A Romantic Centerpiece
◆ · By Mikey G · Published 2023-02-14T07:00:35.480Z
Meta Prompt
[Level 2.5] The answer to the meta is a 3-word phrase visually depicted in the grid.
Checking for previous play data...
1A
"Au ___!"
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Across
- 1A"Au ___!"
- 7APlays an 18-Across safe
- 13AShow
- 14ABrooks or Frank Robinson
- 15AReady for the shop?
- 16ATried
- 17AA Swedish fish version (WHY) was introduced in 2016
- 18AStake
- 20A"Down Along the ___" (1967 Bob Dylan tune)
- 21ACountry in which Zoulfa Katouh's 2022 book "As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow" is set: Abbr.
- 22APancakes, e.g.
- 24ATo be: Sp.
- 25A"So, Cinderella, how did you like your soiree?" "___!"
- 28A___ de mots: Fr. for "in a few words" (and found left to right, though not consecutively, in ENTREPRENEUR)
- 30AEarly homes?
- 33ABreak, in a way
- 35ABirch relatives
- 36A"THIS IS ___" (James Earl Jones, that's your cue!)
- 37AYou don't want to get in one
- 39A"Hopped off the plane at LAX / With the knowledge that this was the time zone in which I was presently located" ("Party in the USA" but an alternate version)
- 40AEvent first held at British medieval churches around Easter
- 44ASomething yours truly could have yelled when he got the idea for this meta
- 50AWhat a peabrain!
- 51AJane from "Frasier"
- 52AIt might be out
- 53ABlessed event?
Down
- 1DMulligans
- 2D"___ Little Kiss" (1986 Bruce Hornsby tune)
- 3DMature before being chosen, say
- 4DInjective : one-to-one :: surjective : ___ (thanks, Mike, I guess?)
- 5D"Look at my frozen hexahedra!" "What an ___ job!"
- 6DEastern ___ (Oklahoma's state tree)
- 7DYou'll often find jets here
- 8DPoetic preposition that I've probably clued as "Poetic preposition that I've probably clued as 'before, before' before" before
- 9DWink in Tiddlywinks, e.g.
- 10DComment from one who wants you to retire
- 11DEcole student who becomes a number with one letter added
- 12DMeal consumed during Nisan
- 19DSeventh Greek letter
- 22DIf you're a stretched piano string, you have to be carefully ___
- 23DCharacter in 1 Samuel
- 26DFirst word in a 1963 Chiffons hit
- 27DInc., in England
- 28DPC Key I wish I could use in real life
- 29DPalindromic diarist
- 31DReading, e.g., briefly
- 32DReal ending?
- 34D"The ___ Sweater" (Scott Hilburn comic)
- 35DBikini and others
- 38DMember in a Numic-speaking indigenous tribe
- 40DNot exo-
- 41DFeds
- 42DObserved (as in the sentence "Some vowels in this grid aren't ___ as much as others")
- 43DHook's henchman who did more for crosswords than he did for Captain Hook
- 44DTexter's "The way I see it..."
- 45DPre-___ student
- 46DSwing voter: Abbr.
- 47DFirst lady?
- 48D___ Percé (Columbia River Plateau tribe)
- 49DHalf a fly