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Overlapping Symbols

· By Pandora's Blocks Weekly Meta Crossword · Published 2023-03-26T12:48:52.380Z

Meta Prompt
The answer to this week's meta is the mascot of one of the schools in this year's March Madness tournament.
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is now LIVE! Head on over to www.CrosswordsForCancer.com to get all 16 meta puzzles!
--
Hey there Crosshare solvers!
If you're enjoying these puzzles, head on over to www.PandorasBlocks.org to join our mailing list, get entered to win a Pandora's Blocks mug, get hints on tough puzzles and read detailed answer explanations (great for people just starting to solve metas).
Happy Solving! -Will
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Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • oldjudge solved 2023-03-26T13:33:48.608Z
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  • AT solved 2023-05-26T17:26:14.388Z

Comments

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  • ChrisCross 🤓11:04 · 2023-03-26T13:50:57.241Z
    In retrospect I liked the metanism. While doing it I felt like this could go anywhere - am I supposed to look for a pair of mascots missing from this list? (The possibility of external info coming in is one of the main reasons I don’t like googlefest puzzles.)
    Ultimately I thought the “overlapping” in the title may apply to the grid answers, too. And I wrote down all the letters the pairs had in common, before realizing they were the same length and finding the real answer. It was a nice aha moment. But I was filled with dread the whole time about where this meta could possibly go.
    • I K Snamhcok 3s · 2023-03-26T15:19:22.452Z
      Fun! Thanks, Will!
      • JM 15:27 · 2023-03-26T15:25:55.646Z
        Could you have gotten the Owls and Tigers in or did they lose in the play-in game?
        • Hector 3s · 2023-03-26T15:39:37.119Z
          The name came from a combination of factors: After the Civil War, a troop of colored soldiers were admired by the Native Americans for their fighting spirit and resolve, and tabbed them “Buffalo” after this revered symbol. In addition, Morrison, who had served as a sergeant in the Army, aspired to the symbol. Legend has it that he decided to call the Howard team after the American version: the bison. Thanks!
          • Byron 🤓15:51 · 2023-03-26T15:42:14.776Z
            Good one! I probably need Google more than most, since I knew exactly none of the mascots.
            • dplass 6:19 · 2023-04-03T18:26:17.030Z
              Same, hard same. I gave up early because of this.
            • Bbaack 19:03 · 2023-03-26T16:23:47.548Z
              Fortunately I found the website that made the necessary googling relatively painless. Fun one, thanks!
              • boharr 2s · 2023-03-26T17:22:42.220Z
                Oh I wish I had found that website before the Google fest!
              • AaronT 2s · 2023-03-26T16:22:34.151Z
                Really, really liked this one. As I looked up the schools’ mascots and got to Gaels, I almost abandoned the search thinking there was no way there’d be two schools in the tourney with that mascot. Glad I kept going!
                • Abide 10s · 2023-03-26T17:49:16.523Z
                  Good fun, although I wrestled with BOINS for a little longer than I care to admit. Marquette basketball will always be the Warriors to me.
                  • whimsy 12:54 · 2023-03-26T18:55:11.944Z
                    Same here -- Until I put that helpful list to good use, I was considering that I might have made an error, and had been half-heartedly looking for a team with a doggie mascot named Bones. :) Really liked it despite the google -- and it was quite a TIL day! Thanks, Will!
                  • Darth 11:57 · 2023-03-26T17:29:58.184Z
                    Madness I say! haha Thanks, Will!
                    • MatthewL 🤓10:40 · 2023-03-26T17:35:43.537Z
                      Interesting. Got all of the pairs, but couldn't figure out what to do. Then just brute forced it, and backsolved. Very clever mechanism once I saw what was going on.
                      • Sfull411 🤓4:22 · 2023-03-26T18:05:38.423Z
                        Great puzzle!
                        • KayW 🤓7:06 · 2023-03-26T21:36:26.212Z
                          Wow. Great meta. I can't tell you how put out I was when I read the description of this meta. But I am so glad I let Claudia talk me into giving it a try. (I asked her that as a non-sportsing person: 24A24A"Is it worth my time?"[--------] Is it worth my time? The answer is a resounding YES. VERY clever and elegant metanism, and no sportsing knowledge required. Well. Not as long as I could google a list of all the March Madness Teams' mascots, heh heh.
                          • Laura M 🤓24:35 · 2023-03-27T02:56:04.050Z
                            Misread the prompt and spent too much time trying to find the right school when I already had the mascot... Still, great puzzle! For a sports-themed one anyway :-)
                            • Carolyn 3s · 2023-03-27T15:51:59.023Z
                              Nice one. Go Aztecs!
                              • THC 🤓6:05 · 2023-03-28T00:18:57.146Z
                                Thanks, Will! Did you mean University of Texas for the other Bull? Texas A&M’s mascot is Reveille the Collie.
                                • Caroline 🤓11:40 · 2023-03-28T04:37:10.431Z
                                  Aggies!
                                  • Pandora's Blocks Weekly Meta Crossword constructor · 2023-03-28T22:41:29.066Z
                                    What Caroline said! Utah State and Texas A&M are both the Aggies. Unfortunately, our silly language uses the same word (mascot) to refer to teams' collective symbols as well as the individual characters. In the context of this puzzle, I was always referencing the collective symbols.
                                • Mwoychick 🤓8:58 · 2023-03-28T13:07:26.919Z
                                  When I saw the first couple of letters, I thought maybe it would be Boise State. It was not to be. Maybe if they ever win a tournament game they will be puzzle worthy.
                                  • DrTom 5s · 2023-03-30T16:03:17.814Z
                                    This took massive assistance to solve. I'm not sure that "medium" is the correct rating, at least it wasn't for me. I never thought of lining up the Alums, I was actually trying to line up the mascots (trouble there was that Utah State, although they are the Aggies, have a Bull and A&M has a Dog). But even when corrected I was busy crossing out common letters (GS is common to all) and then crossing out all common letters. Only after many nudges form different sources did I arrive at the answer, I guess I got Bufalloed😂 My sense of awe and wonderment goes to "how did he think of this"!
                                    • MARR71 5s · 2023-04-01T15:49:06.319Z
                                      I made this far more difficult than it actually was. Thank goodness for hints!
                                      • ReB 4s · 2023-04-01T21:42:36.434Z
                                        I picked up the school mascot pairing early on, but the meta sure got down to the wire before I tried my last idea of comparing the grid name-pairs for a common letter and seeing what they all spelled. It sure was nice to have found a webpage that listed the mascots of all the NCAA teams so that I could see if BISON worked. Clever idea.
                                        • Nick 🤓7:57 · 2023-04-02T17:08:13.253Z
                                          Enjoyed this and actually was familiar with most of the celebs. Put I can't get the meta. Can someone explain what I'm missing?
                                          • Pandora's Blocks Weekly Meta Crossword constructor · 2023-04-02T19:33:31.692Z
                                            Thanks for solving! I email answer explanations to my mailing list each week- you can join the list by visiting PandorasBlocks.org. I also post answer explanations to that website, but I'm usually a few weeks behind on those.
                                          1A
                                          As easy as ___
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                                          Across
                                          1. 1A
                                            As easy as ___
                                          2. 4A
                                            Rams' linebacker Wagner (who attended Utah State University)
                                          3. 9A
                                            Classic lunch sandwiches, for short
                                          4. 13A
                                            Mrs. in Mexico City
                                          5. 14A
                                            Actress Cornish of "Limitless"
                                          6. 15A
                                            Chess piece that is moved during a castle
                                          7. 16A
                                            Cat's contented sound
                                          8. 18A
                                            Bars before bars, for short
                                          9. 19A
                                            "Fancy meeting you here!"
                                          10. 20A
                                            Moon-Sun alignment
                                          11. 22A
                                            Priestly speeches
                                          12. 24A
                                            "Is it worth my time?"
                                          13. 26A
                                            Soak (up)
                                          14. 27A
                                            Understands
                                          15. 29A
                                            Scatter about
                                          16. 33A
                                            Like movies that are gorier than their PG-13 counterparts
                                          17. 36A
                                            "__ it" ("I don't care anymore")
                                          18. 38A
                                            Anger
                                          19. 39A
                                            Vein contents
                                          20. 40A
                                            Oust
                                          21. 42A
                                            Meditative practice
                                          22. 43A
                                            Big ___ (London landmark)
                                          23. 44A
                                            ___-Lite ("Groove Is in the Heart" band)
                                          24. 45A
                                            Public speaker
                                          25. 47A
                                            I suppose the phrase "all press is good press" doesn't apply to this
                                          26. 49A
                                            Nemesis of the Fantastic Four: Abbr.
                                          27. 51A
                                            British rule in India
                                          28. 53A
                                            Lectures billed as "Ideas worth spreading"
                                          29. 57A
                                            Cross the ___ (pass the point of no return)
                                          30. 61A
                                            Actor Emerson of "Person of Interest" (who attended Drake University)
                                          31. 62A
                                            "The Last ___" (HBO drama that I would highly recommend)
                                          32. 63A
                                            "Long time ___!"
                                          33. 65A
                                            Pimples
                                          34. 66A
                                            Comedian Preacher ___ (who attended Marquette University)
                                          35. 67A
                                            "¿Cómo ___?"
                                          36. 68A
                                            The ___ is in sight
                                          37. 69A
                                            Sooted
                                          38. 70A
                                            Shift to the side
                                          39. 71A
                                            Bad start?
                                          Down
                                          1. 1D
                                            Quaking ___ (species of the oldest and heaviest living organism on Earth)
                                          2. 2D
                                            Lt. Gen. A.D. ___ (who attended Texas A&M University)
                                          3. 3D
                                            Eric who wrote "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
                                          4. 4D
                                            Source of some woodworking wood
                                          5. 5D
                                            Preoccupy
                                          6. 6D
                                            Undergrad degree for some future managers
                                          7. 7D
                                            Pieces, or counterpart of pieces
                                          8. 8D
                                            Affirmatives
                                          9. 9D
                                            Bring about
                                          10. 10D
                                            ___-chic (fashion style)
                                          11. 11D
                                            Twitch CMO Koller (who attended St. Mary's College)
                                          12. 12D
                                            Pair used on the slopes
                                          13. 17D
                                            Ruffles have them
                                          14. 21D
                                            ___ Piper
                                          15. 23D
                                            WWE wrestler Mandy (who attended Iona University)
                                          16. 25D
                                            Wizards' shooting guard Corey (who attended Gonzaga University)
                                          17. 28D
                                            Lower digit
                                          18. 30D
                                            ___ Games (company behind "League of Legends")
                                          19. 31D
                                            Therefore
                                          20. 32D
                                            Tear's counterpart
                                          21. 33D
                                            Eldest son of Ned Stark in "Game of Thrones"
                                          22. 34D
                                            Length x width
                                          23. 35D
                                            Look after, with "to"
                                          24. 37D
                                            Most gory
                                          25. 41D
                                            Crossed (out)
                                          26. 42D
                                            Motorcycle maker
                                          27. 44D
                                            Fanged Transylvanian, familiarly
                                          28. 46D
                                            Campus military org.
                                          29. 48D
                                            Overly fussy
                                          30. 50D
                                            Shame
                                          31. 52D
                                            Comedian Orlando formerly of "MADtv" (who attended College of Charleston)
                                          32. 54D
                                            Prepared, as running shoes
                                          33. 55D
                                            "The Gambler" singer Rogers (who attended the University of Houston)
                                          34. 56D
                                            Some snow day toys
                                          35. 57D
                                            Type of plum tomato
                                          36. 58D
                                            Some mysterious aircraft, for short
                                          37. 59D
                                            Oklahoma politician Carol (who attended Oral Roberts University)
                                          38. 60D
                                            Chow down
                                          39. 64D
                                            Stunt man?
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