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I Can't Even! (Meta)

· By benchen71 · Published 2023-03-21T05:00:53.177Z

Meta Prompt
The answer to the meta is a ten-letter word
Sometimes you just don't have the energy to finish your exclamations of dismay. If you can relate, then this puzzle is for you. The answer to the meta is a ten-letter word. Answer & explanation: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=124532#p124532
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)

  • BarbaraK solved 2023-03-21T01:52:45.623Z
  • Hector solved 2023-03-21T04:27:23.156Z
  • SporcleMirror solved 2023-03-21T07:10:03.898Z
  • Laura M solved 2023-03-21T07:13:58.905Z
  • kieranjboyd solved 2023-03-21T09:26:54.007Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2023-03-21T09:39:31.683Z
  • boharr solved 2023-03-21T11:43:08.370Z
  • Ergcat solved 2023-03-21T12:17:12.678Z
  • Alex Sisti solved 2023-03-21T13:19:28.682Z
  • DCBilly solved 2023-03-21T13:26:02.631Z
  • lbray53 solved 2023-03-21T13:30:29.370Z
  • Adam Doctoroff solved 2023-03-21T13:31:22.046Z
  • edestlin solved 2023-03-21T13:38:49.858Z
  • Meg solved 2023-03-21T13:40:49.215Z
  • rjy solved 2023-03-21T13:44:43.371Z
  • Darth solved 2023-03-21T13:51:34.363Z
  • Tyrpmom solved 2023-03-21T14:19:28.076Z
  • DIS solved 2023-03-21T15:10:22.445Z
  • JHSeeman solved 2023-03-21T16:12:21.043Z
  • woozy solved 2023-03-21T16:12:58.671Z
  • ChrisCross solved 2023-03-21T17:00:14.011Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2023-03-21T17:18:17.092Z
  • heidi solved 2023-03-21T17:39:22.804Z
  • Mikey G solved 2023-03-21T18:23:16.173Z
  • ajk solved 2023-03-21T18:24:27.182Z
  • Qmark solved 2023-03-21T18:41:05.077Z
  • KayW solved 2023-03-21T19:41:54.291Z
  • whimsy solved 2023-03-21T19:44:36.375Z
  • markhr solved 2023-03-21T19:55:38.678Z
  • MatthewL solved 2023-03-21T20:41:17.089Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2023-03-21T21:00:18.300Z
  • ReB solved 2023-03-21T21:28:32.832Z
  • Bird Lives solved 2023-03-21T22:12:20.314Z
  • Darrell solved 2023-03-21T23:21:15.574Z
  • Jaclyn solved 2023-03-21T23:57:42.200Z
  • dannyvee solved 2023-03-22T00:04:22.437Z
  • jbird solved 2023-03-22T00:25:34.701Z
  • Jeremy Smith solved 2023-03-22T00:27:20.928Z
  • Bbaack solved 2023-03-22T01:36:29.551Z
  • Charles Montpetit solved 2023-03-22T02:41:52.551Z
  • Deb W solved 2023-03-22T03:17:58.712Z
  • rvkal solved 2023-03-22T03:43:17.454Z
  • Mr Tex solved 2023-03-22T04:10:21.591Z
  • Carolyn solved 2023-03-22T08:16:32.295Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2023-03-22T14:33:41.110Z
  • Jeff G solved 2023-03-22T21:02:24.465Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2023-03-22T22:37:47.043Z
  • oldjudge solved 2023-03-22T22:43:29.749Z
  • dplass solved 2023-03-23T01:36:39.467Z
  • DrTom solved 2023-03-23T14:18:03.830Z
  • Abide solved 2023-03-23T22:13:15.378Z
  • PuzNewbie solved 2023-03-24T16:09:30.675Z
  • Dow Jones solved 2023-03-24T16:39:20.981Z
  • SeamusOL solved 2023-03-25T07:27:30.654Z
  • THC solved 2023-03-25T14:41:40.869Z
  • Gutman solved 2023-03-25T16:24:29.862Z
  • Sharkicicles solved 2023-03-25T21:00:28.805Z

Comments

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  • Hector 3s · 2023-03-21T05:00:53.177Z
    Cool construction!
    • Laura M 🤓6:37 · 2023-03-21T07:14:58.885Z
      Nice little twist!
      • Ergcat 14:41 · 2023-03-21T12:21:04.227Z
        Good one, Ben! Had me going for a while trying to get 10 letters from the 4 long answers… got the first step but then what? Aha! do “it” again!! Puzzled by last “s”, was that just the middle letter of “I’d say” ? Or first letter of “sass”? Thanks, Ben! Have fun camping!
        • Ergcat 14:41 · 2023-03-21T13:36:26.155Z
          Never mind! Went back and I see my error… in my scribbling notes I had “helperS” instead of just “helper”! Now I see both s’s came from”SASS”! Obviously I’m not as clever as you are! 😂
        • rjy 2s · 2023-03-21T13:52:35.093Z
          Really nice construction, Ben!
          • Meg 3s · 2023-03-21T13:41:32.563Z
            Very nice. And excellent title!
            • Tyrpmom 2s · 2023-03-21T14:21:38.145Z
              That’s really cool!
              • DIS 🤓5:00 · 2023-03-21T15:11:13.882Z
                That was excellent -- thanks!
                • JHSeeman 3s · 2023-03-21T16:12:58.741Z
                  Great construction, fun one, thanks.
                  • woozy 🤓11:45 · 2023-03-21T16:17:04.129Z
                    Neat. WTF to OhWait.... moment.
                    Had to backsolve E-C- though. Got stuck on MINCE and thinking "Dang, that Ben. Doesn't he knew CARVE is to cut in broad strokes with an implied final shape and MINCE is to chop tinily with implied reduce to atoms" but I should have had more faith.
                    • dplass 6:57 · 2023-03-23T01:39:29.493Z
                      Same, and I also had IDSAY for retort... but I had the overall metanism from the start.
                    • ChrisCross 🤓9:09 · 2023-03-21T17:00:24.126Z
                      Very well done construction
                      • I K Snamhcok 1s · 2023-03-21T17:18:56.761Z
                        Loved it! Thanks, Ben!
                        • Mikey G 🤓4:39 · 2023-03-21T18:23:52.243Z
                          "I am speechless. Speechless! I have no speech." Brilliant!
                          • ajk 5:15 · 2023-03-21T18:26:47.101Z
                            LOL couldn't find the match for 24A initially, so I spent like 5 minutes hunting for the AxCx word before I realized that A was supposed to be an E :D
                            • Qmark 3s · 2023-03-21T18:41:36.022Z
                              Loved it...thanks Ben!
                              • KayW 8:01 · 2023-03-21T19:42:24.627Z
                                And yes I am indeed! Wow what a construction. Fantastic meta, Ben!
                                • whimsy 🤓11:31 · 2023-03-21T19:47:32.139Z
                                  To self: "Pay attention to the title!" Very, very nice, Ben!
                                  • MatthewL 🤓6:09 · 2023-03-21T20:42:37.138Z
                                    Very clever, Ben! Needed the slightest of nudges to get started, but finally it all became clear.
                                    • ReB 4s · 2023-03-21T21:29:45.132Z
                                      How ODD - nice repeat on the mechanism.
                                      • Bird Lives 7s · 2023-03-21T22:16:45.396Z
                                        Very nice. Like others, I was stalled by the 4/10 disparity. I was pretty sure what the answer was, but it took a while to backsolve, and when I did get it, I was at a loss for words, so to speak.
                                        • Bbaack 11:52 · 2023-03-22T01:38:23.654Z
                                          What the! Great construction, thanks for the fun!
                                          • Charles Montpetit 🤓1:41 · 2023-03-22T02:51:28.832Z
                                            Same remark as Woozy. Also, if you will allow a nitpick, I thought it was a tiny bit inelegant to clue 28a's RAD with the term RADian. Or was that a throwback to last week's "Unnecessarily Repetitive" puzzle?
                                            • Carolyn 3s · 2023-03-22T08:18:20.940Z
                                              Very nice! I love it when my guess works out to be the right answer. Cool mechanism.
                                              • Jeff G 1:12 · 2023-03-22T21:08:22.420Z
                                                Clever mechanism! Lots of fun.
                                                • oldjudge 13s · 2023-03-22T22:45:35.483Z
                                                  The puzzle could have been improved if there was only one synonym for carve. Maybe it couldn’t have been helped but I think MINCE should have been replaced somehow. Great idea otherwise.
                                                  • DrTom 11s · 2023-03-23T14:26:37.429Z
                                                    Yeah I landed on MINCE at first but the resulting letters said it could not be (plus it gave 11 letters) since I needed an E and C (SPEECHLESS was the only possible thing at that point). Besides mincing and carving are really not the same unless you are a REALLY bad carver (OK, OK, so you've seen me at Thanksgiving I guess) 😁
                                                  • DrTom 11s · 2023-03-23T14:23:12.747Z
                                                    Well that describes my feeling about the construction! Amazing Ben. You may be up a lazy river this weekend but getting to the end of the solve was a hard row for me. I tried everything with odd except what I was supposed to. It's maddening because I saw DINNER in DJINNINFEAR a ways back but it did not click. I wanted so much to make CLAWREVIEW (drop the first odd letter) LAWREVIEW. Then I used all of the odd numbered entries, then all of the odd clues (i.e. every other one (1,3,5,7...) hoping to spell out an instruction. I needed a nudge to get there but I am glad I did not throw up my hands in defeat, it was a very nice puzzle.
                                                    • Abide 3s · 2023-03-23T22:15:39.433Z
                                                      Well done mate. Enjoy your SNAGS
                                                      • PuzNewbie 17:49 · 2023-03-24T16:09:46.257Z
                                                        Beautiful construction! Fun puzzle!!
                                                        • Dow Jones 4s · 2023-03-24T16:46:53.957Z
                                                          Great idea for the meta and excellent execution in the construction. Thanks, Ben.
                                                          • THC 🤓5:43 · 2023-03-25T14:43:03.655Z
                                                            Thanks, Ben!
                                                            1A
                                                            That man
                                                            1
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                                                            76
                                                            Across
                                                            1. 1A
                                                              That man
                                                            2. 4A
                                                              Scratchy's nemesis in an animated show in an animated show
                                                            3. 9A
                                                              Nocturnal newborn
                                                            4. 14A
                                                              Gilbert & Sullivan princess
                                                            5. 15A
                                                              "Singin' in the Rain" composer, ___ Herb Brown
                                                            6. 16A
                                                              Relinquish voluntarily
                                                            7. 17A
                                                              ___-Xers
                                                            8. 18A
                                                              Genie living with phobias?
                                                            9. 20A
                                                              Vietnam's capital
                                                            10. 22A
                                                              Banned insecticide
                                                            11. 23A
                                                              Andy's nickname for Jim (with "Big")
                                                            12. 24A
                                                              Dangerous moment in a cat's vet visit?
                                                            13. 27A
                                                              "Avatar" race
                                                            14. 28A
                                                              Radian symbol
                                                            15. 30A
                                                              Italian or Spanish article
                                                            16. 33A
                                                              Back talk
                                                            17. 36A
                                                              Actress playing Marilyn in "Blonde"
                                                            18. 38A
                                                              Evening meal, for some
                                                            19. 40A
                                                              Intense dislike
                                                            20. 42A
                                                              Somewhat unusual
                                                            21. 44A
                                                              Actress playing the evil queen in the up-coming live-action remake of "Snow White", Gal ___
                                                            22. 45A
                                                              Office assistant
                                                            23. 47A
                                                              Beats by ___
                                                            24. 49A
                                                              Male heirs
                                                            25. 50A
                                                              Plastic ___ Band
                                                            26. 51A
                                                              Bind
                                                            27. 53A
                                                              Pub drinks
                                                            28. 55A
                                                              Cultivate French flowers?
                                                            29. 60A
                                                              Wile E. Coyote's supplier
                                                            30. 64A
                                                              Coffee dispenser
                                                            31. 65A
                                                              "Couldn't agree more!"
                                                            32. 66A
                                                              Character in an Agatha Christie / "Gone With the Wind" mashup?
                                                            33. 70A
                                                              Make public
                                                            34. 71A
                                                              Chop finely
                                                            35. 72A
                                                              Cheek application
                                                            36. 73A
                                                              "Give ___ rest!"
                                                            37. 74A
                                                              German steel
                                                            38. 75A
                                                              Aussie barbie food
                                                            39. 76A
                                                              Ultimate degree
                                                            Down
                                                            1. 1D
                                                              Soprano's pride
                                                            2. 2D
                                                              Best possible
                                                            3. 3D
                                                              Food from heaven
                                                            4. 4D
                                                              Third prime minister of India, ___ Gandhi
                                                            5. 5D
                                                              ___ Mahal
                                                            6. 6D
                                                              Third-century starter
                                                            7. 7D
                                                              4 down spoke it
                                                            8. 8D
                                                              "What light through ___ window breaks?" ("Romeo and Juliet", Act 2, Scene 2)
                                                            9. 9D
                                                              Possess
                                                            10. 10D
                                                              Float, as an aroma
                                                            11. 11D
                                                              In ___ of gifts
                                                            12. 12D
                                                              Steve Carell movie, "___ Almighty"
                                                            13. 13D
                                                              Trillion, as a prefix
                                                            14. 19D
                                                              First two words of "A Tale of Two Cities"
                                                            15. 21D
                                                              Confesses
                                                            16. 25D
                                                              Former First Lady of Argentina, ___ Peron
                                                            17. 26D
                                                              "In ___ veritas"
                                                            18. 29D
                                                              Used a spade
                                                            19. 30D
                                                              Fancy coif
                                                            20. 31D
                                                              Element #10
                                                            21. 32D
                                                              ___ and crafts
                                                            22. 33D
                                                              London district
                                                            23. 34D
                                                              Arabian gulf
                                                            24. 35D
                                                              Grain-storage building
                                                            25. 37D
                                                              Tack on
                                                            26. 39D
                                                              Kicked the ball to a teammate
                                                            27. 41D
                                                              Encountered
                                                            28. 43D
                                                              Sketch
                                                            29. 46D
                                                              Cobble together
                                                            30. 48D
                                                              Tolkien creature
                                                            31. 52D
                                                              Mistakes
                                                            32. 54D
                                                              Privileged classes
                                                            33. 56D
                                                              Bulb with layers
                                                            34. 57D
                                                              Jamaican sprinter, ___ Bolt
                                                            35. 58D
                                                              "Something to Talk About" singer, Bonnie ___
                                                            36. 59D
                                                              Wine grape, also known as shiraz
                                                            37. 60D
                                                              Sleeve fillers
                                                            38. 61D
                                                              Debt reminder
                                                            39. 62D
                                                              "American Beauty" actress, ___ Suvari
                                                            40. 63D
                                                              Engrave
                                                            41. 67D
                                                              Small hill, in Hebrew
                                                            42. 68D
                                                              Street, in Portugal
                                                            43. 69D
                                                              Discworld witch with a cookbook, Nanny ___
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