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On Air

· By Pair O Ducks · Published 2023-10-22T11:02:42.583Z

Meta Prompt
The meta answer is an English band formed in the '80s.
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • boharr solved 2023-10-22T12:55:16.543Z
  • Meg solved 2023-10-22T13:21:11.011Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2023-10-22T13:59:35.087Z
  • Philip Chow solved 2023-10-22T14:11:42.034Z
  • FrankieHeck solved 2023-10-22T14:25:22.592Z
  • JM solved 2023-10-22T14:32:22.131Z
  • rjy solved 2023-10-22T14:37:58.290Z
  • Tyrpmom solved 2023-10-22T15:08:14.887Z
  • Mwoychick solved 2023-10-22T15:11:57.613Z
  • SamKat9 solved 2023-10-22T15:14:12.507Z
  • Hector solved 2023-10-22T15:16:35.731Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2023-10-22T15:20:40.648Z
  • KayW solved 2023-10-22T15:23:59.486Z
  • merlinnimue solved 2023-10-22T15:24:41.734Z
  • Berto solved 2023-10-22T15:48:44.945Z
  • heidi solved 2023-10-22T15:58:39.550Z
  • Carolyn solved 2023-10-22T16:08:00.193Z
  • DIS solved 2023-10-22T16:10:25.484Z
  • woozy solved 2023-10-22T16:26:11.409Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2023-10-22T16:31:09.794Z
  • ajk solved 2023-10-22T16:37:00.614Z
  • Darth solved 2023-10-22T16:54:09.092Z
  • MatthewL solved 2023-10-22T16:54:12.039Z
  • Gutman solved 2023-10-22T17:33:16.170Z
  • michaelm solved 2023-10-22T17:52:02.825Z
  • DrTom solved 2023-10-22T18:17:50.912Z
  • BrennerTJ solved 2023-10-22T18:19:06.495Z
  • Laura M solved 2023-10-22T19:12:21.765Z
  • Jeremy Smith solved 2023-10-22T19:28:02.099Z
  • damefox solved 2023-10-22T20:28:09.920Z
  • GR solved 2023-10-22T20:41:04.748Z
  • BarbaraK solved 2023-10-22T22:05:01.511Z
  • Katiedid solved 2023-10-22T22:43:28.519Z
  • Larry Edelstein solved 2023-10-23T00:21:53.037Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2023-10-23T01:03:11.127Z
  • hoover solved 2023-10-23T03:02:00.992Z
  • whimsy solved 2023-10-23T03:55:40.609Z
  • Dow Jones solved 2023-10-23T04:12:28.462Z
  • JHSeeman solved 2023-10-23T14:20:42.410Z
  • Capn Rick solved 2023-10-23T15:02:06.309Z
  • Alex Sisti solved 2023-10-23T15:25:41.178Z
  • Mr Tex solved 2023-10-23T15:59:57.163Z
  • kurtalert solved 2023-10-23T16:16:54.966Z
  • Bird Lives solved 2023-10-23T17:12:08.361Z
  • ReB solved 2023-10-23T18:29:40.768Z
  • Sharkicicles solved 2023-10-23T19:04:29.168Z
  • DebbieC solved 2023-10-23T21:18:32.917Z
  • Rufus T Firefly solved 2023-10-24T13:03:17.239Z
  • Alvibu67 solved 2023-10-25T03:30:12.413Z
  • Schmeel solved 2023-10-25T12:29:51.415Z
  • Qmark solved 2023-10-25T17:06:07.016Z
  • DCBilly solved 2023-10-25T22:30:21.823Z
  • Jaclyn solved 2023-10-26T01:59:44.595Z
  • Darrell solved 2023-10-26T20:28:02.582Z
  • Mikey G solved 2023-10-30T21:51:02.593Z
  • sledge solved 2023-11-03T15:01:55.672Z
  • Vilhelm Schmidt solved 2023-12-26T02:12:38.961Z
  • Kulea solved 2024-04-14T07:07:08.827Z

Comments

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  • Philip Chow 6:20 · 2023-10-22T14:17:01.844Z
    nice puzzle! i guessed it based on the title and prompt but went back to find the intended mechanism... "crystal radio" is new to me and i didn't know that an option button is called a "radio button" so loved learning that... i'm a creep... i'm a weirdooooooo...
    • rjy 2s · 2023-10-22T14:52:18.049Z
      A quick word association from the title took me to a pretty solid click for the answer - turned out correct! so on to backsolving… (wish I had better self-discipline than to submit the answer without showing my work!)
      • Larry Edelstein 🤓3:13 · 2023-10-23T00:22:27.258Z
        Ditto to the how
      • JM 🤓8:57 · 2023-10-22T14:34:34.198Z
        48A! My theme song
        • FrankieHeck 🤓7:18 · 2023-10-22T14:53:41.030Z
          Smooth grid and fun meta! Thanks!
          • Mwoychick 🤓10:06 · 2023-10-22T15:12:26.106Z
            Thanks for the puzzle!
            • KayW 🤓5:29 · 2023-10-22T15:25:16.095Z
              Woo hoo!!! This geezer got a new-fangled band name without interwebbing (and yes, 80's is "new-fangled" to some of us). Thanks for a perfect Sunday morning meta.
              • Hector 🤓7:05 · 2023-10-22T15:16:58.455Z
                Great band and fun start to a Sunday. Thank you!
                • SamKat9 🤓7:12 · 2023-10-22T15:16:26.911Z
                  I enjoyed this puzzle! And I was a big fan of Radiohead as a teenager ;)
                  • Tyrpmom 1s · 2023-10-22T15:09:39.894Z
                    Perfect SSS. Thanks.
                    • Carolyn 2s · 2023-10-22T16:08:57.524Z
                      Nice!
                      • ajk 🤓6:12 · 2023-10-22T16:40:37.854Z
                        needed the third nudge, even though I'd noticed CRYSTAL and HAM radios already, so really shouldn't have needed it. :D Loved the 27A clue 😂 Fun stuff, thanks
                        • Darth 11:22 · 2023-10-22T16:59:04.300Z
                          Nice.... I found an Easter egg, too. (I might need to look again in case there were more hidden in there.) Thanks.
                          • MatthewL 🤓6:35 · 2023-10-22T16:57:11.049Z
                            Nice one! Solid cluing and grid and fun meta. Especially liked the clue for 11D. Gave me a chuckle. Thanks for the puzzle!
                            • michaelm 🤓12:45 · 2023-10-22T18:09:07.564Z
                              Thanks for the SSS, Pair! Needed visit to nudge city. Is Button Mashing safer than Mutton Bashing? And a CREEPy Halloween Easter Egg?
                              • DrTom 3s · 2023-10-22T18:32:01.280Z
                                Well I was all over with this one. HEAD start, well LOGIC - use your head, BLEED - head bleed (sorry, professional hazard), USE - goes with LOGIC, NEURON - in your head. Looked for letters under or over H (Head start), ditto C (cranium start). Finally thought about bands from the 80's in Britain and RADIO (on air) HEAD - (HEAD start) seemed a natural. So I got it right then looked for the way to do it right. If it had been the 70's I'd have gone with Wings or Flock of Seagulls. Thanks for the Sunday 1A!!
                                • Laura M 🤓8:18 · 2023-10-22T19:19:52.960Z
                                  Nice puzzle, thanks! I'm not a huge fan (the only song I know is 48A) but still it's a well-enough-known band name that it came to mind immediately.
                                  • Jeremy Smith 3s · 2023-10-22T19:39:36.921Z
                                    Fun one! The duck picture with the straight key is hilarious. As ham radio operator of 47 years, I don't recall ever having a CW QSO with a duck before.
                                    • whimsy 🤓11:04 · 2023-10-23T04:09:27.050Z
                                      Echoing KayW -- and thinking that playing Connections helped me with this one. Kinda old for the band (and was rather busy with a newborn in '85, which was the year they formed as I found out when google-confirming.) But was able to come up with the name as soon as I realized radio. Thanks for this fun puzzle that I could solve, Pair O'!
                                      • JHSeeman 2s · 2023-10-23T14:21:54.008Z
                                        Loved it...as an OLD RF guy...the minute I saw "On Air", "Crystal" and "Ham"...knew it..... Thanks for the great meta/puzzle.
                                        • Capn Rick 🤓8:25 · 2023-10-23T15:04:30.956Z
                                          Nice one, Schmidzy! Hit me right in my music wheelhouse.
                                          • kurtalert 🤓3:21 · 2023-10-23T16:17:12.710Z
                                            Ooh! Very nice!
                                            • Bird Lives 4s · 2023-10-23T17:24:26.730Z
                                              1. Just getting to this today, and it took a minute (and a second look a the title) because 27A was new to me.
                                              2. Sondheim praised them. He said their music was harmonically iinteresting, far more so that most of the rock/pop out there.
                                              3. For years, I've been wanting to make a joke using "Kaypro computer," but I've never been able to get it right, and besides most people are either to old to get the OK part or too young to get the Kaypro part.
                                              • ReB 3s · 2023-10-23T18:40:14.867Z
                                                After the first two nudges (which just repeated what I'd already figured out), my brain clicked into gear and I realized that it probably wasn't a coincidence that each of these four first words could be combined with "radio" to form two-word phrases. I decided to google for "80s british bands radio" - and that did it. Nice Sunday puzzle.
                                                • Qmark 3s · 2023-10-25T17:07:37.686Z
                                                  Travelling this week so got to the puzzle late...SSSolved with no need of nudges...thanks!
                                                  1A
                                                  Puzzle category including sudoku, kenken, and more
                                                  1
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                                                  48
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                                                  66
                                                  Across
                                                  1. 1A
                                                    Puzzle category including sudoku, kenken, and more
                                                  2. 6A
                                                    Run through, as a fountain pen on thin paper
                                                  3. 11A
                                                    Sleep stage
                                                  4. 14A
                                                    Greek marketplace
                                                  5. 15A
                                                    Match, as a noun and a verb
                                                  6. 16A
                                                    "It's no ___!"
                                                  7. 17A
                                                    Seer's sphere
                                                  8. 19A
                                                    Musical aptitude
                                                  9. 20A
                                                    Word of approval
                                                  10. 21A
                                                    Open, as an envelope
                                                  11. 22A
                                                    Item on a ballot
                                                  12. 24A
                                                    Fam member
                                                  13. 25A
                                                    Genie's grant
                                                  14. 27A
                                                    Video game strategy that harnesses the power of chance (and the reason I always lose at Mario Kart)
                                                  15. 33A
                                                    Syllables in "Hey Jude" or the Batman theme song
                                                  16. 34A
                                                    "Me and ___ and the Dying Girl" (2015 film)
                                                  17. 35A
                                                    "Marco!" response
                                                  18. 37A
                                                    It's spine-tingling!
                                                  19. 38A
                                                    Sip at slowly
                                                  20. 39A
                                                    Trade
                                                  21. 40A
                                                    Like a note that continues over a barline
                                                  22. 41A
                                                    It might end on a high note
                                                  23. 42A
                                                    Elites
                                                  24. 43A
                                                    Plymouth woodie and Subaru Outback, for two
                                                  25. 46A
                                                    I can't decide between two great ways to clue this; you could say I'm ___
                                                  26. 47A
                                                    Chill
                                                  27. 48A
                                                    Sneak along stealthily
                                                  28. 51A
                                                    Wide Japanese noodle
                                                  29. 53A
                                                    One of three for Newton
                                                  30. 56A
                                                    What Mary did with a little lamb
                                                  31. 57A
                                                    Deli fare often served on rye
                                                  32. 61A
                                                    A pirate's favorite verb?
                                                  33. 62A
                                                    "The Sound of Music" setting
                                                  34. 63A
                                                    Singer Mann
                                                  35. 64A
                                                    X
                                                  36. 65A
                                                    Ones who might be Great or Terrible?
                                                  37. 66A
                                                    Head ___ (and a hint to solving this meta)
                                                  Down
                                                  1. 1D
                                                    Like lingerie, or your grandmother's doilies
                                                  2. 2D
                                                    Layered beast
                                                  3. 3D
                                                    "Black Paintings" artist, or black bean brand
                                                  4. 4D
                                                    Busy Apr. org.
                                                  5. 5D
                                                    Watches Winston and Huxley while Pair-o-Ducks are away
                                                  6. 6D
                                                    Home of some gamelan music
                                                  7. 7D
                                                    Community advocated for by HRC
                                                  8. 8D
                                                    It's a phase
                                                  9. 9D
                                                    Slippery swimmer (or, one letter short of the part of a boat it might swim along)
                                                  10. 10D
                                                    Scrumdiddlyumptious!
                                                  11. 11D
                                                    Regrets Parisian streets?
                                                  12. 12D
                                                    Soup-loving Biblical twin
                                                  13. 13D
                                                    No more, no less
                                                  14. 18D
                                                    In addition
                                                  15. 23D
                                                    Sea captain's diary
                                                  16. 24D
                                                    Trekkie's calendar system
                                                  17. 25D
                                                    City in Poland or Indiana
                                                  18. 26D
                                                    ___ of Man
                                                  19. 27D
                                                    It may be regular, day-to-day, or first-name
                                                  20. 28D
                                                    Not fulfilled, as a need
                                                  21. 29D
                                                    Nervous system component
                                                  22. 30D
                                                    Conductor Alsop
                                                  23. 31D
                                                    Without a victor; or, parsed differently, currently available
                                                  24. 32D
                                                    Third film in M. Night Shyamalan's trilogy (it's a shame he didn't hire composer Philip for the score, if you ask me)
                                                  25. 33D
                                                    Turner or King Cole
                                                  26. 36D
                                                    Make a choice
                                                  27. 38D
                                                    It removes unwanted growth
                                                  28. 42D
                                                    Meeting plans
                                                  29. 44D
                                                    Attire for Willy Wonka or Abe Lincoln
                                                  30. 45D
                                                    Shakespeare's stomping grounds
                                                  31. 48D
                                                    Word after chit or before GPT
                                                  32. 49D
                                                    Like steak cooked to 125°F
                                                  33. 50D
                                                    First place?
                                                  34. 51D
                                                    Word before name or friendly
                                                  35. 52D
                                                    ___ Inn
                                                  36. 53D
                                                    It's beans
                                                  37. 54D
                                                    Taiwanese laptop giant
                                                  38. 55D
                                                    Sharpen
                                                  39. 58D
                                                    Six-pack components
                                                  40. 59D
                                                    Wharton deg.
                                                  41. 60D
                                                    Sharpness
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