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Social Climbers CORRECTED

◆ · By DrTom · Published 2023-09-20T13:29:04.280Z

Meta Prompt
The meta answer is a well-intentioned couple, and their ultimate goal
This is a correction to the original puzzle that, due to an editing change that went unnoticed, made the puzzle impossible to solve. Pleas accept my apologies and use this one instead.
You've had a break from Tomisms for a few weeks, but your luck has run out. Today's puzzle is all mine, as I am sure you will see. It is, my tester's have informed me, about a 1.5 or 2 mainly because it is different than anything I have done before. It is supposed to be amusing, and that is what I hope you find it to be.
Kitten
*Calico
Persian
Puma
Lion
Friday nudges, help anytime by PM
The puzzle remains a relatively easy one, but of course much easier now....
Nudge Friday!
Nudge 1] There are two very obvious "nudge clues" in the puzzle, 40 and 72A
Nudge 2] Both emphasize the importance of angles and one almost gives you the origin and terminus.
two more (the last) nudges:
Nudge 3] If that were not enough, my bone-head move, and subsequent apology entailed me actually changing the grid. So no, "the mistake doesn't affect the meta", since it obviously did. With the other puzzle hints that might give you a lot of information
Nudge 4] "well intentioned" could possibly be a play on words! (DrTom, a play on words...IMPOSSIBLE!)
REVEAL: Although I’m not sure that is how it ended up, this was supposed to be fairly easy, just go from the SW to the NE corner and you will see JACKANDJILLHILL. It didn’t play as easy as I wanted it but almost 50 solved.
For a more complete discussion and a graphic please go to
https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=143101#p143101
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • Tom Wilson solved 2023-09-20T13:56:00.947Z
  • Alex Sisti solved 2023-09-20T13:59:21.655Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2023-09-20T14:12:35.967Z
  • HeadinHome solved 2023-09-20T14:16:52.477Z
  • Hector solved 2023-09-20T14:49:26.188Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2023-09-20T14:51:40.729Z
  • MatthewL solved 2023-09-20T15:09:42.259Z
  • SamKat9 solved 2023-09-20T15:13:30.874Z
  • kurtalert solved 2023-09-20T15:24:32.440Z
  • Katiedid solved 2023-09-20T15:27:44.651Z
  • Carolyn solved 2023-09-20T15:58:03.455Z
  • Sharkicicles solved 2023-09-20T16:09:11.795Z
  • DIS solved 2023-09-20T16:11:43.838Z
  • BarbaraK solved 2023-09-20T16:23:31.195Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2023-09-20T17:00:16.064Z
  • woozy solved 2023-09-20T17:01:57.461Z
  • JM solved 2023-09-20T18:05:37.350Z
  • lbray53 solved 2023-09-20T18:10:34.118Z
  • Laura M solved 2023-09-20T18:21:11.693Z
  • DrButtBeard solved 2023-09-20T19:09:48.725Z
  • heidi solved 2023-09-20T19:39:09.613Z
  • Tyrpmom solved 2023-09-20T19:48:11.590Z
  • Jaclyn solved 2023-09-20T20:39:17.399Z
  • markhr solved 2023-09-20T21:10:02.473Z
  • Philip Chow solved 2023-09-20T21:15:30.052Z
  • Darth solved 2023-09-20T23:43:25.386Z
  • Gutman solved 2023-09-20T23:44:52.355Z
  • whimsy solved 2023-09-20T23:58:33.083Z
  • JHSeeman solved 2023-09-20T23:59:56.692Z
  • KayW solved 2023-09-21T02:17:05.478Z
  • Berto solved 2023-09-21T03:20:20.108Z
  • rjy solved 2023-09-21T14:13:02.260Z
  • Capn Rick solved 2023-09-21T15:25:34.458Z
  • ajk solved 2023-09-21T15:36:05.128Z
  • andeux solved 2023-09-21T21:24:36.952Z
  • ReB solved 2023-09-22T03:18:33.076Z
  • rayyandroid solved 2023-09-22T15:16:07.305Z
  • DCBilly solved 2023-09-22T15:51:36.863Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2023-09-22T16:18:36.439Z
  • SeamusOL solved 2023-09-22T22:50:01.428Z
  • Ergcat solved 2023-09-23T14:27:52.589Z
  • Dow Jones solved 2023-09-23T16:37:54.811Z
  • Qmark solved 2023-09-23T18:53:19.627Z
  • Mwoychick solved 2023-09-23T22:36:36.086Z
  • Mikey G solved 2023-09-24T14:58:17.018Z
  • Darrell solved 2023-09-24T17:46:20.359Z
  • dooiemus solved 2023-09-28T21:05:20.331Z

Comments

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  • HeadinHome 🤓3:19 · 2023-09-20T14:18:55.406Z
    Came back to see how the corrected top right word would change the other squares up there. As I said on the first (abandoned) Crosshare board: Even with that oopsy, this was good fun for a Wednesday morning’s work-procrastinator activity. I found the grid fill extra challenging this week, probably because the cluing was especially cryptic/punny (such as “chooses a profession” for AVOWS) … but I like that if you think creatively you can get them without a google! Not sure about Davy Jones’ association with angles (was there a song with that in it?) … but I definitely had a crush on him as an 8-year-old.
    • DrTom constructor · 2023-09-20T17:23:50.589Z
      The Davy Jones is an interesting one. It was a nudge clue and started out I was going to make it a reference to all corners of the sea but that seemed way too awkward. Of course once I had it I was reluctant to change it because it meant a big rewrite. So I kept it, changed it to hint towards angles and put in 72A instead as the nudge.
    • Cindy Heisler 22s · 2023-09-20T14:55:22.409Z
      This was a fun one. I did get hung up on Davy Jones and angles. I found Pail hidden in 54A and 60A, so then I kept trying to find water. I finally just decided to use Hill and see what happened.
      • DrTom constructor · 2023-09-20T17:26:30.081Z
        Pail unintentional, not even on my bucket list....
        • HeadinHome 🤓3:19 · 2023-09-21T18:54:42.463Z
          Also a pail at the top of the hill! Square 10 and workin counter-clockwise around the letter R. I tried seeing if that R might be related to water somehow.
      • kurtalert 🤓6:44 · 2023-09-20T15:26:16.974Z
        Nice! Got hung up trying to figure out how you wanted their goal formatted- fetch a pail of water, fetch the pail of water, water, fetch the pail, etc. How about I just do the obvious thing and try the exact phrase that crosses the puzzle? LOL. Fun puzzle- thanks DrTom!
        • DrTom constructor · 2023-09-20T17:30:02.889Z
          Yeah, if I had been thinking better I would have used JACKANDJILLPAIL. but I wanted HILL in there to match the HILL of the puzzle climb. Once you get going a certain way it is hard to change. Would have been better though. Too bad Mother Goose never named them, perhaps they would have been named HILL. As one of my testers pointed out, JILL HILL would have been a cool name for her.
        • Carolyn 3s · 2023-09-20T15:59:01.157Z
          Very cute! Grid was harder than the meta😊
          • DrTom constructor · 2023-09-20T17:31:35.487Z
            Sorry, my punny and funny got in each other's way (thankfully it was not WSJ cause then we would have had punny, funny and bunny!)
          • Sharkicicles 🤓8:12 · 2023-09-20T16:10:15.109Z
            a fun one!
            • Laura M 🤓3:54 · 2023-09-20T18:45:05.123Z
              Fun! I should have figured out that HILT in the previous version was supposed to be HILL.
              • DrTom constructor · 2023-09-20T20:05:43.082Z
                Well there should have been a sign; "Caution moron creating metas ahead!" I mean what the HILT was I thinking.....
                Thanks' for sticking with it.
              • Darth 🤓12:04 · 2023-09-20T23:50:51.652Z
                72A gave clear enough direction and was close to the end of the grid, so I solved before even remembering that Monkee business with 40A! =) Nice puz to end my work day. Thanks, Tom!
                • Capn Rick 🤓10:11 · 2023-09-21T15:26:17.269Z
                  Fun one, DrTom! Nicely done!
                  • ajk 🤓11:05 · 2023-09-21T15:37:52.477Z
                    LOL I was even looking for JACK and JILL yesterday since that's what the prompt popped into my head. Even went so far as to go looking for Js, but only half heartedly obviously. :) Wasn't until I came back today that it instantly popped out at me. Fun stuff as usual, thanks.
                    • ReB 3s · 2023-09-22T03:37:10.103Z
                      I just didn't see anything at all since yesterday, until just before going to bed this evening, I literally got off the couch I'd been lying on and took another look at the grid.
                      And then like a bolt out of the blue I said to myself, "let's see what happens if I go up the long diagonal?" - and hit pay dirt, of course. (Though I first tried the full first line of the nursery rhyme before taking a minimalist approach to the prompt and just answering with the essential parts.)
                      I never did pick up on the grid nudges at all until reading the comments here. Definitely a first for you. Thanks.
                      • Ergcat 5s · 2023-09-23T14:28:18.121Z
                        Nice one! Glad to have you back, DrTom!
                        • Qmark 3s · 2023-09-23T18:54:00.119Z
                          Didn't get a chance to try the puzzle until today...no nudges needed. Thanks Dr Tom!
                          • Mwoychick 15:20 · 2023-09-23T22:38:03.432Z
                            Got it! Not too much of an "uphill" battle, though I didn't get to this until today because of work meetings interfering with my time for puzzles. Thanks for the puzzle, Dr. Tom
                            Play today's daily mini crossword
                            1A
                            Stumbling idiot
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                            72
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                            74
                            75
                            76
                            Across
                            1. 1A
                              Stumbling idiot
                            2. 4A
                              Aviary sound
                            3. 9A
                              Shimmering gem
                            4. 13A
                              Bedroom community, briefly
                            5. 15A
                              "___ got news for you!"
                            6. 16A
                              Woody's boy
                            7. 17A
                              Type of ball on Coney Island
                            8. 18A
                              Chooses a profession
                            9. 19A
                              What I do if I drive too much, and the car cannot drive without
                            10. 20A
                              Highest mountain to climb in New Zealand
                            11. 22A
                              Where you can gamble and go downhill
                            12. 24A
                              All purpose Hawaiian word
                            13. 26A
                              Beany's buddy
                            14. 28A
                              50 Cent piece
                            15. 30A
                              Time to get down to business
                            16. 32A
                              Outdoor outfitter: Init.
                            17. 33A
                              Six-pointers, for short
                            18. 34A
                              Catches on
                            19. 35A
                              ___ tea
                            20. 38A
                              Online playthings
                            21. 40A
                              A Monkee who explored a lot of angles - always a good idea!
                            22. 43A
                              Earily related?
                            23. 46A
                              Can be an en or em version
                            24. 47A
                              Group that got caught up in "The Heat of the Moment"
                            25. 51A
                              Place where the RR stops
                            26. 52A
                              Axl's group, briefly
                            27. 54A
                              Accept eagerly
                            28. 56A
                              Like July or Ghost peppers
                            29. 57A
                              Sigh of relief
                            30. 60A
                              "Darby ___" of Disney fame
                            31. 61A
                              Tiny Chinese pooches, familiarly
                            32. 63A
                              African fox
                            33. 65A
                              These might make you scratch your head
                            34. 66A
                              Decided
                            35. 68A
                              Sought after fish
                            36. 71A
                              "Ancient" measure of transmission speed
                            37. 72A
                              Started at the bottom and worked their way up (as you should to succeed)
                            38. 73A
                              Charlie, for one
                            39. 74A
                              They can be smoked (see 76A) or flexed; Abbr.
                            40. 75A
                              Given a G, PG, or R
                            41. 76A
                              Carrier for water or THC
                            Down
                            1. 1D
                              Delivery room doctors, for short
                            2. 2D
                              Arctic bird
                            3. 3D
                              Original "Strip" in Las Vegas, ___ St
                            4. 4D
                              Bush Secretary of Labor, Elaine
                            5. 5D
                              Devastation
                            6. 6D
                              Arouse
                            7. 7D
                              Sound of disgust
                            8. 8D
                              Female part of a flower
                            9. 9D
                              Pledge
                            10. 10D
                              Before
                            11. 11D
                              "Alright ___" (stop)
                            12. 12D
                              Mother of actress Kate Beckinsale, Judy ___
                            13. 14D
                              National Institutes of Health city
                            14. 21D
                              Car club in Quebec
                            15. 23D
                              Playwright Edward
                            16. 24D
                              "Brokeback Mountain" director Lee
                            17. 25D
                              Deception
                            18. 27D
                              Awards for pitchers
                            19. 29D
                              Endings to some letters
                            20. 31D
                              MMCCX ÷ II
                            21. 36D
                              Nemesis with nine noggins
                            22. 37D
                              1977 double-platinum Steely Dan album
                            23. 39D
                              Person validating checks at the airport
                            24. 41D
                              Pond buildup
                            25. 42D
                              Gretzky group
                            26. 43D
                              Pompeii's blanket
                            27. 44D
                              Impracticably ideal
                            28. 45D
                              Borrowers' boon
                            29. 48D
                              Add hot sauce
                            30. 49D
                              Potent ending
                            31. 50D
                              The Braves, on scoreboards
                            32. 53D
                              Daytona dominator
                            33. 55D
                              Long, long time
                            34. 58D
                              "The game's ___"
                            35. 59D
                              Born to be an author, not born to be wild
                            36. 62D
                              Canvas shoes with blue tags
                            37. 64D
                              Requirement
                            38. 65D
                              We were implored to go "All the way" with him
                            39. 67D
                              Employer-funded medical reimbursement plan; Abbr.
                            40. 69D
                              Run after L
                            41. 70D
                              Bit in a horse's mouth
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