Thanks for solving Bob. I knew you'd like the BOONE clue.
ELSavage 🤓11:42 · 20 days ago
Great minds think alike! I do this word play all the time, and laughed out loud when I realized that the answer was one of my favorites! And after that I often lack a punch.
Fun one, Dave! Question, tho: the un-spoonerified versions of each of the 4 themers had alternate entries in the grid. I was looking for one for TAKEA SHOWER - was there one?
Here's the metanism: The 4 themers had alt entries: WOKS, AWED, SWEEP, HELL. The first letters spell WASH - which spoonerizes to the meta answer, SHAKE A TOWER (Take a shower)
rjy 1s · 20 days ago
Man! Did not put that together… I like it even more now!
Thanks for solving Meg. I'm still waiting for a muggle to post "Cough the Ouch!"
rjy 1s · 20 days ago
BTW - I mentioned on the Muggles board that this is a great concept for future puzzles, since the fun is less in uncovering the metanism and more in the hunt for the right pair of words. I imagine it was tricky to exclude any other possible pairs out of, what, 650 combinations??? oof! (glad we were at least hinted to use one of the only four 6-letter words!)
That's right. The prompt is "5 or 6 letter across entries. There are only 12 - so its not too painful. My first test solve versions did not limit it to 5 or 6 letter words - so poor Al, Kay and Lydia they went through a very "tough rhyme". That's why our test solvers are invaluable!
Some good cluing here, and a nice meta. I did something similar three years ago (June 2002) with seven Spoonerisms. But they weren't as good, and the final step wasn't as clever.
This was so clever!! If you hadn’t specified 5 or 6 letters I would still be hunting (there are some fun ones to mix up in this grid… though they might not be recognizable phrases: unsharpened areas left by a faulty tool: rasp gaps; second bird sitting on the window ledge: sill mate; the tougher part of the hike: hill trail….
Yes - as I posted above, without specifying "across entries of 5 or 6 letters", there would be literally thousands of combinations. You would hate me and want to waterboard me with gravy! Thanks for solving.
MatthewL 🤓7:21 · 20 days ago
Was gonna wag the right answer (it just felt right somehow), but couldn't see the metanism for a bit. Glad I finally found it without guessing. Thanks for the puzzle, Davy!
Glad you solved Matthew. There are several comments about people being "relieved" that the prompt specified only "5 or 6 letter across entries". My oldest son is an actuary and I asked him how many possible two-word combinations there are in this grid. He said there are 6,320 possible answers! Yikes!
At first, I had SNAG for last themer, and noodling WASS-up with that? Almost had me throwing some Rite Woks. Excellent clueing as always and appreciate narrowing of choices. Thanks for the MMM, DavyGravy!
It took me 3 tries to submit the answer in the correct order. I never saw the "wash" metanism. I guess I'm lucky I stumbled on the correct answer. Fun meta, Dave. Thanks!
Here's my roundabout, but helpful story. I caught a glimpse of the title earlier this AM but couldn't get to it till later this evening. So off and on all day I was picturing this here puppy I was going to be playing with later, including when I ran into my neighbor with his new dog, which I of course had to pat. Comes time to solve the meta -- hmm "Gimme your paw -- Shake! That's a good boy!" but oops, not after you've been in the tub, 'cause then I get a shower! All roads were leading me there!
This was so much fun! Thanks, Davy!
Whew, I was afraid I was going to Bop the Drawl on that one. Loved your cluing (will be stealing several for future use) and the concept. This was truly a clean solve, thanks Davy!
Trying to remember the name of it, but there was a kids' puzzle game in the 90s (CD-ROM!) that had a whole section on spoonerisms, and the area was called Shake a Tower