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The Measure Of A Meta (Meta)

· By benchen71 · Published 2025-02-18T05:00:18.144Z

Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is the number that has been left out of the grid in 4 places
It's funny how things come together sometimes when constructing a meta. I had the plan for this one for a while, but it only really took shape when I started experimenting with grids. In fact, this was the second grid layout I tried. And if I'd stayed with the first layout, it just wouldn't have been as good - and it would have had a different title! (That's not supposed to be a hint!) The answer to the meta is the number that has been left out of the grid in 4 places. Answer & explanation: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=196009#p196009
Check out "The MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands" here: https://www.ephesusscroll.com/about/interest4.html. US$5 gets you 7 Marching Bands which, hard enough on their own, now contain metas too. And once again there's a mega-meta!
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • InAJelly solved 2025-02-18T05:34:46.570Z
  • Hector solved 2025-02-18T06:15:08.651Z
  • markhr solved 2025-02-18T06:36:21.325Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2025-02-18T13:07:24.628Z
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Comments

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  • benchen71 constructor · 2025-02-18T07:33:19.822Z
    This is my 250th meta, just in case you were wondering about the significance of the number. 🎉🥳
    • imontoo 3s · 2025-02-18T14:28:34.300Z
      Awesome! Congratulations 👏🏼 😎
    • Pair O Ducks 🤓5:46 · 2025-02-18T13:09:21.151Z
      Huh, today I learned that while Australia DOES have cups, they're not the same size as US cups? Absolutely wild. I was very confused why the answer was 236.6, and even more so when it wasn't accepted even after trying a variety of decimal places. 250 sure is a nicer number anyway! Congrats on 250 metas, Ben!
      • Berto 1s · 2025-02-18T13:14:30.570Z
        I tried all manner of “cup” > #ML ratios before following directions in 1down. must read things in asterisks
        • FedexPope 🤓15:34 · 2025-02-18T16:24:47.640Z
          I did the exact same thing. Lesson learned!
        • imontoo 3s · 2025-02-18T14:27:38.839Z
          Tricky for me. Didn’t know there was a metric cup measurement. Thanks, Ben. Really needed the brain distraction today!
          • Darth 10:46 · 2025-02-18T15:14:00.914Z
            I thought that number might be significant! Congrats, Ben! Here's to your next 250 metas! Cheers! :D
            • Meg 2s · 2025-02-18T14:53:13.718Z
              My first Google yielded 237. I had no idea that a cup is not a cup is not a cup.
              • Hector 🤓10:07 · 2025-02-18T15:36:52.285Z
                Congrats. A quarter of a metric quart (liter) -- makes sense. Are there any other metric measures that are not based only on factors of 10?
                • Carolyn 3s · 2025-02-18T16:38:05.313Z
                  I first entered 240, but figured perhaps a rounder number would be better. Congrats on the 250th!!
                  • hoover 2s · 2025-02-18T16:30:39.471Z
                    Add me to the list of people trying 237, 236, 236.6, 236.588, and then even subtracting 1 from each because we already have 1ml and just need (236, 235, 235,6, 235,588) more! Also my first guesses were 946+ because I was converting from 4 cups.
                    • Tom Wilson 🤓8:59 · 2025-02-18T16:56:18.899Z
                      Congrats, Ben, on reaching such an impressive milestone. (I won't do the math on how many of those metas I DIDN'T solve, but I'm selfishly looking forward to many more!)
                      • MatthewL 🤓7:42 · 2025-02-18T17:00:41.495Z
                        Tried all sorts of combinations before finally finding a Google entry that said "Yes, 250 milliliters (mL) is the same as one cup in some countries, but it depends on the measuring cup and the country." Figured it was an Aussie thing again. Who knew? Thanks for the puzzle, Ben!
                        • KayW 🤓4:10 · 2025-02-18T18:11:10.209Z
                          WOW! Happy SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL or BISESQUICENTENNIAL or whatever you call it in Australia. Very impressive by any measure! And count me in the 237 and every permutation thereof camp for the first dozen or so entries I tried. Even google is US-centric.
                          • woozy 14:43 · 2025-02-18T18:17:16.988Z
                            Had to flail to get 250. But googling various informal recipe conversions I stumbled on the correct incorrect answer rather than a correct incorrect answer of 236.8
                            • whimsy 21:17 · 2025-02-19T01:17:56.549Z
                              Yup -- I had it to three decimal points. Are you certain this isn't merely your 236.588th meta construction, Ben? 😄 In any case, as they say, Good on you! -- and many thanks for the puzzles!
                              • DrTom 3s · 2025-02-19T19:52:24.173Z
                                Well that was an exercise in perseverance. I knew it was mL to CUP, but then to do the "OK, a cup is 250 mL" (because of course for the obstinate Yanks it is 237-240). I went in all KINDS of ways, Kilocalorie (since I saw ICAL and that could be 1 CAL or because we were talking metric, and temperature and SPECIFIC, the amount of heat to raise 1 liter of water 1 degree centigrade at sea level and is abbreviated C), 946.35 (ounces, very specifically, in 4 cups of water). I also looked for "Relative of a guinea pig" and "Vacation aim", or similar to find a 4 letter word. In the end it was obvious, although it might be argued that it could be 249 since it is 1 mL short of a cup (because you removed 1 mL). Enjoyed it though, after I got it.
                                Thanks Ben
                                • DrTom 3s · 2025-02-19T20:24:35.289Z
                                  It would appear I was in good company in my confusion. As with all the others, congrats on 250!
                                  • benchen71 constructor · 2025-02-19T22:00:30.520Z
                                    Thanks, Tom!
                                  • HeadinHome 3:02 · 2025-02-20T03:57:10.305Z
                                    Seeing CUP took forever… not sure why. It was the saucer one that finally did it, and I did indeed have an AHA moment. I submitted a lot of numbers, based on google answers. Apparently it’s not a straightforward question, how many MLs in a cup? Thanks, Ben!
                                    • benchen71 constructor · 2025-02-20T06:27:52.388Z
                                      It is in Australia! ;-)
                                    • ajk 🤓50:21 · 2025-02-20T18:53:53.949Z
                                      Spotted the MLs pre-nudges, but would never have connected this. With nudge 4 I of course spotted that CUP could swap in for ML, but then I went off looking for alts for the new words, thinking there would be another step. Didn't expect the answer to be explicitly given in the nudge. 😂 Eventually I caught on though. Fun concept, thanks.
                                      • Dave C 4s · 2025-02-21T21:48:01.004Z
                                        As with Meg, I was thrown off because Mr. Google told me there were 237 mls in a cup.
                                        • omnilynx 14:17 · 2025-02-23T06:58:00.916Z
                                          As with others, getting CUP was easy, getting the exact ratio you wanted was a bit harder!
                                          • Abide 2s · 2025-02-26T02:53:54.574Z
                                            Congrats! No nudges; no wrong guesses; no peeking at Forum 💪
                                            • benchen71 constructor · 2025-02-26T04:14:59.270Z
                                              Woo hoo!
                                            1A
                                            Shorter way to refer to Multivariate Statistical Analysis
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                                            Across
                                            1. 1A
                                              Shorter way to refer to Multivariate Statistical Analysis
                                            2. 4A
                                              Apply lightly
                                            3. 7A
                                              "Aladdin" prince
                                            4. 10A
                                              Cpl.'s superior
                                            5. 13A
                                              Always, to a poet
                                            6. 14A
                                              Back in time
                                            7. 15A
                                              Ball of comedy
                                            8. 17A
                                              Faucet
                                            9. 18A
                                              "Losing My Religion" band but meted out by a French person?
                                            10. 20A
                                              Repeat the question
                                            11. 22A
                                              Illuminated from behind
                                            12. 23A
                                              Sal suffix (most relevant!)
                                            13. 24A
                                              Oyster's home
                                            14. 25A
                                              Part of a process
                                            15. 28A
                                              Worked for Ebenezer Scrooge, say
                                            16. 30A
                                              Panic button on a PC
                                            17. 33A
                                              Airport abbr.
                                            18. 34A
                                              Incredible bargain
                                            19. 35A
                                              Major League Hacker (abbr.) with a few additional years on them?
                                            20. 37A
                                              Instant of insight, and what makes the measure of a meta (but this is not the meta hint, believe it or not!)
                                            21. 39A
                                              Cruise-ship company that only travels to the Peninsula or the Mediterranean but never both?
                                            22. 42A
                                              Miniature vehicle with a remote, briefly
                                            23. 45A
                                              "Radical Optimism" singer Lipa
                                            24. 46A
                                              Spanish treasure
                                            25. 47A
                                              Siri speaks from them
                                            26. 49A
                                              Drop in a line
                                            27. 51A
                                              Obamacare initials
                                            28. 52A
                                              Harry Potter's mother
                                            29. 53A
                                              "And ___" (popular hymn by Charles Wesley)
                                            30. 57A
                                              Braying beasts
                                            31. 58A
                                              How the extra-terrestrial who learned English from a serf referred to his non-flying round craft?
                                            32. 61A
                                              Have a meal
                                            33. 62A
                                              Put everything into the memoir
                                            34. 63A
                                              Order form no.
                                            35. 64A
                                              Point opposite WNW
                                            36. 65A
                                              Beetles and Kombis
                                            37. 66A
                                              "Just a ___!"
                                            38. 67A
                                              Scoreboard nos.
                                            39. 68A
                                              GOP opponent
                                            Down
                                            1. 1D
                                              With 48 down: Basis of measurement that can be used in cooking, for a very specific example
                                            2. 2D
                                              Congers and morays
                                            3. 3D
                                              DoD project that led to the world wide web
                                            4. 4D
                                              With 57 down: Black magic
                                            5. 5D
                                              Historical period
                                            6. 6D
                                              Failed miserably
                                            7. 7D
                                              One of the Baldwins
                                            8. 8D
                                              Observe an online community without actively participating
                                            9. 9D
                                              Myth suffix (entirely imaginary!)
                                            10. 10D
                                              Like a revealing skirt, maybe
                                            11. 11D
                                              Day-___ paints
                                            12. 12D
                                              Gymnast's perfect score
                                            13. 16D
                                              Medical suffix (that's inflammatory!)
                                            14. 19D
                                              Young chap
                                            15. 21D
                                              Watch a Netflix series, say
                                            16. 24D
                                              Fresh Prince's neighbourhood
                                            17. 26D
                                              Nice summer
                                            18. 27D
                                              ___ for the course
                                            19. 29D
                                              "The Two Fridas" artist
                                            20. 30D
                                              Dutch ___ disease
                                            21. 31D
                                              Tenzing Norgay, for example
                                            22. 32D
                                              Beach find in "Lord of the Flies"
                                            23. 35D
                                              Homer's barkeep
                                            24. 36D
                                              Maj. superiors
                                            25. 38D
                                              ... J, K, L, ___
                                            26. 39D
                                              Adobe Reader file ext.
                                            27. 40D
                                              "Yes," said Pierre
                                            28. 41D
                                              Mischievous ones
                                            29. 43D
                                              Ouzo flavouring
                                            30. 44D
                                              Set free
                                            31. 47D
                                              Polar covering
                                            32. 48D
                                              See 1 down
                                            33. 50D
                                              Crewmember
                                            34. 51D
                                              "Elephant" for 7 across
                                            35. 54D
                                              Secret-keeping contracts (abbr.)
                                            36. 55D
                                              Spot in the ocean
                                            37. 56D
                                              Baby powder
                                            38. 57D
                                              See 4 down
                                            39. 58D
                                              "I want my ___" (Sting on "Money For Nothing")
                                            40. 59D
                                              Weather-map area
                                            41. 60D
                                              Expert in CPR
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