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We're Coming Apart!

· By Mikey G · Published 2023-09-16T17:00:26.061Z

Meta Prompt
[Level 2] The answer to the meta is a numerical sports term.
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • FrankieHeck solved 2023-09-16T17:29:20.609Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2023-09-16T18:16:50.109Z
  • KayW solved 2023-09-16T18:17:17.228Z
  • Meg solved 2023-09-16T18:26:03.149Z
  • whimsy solved 2023-09-16T18:34:24.777Z
  • oldjudge solved 2023-09-16T18:40:00.118Z
  • boharr solved 2023-09-16T18:45:12.890Z
  • BrennerTJ solved 2023-09-16T19:42:56.541Z
  • andeux solved 2023-09-16T20:04:07.194Z
  • Danny K Bernstein solved 2023-09-16T20:39:24.440Z
  • Philip Chow solved 2023-09-16T20:41:22.960Z
  • Bbaack solved 2023-09-16T20:48:19.024Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2023-09-16T20:49:25.441Z
  • benchen71 solved 2023-09-16T22:28:27.249Z
  • Darth solved 2023-09-16T22:35:20.166Z
  • Hector solved 2023-09-16T22:45:01.954Z
  • SamKat9 solved 2023-09-16T22:47:11.709Z
  • DJB solved 2023-09-16T23:02:06.633Z
  • BarbaraK solved 2023-09-16T23:08:14.516Z
  • hoover solved 2023-09-16T23:49:05.664Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2023-09-17T01:53:01.541Z
  • spotter solved 2023-09-17T04:15:02.943Z
  • Alex Sisti solved 2023-09-17T12:28:04.499Z
  • Joe solved 2023-09-17T12:37:13.445Z
  • Berto solved 2023-09-17T13:30:32.995Z
  • Abide solved 2023-09-17T14:34:28.370Z
  • JR solved 2023-09-17T14:51:41.807Z
  • Toast solved 2023-09-17T15:15:32.576Z
  • Myelbow solved 2023-09-17T16:11:11.812Z
  • GR solved 2023-09-17T20:04:39.138Z
  • Qmark solved 2023-09-18T02:01:41.583Z
  • Schmeel solved 2023-09-18T12:37:12.325Z
  • DIS solved 2023-09-18T17:44:04.386Z
  • heidi solved 2023-09-19T00:15:00.181Z
  • Tom Wilson solved 2023-09-19T00:15:46.111Z
  • lbray53 solved 2023-09-20T10:19:56.852Z
  • Laura M solved 2023-09-20T19:03:18.669Z
  • HeadinHome solved 2023-09-20T22:38:17.817Z
  • Bob J solved 2023-09-21T02:24:34.063Z
  • Matt A solved 2023-09-21T02:43:04.721Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2023-09-21T11:23:59.283Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2023-09-21T16:09:13.715Z
  • Katiedid solved 2023-09-21T17:52:11.279Z
  • Steve M solved 2023-09-21T18:12:12.411Z
  • Darrell solved 2023-09-21T18:28:13.647Z
  • MatthewL solved 2023-09-21T18:42:02.798Z
  • JHSeeman solved 2023-09-21T18:53:25.060Z
  • ReB solved 2023-09-22T00:54:42.218Z
  • Dow Jones solved 2023-09-22T08:57:21.459Z
  • dannyvee solved 2023-09-22T17:18:41.046Z
  • rjy solved 2023-09-22T17:41:21.723Z
  • woozy solved 2023-09-23T04:00:19.308Z
  • Cate C solved 2023-09-23T15:02:26.875Z
  • Capn Rick solved 2023-09-23T20:08:15.035Z
  • Alvibu67 solved 2023-09-27T23:18:21.565Z

Comments

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  • Mikey G constructor · 2023-09-16T17:00:26.061Z
    Answer: SEVEN-TEN SPLIT
    Explanation: A bit of a SAD one, perhaps? There are seven longer entries in the grid that "split" the word TEN, either as TE * N or T * EN, suggesting our meta answer. Note the "anchor" entries (first and last) of BOLE and LING, suggesting the sport in question. We also have a quasi-connection to the puzzle number, since 7 x 10 = 70.
    • KayW 🤓10:42 · 2023-09-16T18:18:05.354Z
      woohoo! I got a sportsing one! On the second try! (first guess was BIG TEN) loved the cluing as always. Clever meta.
      • whimsy 🤓22:13 · 2023-09-16T18:37:39.465Z
        Gah! Just noticed the NW and SE this very minute! Makes sense in MikeyG world!
        • boharr 22s · 2023-09-16T18:45:28.115Z
          Thanks, Mikey
          • Philip Chow 🤓11:37 · 2023-09-16T20:48:21.160Z
            Nice puzzle!! I first failed to notice the raven, tells on, and tres bien so I only considered the four 11 letter entries… saw that TEN was split with exactly 8 letters in-between so I googled if 8-10 split was a thing and wondered to myself why didn’t Mikey go with 7-10 split instead? It’s infinitely much more familiar 😅
            • I K Snamhcok 2s · 2023-09-16T20:52:05.425Z
              Fun puzzle, Mikey! NOW PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO GET THE CUBS WINNING AGAIN!!!!!
              • Bbaack 25:06 · 2023-09-16T20:49:37.666Z
                This one was right up my alley!
                • Darth 17:06 · 2023-09-16T22:43:47.929Z
                  Well played, MikeyG, with plenty of puns to "spare"! =)
                  • Hector 10:47 · 2023-09-16T22:47:29.979Z
                    Who do you think you are? I am! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G74ZHWcsbgc
                    • SamKat9 🤓14:24 · 2023-09-16T22:49:03.778Z
                      Good one, it made me think! Thank you!
                      • hoover 8s · 2023-09-16T23:51:05.529Z
                        Thank you for 1A and 69A or I never would have gotten it! Oh hey, 7 times 10 is 70, hmm...
                        • Joe 🤓11:06 · 2023-09-17T12:39:11.263Z
                          Good lord. I submitted a wrong guess because I misread the prompt every single time I looked at it! Thought it said "team" instead of "term." So I was like, is "The 700 Club" a bowling team somehow?? Very cute meta. I also loved BOLE and LING.
                          • Mikey G constructor · 2023-09-21T05:55:54.482Z
                            You might not be the only one! I think someone else was thinking 76ers or 49ers or something like that.
                            • Katiedid 🤓2:27 · 2023-09-21T17:55:39.105Z
                              OMG. I finally got it today, but for the first couple of days, I read "team" every time. BOLE LING is great.
                          • Abide 2s · 2023-09-17T14:38:41.435Z
                            A little struggle with “7-ten-ing stretch” until I saw the BOLE LING. I appreciated the Friday level cluing.
                            • Mikey G constructor · 2023-09-21T05:55:39.804Z
                              And I didn't even realize it was leaning in that direction!
                            • Berto 🤓2:56 · 2023-09-17T15:11:05.390Z
                              Took me a few attempts before I realized I needed to add “split” to complete the term! No longer feeling like a turkey..
                              • Qmark 3s · 2023-09-18T02:04:09.773Z
                                Another fun meta puzzle, Mikey...thanks! Love that 7 & 10 "factored" into the answer for puzzle #70.
                                • Laura M 🤓17:43 · 2023-09-20T19:07:05.041Z
                                  Nice one! Unfortunately I made two incorrect guesses based on assuming there must be a sports term I was unfamiliar with. Not an unreasonable assumption, to be fair :-)
                                  • HeadinHome 🤓2:06 · 2023-09-20T22:39:05.503Z
                                    Tried split tens first… a poker term (apparently)… and apparently poker is considered a sport?? Seven ten-splits makes more sense. ( :
                                    • ReB 3s · 2023-09-22T01:07:01.508Z
                                      Indeed, I was one of those who read the prompt as TEAM instead of TERM.
                                      Once I saw that first nudge to correct that misreading, along with your private nudge of looking at the first and last word (which sounded out as BOWLING), I immediately knew the answer - as I had been spot on about the mechanism except that the misdirection I encountered from my misreading plus an inadvertent red herring (31D) sent me down a rabbit hole.
                                      I still think that 76ers is a viable alternative had the prompt been TEAM. Very cleverly done.
                                      • Mikey G constructor · 2023-09-22T01:48:24.885Z
                                        Feel bad about the red herring still...but not about you misreading, bahaha. (I think this happened with another meta once!)
                                      • Capn Rick 🤓11:31 · 2023-09-23T20:11:21.761Z
                                        Needed a few of the nudges, but I finally got it! Nice one, Mikey!
                                        1A
                                        Tree trunk
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                                        49
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                                        51
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                                        59
                                        60
                                        61
                                        62
                                        63
                                        64
                                        65
                                        66
                                        67
                                        68
                                        69
                                        Across
                                        1. 1A
                                          Tree trunk
                                        2. 5A
                                          I was planning to buy a new bookcase, but I'll ___ that idea for now
                                        3. 11A
                                          Shift : Z :: ___ : Q
                                        4. 14A
                                          "Excuse me! I'm right here!"
                                        5. 15A
                                          Rolled on down the runway
                                        6. 16A
                                          Wood band, briefly
                                        7. 17A
                                          What I use to make my avocado toast (holy guacamole)
                                        8. 19A
                                          Earlier
                                        9. 20A
                                          Airport abbr. that I'm sure is always complete accurate
                                        10. 21A
                                          Stark identity
                                        11. 23A
                                          Type of flower that becomes a type of lily when an "E" is added to the beginning
                                        12. 27A
                                          Lugubrious
                                        13. 29A
                                          Tears
                                        14. 30A
                                          Its author described it as "a poem that should suit at once the popular and the critical taste"
                                        15. 32A
                                          "___ Jungle Out There" (Randy Newman's theme to "Monk")
                                        16. 33A
                                          Book about hats worn by Scottish females: "Head of the ___"
                                        17. 34A
                                          Kind
                                        18. 35A
                                          Lancashire ___ (British meat-and-onion stew)
                                        19. 38A
                                          Small quantity?
                                        20. 39A
                                          Goes "MOM!!!!!," perhaps
                                        21. 41A
                                          Lug
                                        22. 42A
                                          At the cookoff, the chef hoped to gain the ___ hand
                                        23. 44A
                                          Sound made when encountering a Level 5 meta, perhaps
                                        24. 45A
                                          Half a fish ("What's a ___?" "Nothing, what's the ___ with you?")
                                        25. 46A
                                          Some remote needs
                                        26. 47A
                                          Nice compliment
                                        27. 49A
                                          Up
                                        28. 51A
                                          End of a crossword?
                                        29. 52A
                                          "Breaking Bad" network (that looks bizarre when typed out like this)
                                        30. 53A
                                          Willow's older sister in District 12, in a 2008 young adult novel
                                        31. 55A
                                          What a lousy pick
                                        32. 57A
                                          Seine-sational sight
                                        33. 58A
                                          Solid with the fewest amount of faces
                                        34. 64A
                                          Blue Jays, on scoreboards
                                        35. 65A
                                          Its flag has black, red, and yellow stripes with a crane in the middle
                                        36. 66A
                                          "You spent all that in Dubuque?" "Yeah, now ___ lot of money"
                                        37. 67A
                                          Curry, e.g.
                                        38. 68A
                                          Got at least 3/5 of the questions right, likely
                                        39. 69A
                                          Ma who wrote "Severance" and "Bliss Montage"
                                        Down
                                        1. 1D
                                          Hit singles, maybe?
                                        2. 2D
                                          "So that's your game!"
                                        3. 3D
                                          If you stay up all night in one, it's pasture bedtime LOL
                                        4. 4D
                                          Common pair?
                                        5. 5D
                                          "Don't you dare expunge that!"
                                        6. 6D
                                          I tried to get my friends to purchase a giant slab of concrete, but it was a ___
                                        7. 7D
                                          Outer: Prefix
                                        8. 8D
                                          "I'm so mad about that!" "You're ___ in the past, man"
                                        9. 9D
                                          Zig or zag
                                        10. 10D
                                          He said, "Like we say in the sewer, 'Time and tide wait for no man'"
                                        11. 11D
                                          James or Antetokounmpo in 2023's NBA All-Star Game
                                        12. 12D
                                          What scum!
                                        13. 13D
                                          Windfalls
                                        14. 18D
                                          Giga- times 1,000
                                        15. 22D
                                          German-born American dubbed the "father of the American cartoon"
                                        16. 23D
                                          Book of legends
                                        17. 24D
                                          Name on Wikipedia page "List of individual cetaceans"
                                        18. 25D
                                          What I would only ever watch on TV if I'm really, really, really bored
                                        19. 26D
                                          See 59-Down
                                        20. 28D
                                          Short socks
                                        21. 31D
                                          Contenders (hint: no one ever says this)
                                        22. 32D
                                          "Fingers crossed!"
                                        23. 36D
                                          Reacted to fireworks (or a well-constructed crossword)
                                        24. 37D
                                          "The Biggest Ball of ___ in Minnesota" (Weird Al Yankovic song)
                                        25. 39D
                                          Rock a dance competition, colloquially (how I spend my free time)
                                        26. 40D
                                          Court, perhaps
                                        27. 43D
                                          "I have to clean this entire French bakery by myself!" "What a ___"
                                        28. 45D
                                          Wharton deg.
                                        29. 48D
                                          Surfeit
                                        30. 49D
                                          Tough Japanese watchdog
                                        31. 50D
                                          Waving goodbye to the Hair Barn: "___, farewell!"
                                        32. 51D
                                          "¿Cómo ___?"
                                        33. 54D
                                          Sonic platform
                                        34. 56D
                                          "___ a lovely evening, but this wasn't it" (classic snarky parting line)
                                        35. 59D
                                          Workers in 26-Down
                                        36. 60D
                                          Tommy Pickles' younger "Rugrats" brother (with a great pun name)
                                        37. 61D
                                          King of France?
                                        38. 62D
                                          Last word of film title with line "There's no crying in baseball!"
                                        39. 63D
                                          Hector
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