:02:24.572Z
      Well-known or deducible mnemonics for:
      The Taxonomy hierarchy: (Domain), Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
      The six wives of Henry VIII: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr
      The first few digits of pi: 3.1415926
      The planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
      The Mohs mineral scale of hardness: Talc, Gypsum, Calcite, Fluorite, Apatite, Orthoclase, Quartz, Topaz, Corundum, Diamond
      The Great Lakes (in no particular order): Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Superior, Erie
      The Electromagnetic Spectrum: Radio waves, Microwaves, Infrared, Visible light, Ultraviolet, X-ray, Gamma rays
      The Color Spectrum: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
      are given as across clues in order as:
      King Philip Came Over For Good Soup
      All Boys Should Come Home Please
      How I like a drink? Alcoholic, of course!
      My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Noodles Tall Girls Can Find And Other Queer Things Can Do
      HOMES
      Raging Martians Invade Venus Using X-ray Guns
      Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain
      and from each category on word was in the meta as a grid entry. They are:
      CLASS
      ARAGON
      TWO
      EARTH
      GYPSUM
      ONTARIO
      RADIO
      YELLOW
      the first letters of which spell the meta answer: CATEGORY
      • rjy 🤓25:31 · 2024-03-27T20:49:24.943Z
        Had to back solve for a couple (had never seen the PI mnemonic before), and didn't completely follow the discussion, but shouldn't CLASS have been in the grid? This was just a great puzzle either way!
        • woozy constructor · 2024-03-28T04:57:42.275Z
          CLASS was in the grid at 2D. grumble In the very end going back and forth between suggest and trying as erasing entries to see what fit I at one point erased the L and the A and crosshare suggested CHESS and as I had been having real trouble finding entries for 16 and 19 across I was glad for the suggestion.
          @$#&*@$&@$#!!!!!
        • I K Snamhcok 6s · 2024-03-28T03:33:15.336Z
          Really terrific! Though I’m still not sure where to find CLASS.
          • woozy constructor · 2024-03-28T04:48:51.345Z
            Please, please, please don't tell in all my working on the grid I left out CLASS. I ...... OH! F#########!
            Top left quarter of the grid was the last I was working on with Crosshare suggestions and it was funny. I could get some good ones for the very corner (1A to 6D to 26A) but that gave my lousy suggestions for the center (31A 36,37,38D) and vice verso and I was running suggestion, filling in had running suggestion and somewhere I forgot that 2 down was UNTOUCHABLE.
            2 Down was supposed to be CLASS. !!!####!!! I could have caught it and I can redo them and... Oh, I am upset. I could save try to redo but... I'd have to delete this one. (It ironic as CHESS is mnemonic word for CLASS in Kings Play Chess on Fine Grain Sands.
            • woozy constructor · 2024-03-29T04:08:27.335Z
            1A
            " It was the devious-cruising _____ that in her retracing search after her missing children, only found another orphan" (Or Jennifer's character on Friends)
            1
            2
            3
            4
            5
            6
            7
            8
            9
            10
            11
            12
            13
            14
            15
            16
            17
            18
            19
            20
            21
            22
            23
            24
            25
            26
            27
            28
            29
            30
            31
            32
            33
            34
            35
            36
            37
            38
            39
            40
            41
            42
            43
            44
            45
            46
            47
            48
            49
            50
            51
            52
            53
            54
            55
            56
            57
            58
            59
            60
            61
            62
            63
            64
            65
            66
            67
            68
            69
            70
            71
            72
            73
            74
            75
            76
            77
            78
            79
            80
            81
            82
            83
            84
            85
            Across
            1. 1A
              " It was the devious-cruising _____ that in her retracing search after her missing children, only found another orphan" (Or Jennifer's character on Friends)
            2. 7A
              King Philip came over for good soup
            3. 12A
              "My turn!"
            4. 16A
              A village in India, Nigeria, and Scotland (completes the phrase "Bull in ______ shop")
            5. 17A
              As per normal; one under bogey or two above eagle for example
            6. 18A
              Seized vehicle
            7. 19A
              In Spain, a heightened sense of emotion or charisma in art or music
            8. 20A
              Liquid rock
            9. 21A
              A backwards way to eat in Oklahoma
            10. 22A
              All boys should come home, please
            11. 24A
              How I like a drink? Alcoholic, of course
            12. 26A
              According to Wikipedia these were decorative ringlets sewn into clothes, sort of a precursor to sequins. Other sources say it can refer to winds in the Faroe Islands. In either case it doesn't score well in scrabble and I'm not sure I've seen it in other crosswords so it might not be worth remembering
            13. 27A
              Floor in England
            14. 29A
              Attach again
            15. 31A
              Ungulate who hides backwards in the reed. (Don't overthink it.... although obviously I did)
            16. 32A
              Triangular river mouth
            17. 35A
              Haul behind
            18. 36A
              Different ones; additional ones
            19. 39A
              My very elegant mother just served us noodles
            20. 41A
              Is in debt
            21. 42A
              Stuffed chile peppers coated with egg
            22. 45A
              Tall girls can fight and other queer things can do
            23. 47A
              Swift hominid. (Editorial comment: 29 years ago I had great faith in this Internet company and even once interviewed to be their fourth employee. God, what happened to it? Boy, did I pick the wrong horse)
            24. 48A
              Barely interesting art figures
            25. 52A
              Capital of the British Virgin Islands (if you come from here are you a 46D?)
            26. 54A
              La città eterna
            27. 55A
              Homes
            28. 58A
              Alabaster plaster
            29. 60A
              ER workers
            30. 61A
              1997 Literature Nobelist _____ Fo who was not present at "An Evening Without _______ Fo and Franca Rame" where they read the first act of his Non Si Paga! Non Si Paga!
            31. 63A
              Forbes described this tiny Italian restaurant as “the single toughest restaurant reservation to get in the United States, bar none." I never heard of it but apparently their mass-marketed pasta sauces are a big deal.
            32. 64A
              Wombs
            33. 66A
              Good thing to get a shot for
            34. 68A
              Just how many spots can you get in a small space? (A question to ask your printer)
            35. 71A
              Raging Martians invade Venus using X-ray guns
            36. 74A
              Richard of York gave battle in vain
            37. 76A
              Land of Cú Chulainn, the Children of Lir, and Finn MacCool. (There's probably some linguistic reason this clue is technically incorrect....pfff)
            38. 77A
              "Rumor has it..."
            39. 79A
              Of the great heart trunk
            40. 80A
              Ebro, Segura, Júcar, Guadalquivir y otros
            41. 81A
              Put forward, as an idea
            42. 82A
              When the male cat consumed a red salad veggie in the French restaurant as a means of seduction, _______ ______ ______
            43. 83A
              Learning method that requires lots of memorization
            44. 84A
              Simmer in anger
            45. 85A
              Raises spirits
            Down
            1. 1D
              The original wireless (not Pinocchio)
            2. 2D
              Sharp
            3. 3D
              Game played in carved pieces on a checkered board (never seen it played on fine-grained sands)
            4. 4D
              Latin for "hence", as in ____ illae lacrimae; hence, those tears
            5. 5D
              Ultimate consumer of a finished product
            6. 6D
              Ophelia's would be (or would not to be) avenger
            7. 7D
              Jim Nabor's Pyle
            8. 8D
              Not impressed with any sense of wonderment
            9. 9D
              Video file extension, or fuel efficiency stat.
            10. 10D
              Yeah, yeah, ... crimson tide.... Ole Miss rival... I get it, some people like college sports and make up nick-names... whatever...
            11. 11D
              Of the mouth, spoken
            12. 12D
              Girl whom if she turns her back on me, I'll take morphine and die
            13. 13D
              "Amahl and the Night Visitors" composer
            14. 14D
              "Sports are boring" is one. Yours probably differs
            15. 15D
              Silent assent
            16. 23D
              In favor of
            17. 25D
              Region of Spain that is one letter off from being Tolkien's ranger
            18. 28D
              Cowardly
            19. 30D
              Do you know what a female sheep is called? (I knew you did)
            20. 31D
              Sahara is the world's largest sub-polar one, but if you get technical Antarctica is larger (sigh, no-body loves a nit-picker)
            21. 33D
              Recline atop of
            22. 34D
              Former cable network specializing in country music. Its format changed and it is now the Paramount Network, but the country music aspect was revived as* Heartland*
            23. 36D
              Lemon hominid.... (Okay, that's too mean. Do time-traveling caveman in comics, instead.)
            24. 37D
              They say it's company
            25. 38D
              Chop down
            26. 40D
              Overthrows and takes by force
            27. 42D
              Being sports apathetic, I always assumed the Cup was an award for horse racing rather than for golf. (Because, well, you know....)
            28. 43D
              Fails spectacularly
            29. 44D
              Assassin of 63D's older brother (as long as we are doing initialism)
            30. 46D
              Crew for the band on tour
            31. 49D
              Software developed for IBM PC compatible computers to manage core functionality
            32. 50D
              "Of course," said Norah, after a quarter of an hour's silence, "you want to make the words difficult and define them as subtly as possible." "Of course," I said, wrestling with '?—?.' I could only think of one word, and it was the one everybody else was certain to have. "Are we all ready? Then somebody begin." "You'd better begin, Norah, as you know the game," said Mrs. Gerald. We prepared to begin. "Mine," said Norah, "is a bird." "---," we all shouted; but I swear I was first. "Yes." "I don't think that's a very subtle definition," said Dennis. "You promised to be as subtle as possible." "Go on, dear," said Gerald to his wife. "Well, this is rather awkward. Mine is——" "---," I suggested. "You must wait till she has defined it," said Norah sternly. "Mine is a sort of feathered animal." "---," I said again. In fact, we all said it. Gerald coughed. "Mine," he said, "isn't exactly a—fish, because it——" "---," said everybody. "That was subtler," said Dennis, "but it didn't deceive us." "Your turn," said Norah to me. And they all leant forward ready to say "---." "Mine," I said, "is—all right, Dennis, you needn't look so excited—is a word I once heard a man say at the Zoo." There was a shriek of "---!" "Wrong," I said. Everybody was silent. "Where did he say it?" asked Norah at last. "What was he doing?" "He was standing outside the ---'s cage." "It must have been ---." "It wasn't." "Perhaps there's another animal beginning with '?' and ending with '?,'" suggested Dennis. "He might have said,'Look here, I'm tired of this old ---, let's go and see the _-doesn't-__,' or whatever it's called." from "Once a Week" by A.A. Milne
            33. 51D
              Green eggs and ham enthusiast
            34. 53D
              Turkish title
            35. 55D
              National dish of Tahiti; Poisson ___: raw ahi marinated citrus juice and coconut milk
            36. 56D
              Most populous Canadian province
            37. 57D
              Poet who thought April was cruel and was apprehensive about eating peaches
            38. 58D
              Helmet-shaped
            39. 59D
              "Buffoon! That's the dumbest thing I ever heard!"
            40. 62D
              "Hold on, I just thought of something"
            41. 63D
              Attorney general in his older brother's administration
            42. 65D
              Run water over to remove loose or light dirt
            43. 67D
              Soil
            44. 68D
              Coup '___
            45. 69D
              Spoons co-escapee. ("_____ of Shrimp" is one of the strange motifs of the '84 cult movie " 18A Man")
            46. 70D
              Does nothing really important with ones time
            47. 72D
              Bite's playfully
            48. 73D
              Thing you wait for to drop, according to an old adage
            49. 75D
              "____ la Douce"; role originally intended for Marilyn Monroe but given to Shirley MacLaine
            50. 76D
              Say "Black touches red-- soon you'll be dead; Yellow touches black-- friend of Jack" when looking at coral snake, for example.
            51. 78D
              On a map it's about one unit it down by three units to the left--more or less.
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