CROSSHAREmoreMenu
A Thorny Subject
◆ · By Capn Rick · Published 2022-07-11T09:16:07.854Z
Meta Prompt
The meta answer is a Gothic novel.
Checking for previous play data...
Leaderboard (updated hourly)
- Cindy Heisler solved 2022-07-11T10:23:00.931Z
- Rufus T Firefly solved 2022-07-11T11:52:41.566Z
- Hector solved 2022-07-11T12:29:57.731Z
- Tom Wilson solved 2022-07-11T12:37:10.353Z
- FrankieHeck solved 2022-07-11T13:05:45.296Z
- BarbaraK solved 2022-07-11T14:10:33.884Z
- JM solved 2022-07-11T14:21:43.848Z
- dannyvee solved 2022-07-11T14:24:59.171Z
- DIS solved 2022-07-11T14:27:36.614Z
- oldjudge solved 2022-07-11T14:50:34.194Z
- I K Snamhcok solved 2022-07-11T15:41:31.942Z
- BrennerTJ solved 2022-07-11T15:48:05.920Z
- Schmeel solved 2022-07-11T16:06:29.092Z
- whimsy solved 2022-07-11T16:23:02.442Z
- madhatter5 solved 2022-07-11T16:29:28.579Z
- Paul S solved 2022-07-11T16:51:08.603Z
- SJMcK solved 2022-07-11T16:54:52.503Z
- Wendy S HeadinHome solved 2022-07-11T17:01:43.344Z
- DebbieC solved 2022-07-11T17:32:11.084Z
- Carolyn solved 2022-07-11T17:36:26.227Z
- Gutman solved 2022-07-11T17:39:48.689Z
- woozy solved 2022-07-11T18:17:25.048Z
- Laura M solved 2022-07-11T18:29:02.926Z
- Tyrpmom solved 2022-07-11T19:08:50.494Z
- heidi solved 2022-07-11T20:24:22.279Z
- Cindy Weatherman solved 2022-07-11T20:54:51.731Z
- Hidden in 3D solved 2022-07-11T21:23:35.471Z
- Anita and Steve solved 2022-07-11T21:24:34.642Z
- CromsFury solved 2022-07-11T21:51:59.602Z
- Meg solved 2022-07-11T22:11:13.546Z
- Ergcat solved 2022-07-12T00:01:32.178Z
- Teamdoubletow solved 2022-07-12T00:18:57.619Z
- LesY solved 2022-07-12T00:47:53.196Z
- Bbaack solved 2022-07-12T00:59:31.034Z
- Dow Jones solved 2022-07-12T02:23:12.808Z
- clev solved 2022-07-12T03:00:15.191Z
- Abide solved 2022-07-12T03:12:28.646Z
- michaelm solved 2022-07-12T06:13:42.555Z
- Ash solved 2022-07-12T06:38:33.182Z
- ReB solved 2022-07-12T10:57:53.952Z
- dplass solved 2022-07-12T11:04:37.222Z
- minimuggle solved 2022-07-12T13:15:09.297Z
- LisaT solved 2022-07-12T16:40:44.701Z
- markhr solved 2022-07-12T18:36:09.973Z
- CPJohnson solved 2022-07-12T19:57:48.754Z
- Qmark solved 2022-07-12T20:34:52.483Z
- ajk solved 2022-07-12T23:02:14.077Z
- Dave C solved 2022-07-13T00:17:16.192Z
- andeux solved 2022-07-13T02:48:29.197Z
- JHSeeman solved 2022-07-13T12:34:43.399Z
- david solved 2022-07-13T21:39:57.256Z
- jbird solved 2022-07-13T22:41:27.793Z
- Carolyn B solved 2022-07-14T10:26:00.660Z
- Johnny Luau solved 2022-07-14T15:55:02.035Z
- KayW solved 2022-07-14T19:33:43.757Z
- LadyBird solved 2022-07-14T19:45:48.529Z
- Golem solved 2022-07-14T21:16:19.816Z
- Charles Montpetit solved 2022-07-14T21:19:57.218Z
- bereolos solved 2022-07-15T02:01:52.653Z
- edestlin solved 2022-07-15T12:41:58.566Z
- Alex R solved 2022-07-15T15:59:16.905Z
- Alvibu67 solved 2022-07-15T23:30:42.364Z
- kyakkat solved 2022-07-16T22:36:15.331Z
- Julia solved 2022-07-21T02:27:29.978Z
- Samik solved 2022-09-11T14:53:16.596Z
Comments
Sign in with google to leave a comment of your own:
- Cindy Heisler 2s · 2022-07-11T10:25:17.626ZVery nice puzzle to start the week. Literature much more to my liking than some other topics. Loved it! Thanks!!
- Hector 4s · 2022-07-11T12:34:57.474ZSounds like a horror novel -- were they all named Clark?What a polished grid; a joy to solve. Thanks, Rick!
- Thanks a lot, Hector. I do think they were all named Clark!
- DIS 🤓4:38 · 2022-07-11T14:28:04.550ZImpressive construction -- thanks.
- Thanks, DIS. It took quite a few attempts to get all those GABLES to match up symmetrically.
- I K Snamhcok 2s · 2022-07-11T15:42:29.034ZQuite the construction! Thanks, Cap’n!
- whimsy 11:47 · 2022-07-11T16:34:06.311ZI remember liking this one a lot!
- madhatter5 3s · 2022-07-11T16:29:44.666ZClever! Thanks Capn!
- Wendy S HeadinHome 🤓3:06 · 2022-07-11T17:03:41.822ZUsed to be an English teacher and now am an architectural designer. Right up my alley! (except not a fan of gothic architecture necessarily). Also, hello, Isaac!
- Thank you, Wendy. A perfect puzzle for you! And you were the first solver to mention Isaac!
- Carolyn 3s · 2022-07-11T17:48:54.869ZFun! Found lots of other gothic words in the grid before I realized what was going on! Loved it.
- Laura M 🤓7:04 · 2022-07-11T18:30:54.926ZNice one! Suspected the answer as soon as I finished the grid, but took a little longer to justify it.
- Nice job, Laura! I tried my best to hide those GABLEs!
- Hidden in 3D 6s · 2022-07-11T21:28:10.684ZAll the Bs in the grid were really bothering me until my brain finally registered that there was a very good reason for that! What a fantastic puzzle and meta! Thanks, Rick!
- Thank you, Hidden! Glad the Bs led you to the GABLES.
- Ergcat 3s · 2022-07-12T00:02:27.183ZVery clever! Took me a while to put it together as I was overthinking it! Finally got the “aha”!
- Nice job, Ergcat. Glad you experienced the "aha moment".
- Teamdoubletow 3s · 2022-07-12T00:21:58.656ZSorry for the inadvertent incorrect answer. I hit submit a before getting it all in. We had a blast figuring out this one! I liked that the grid provided reinforcement of the idea. Thanks so much!
- Glad you enjoyed it, Team! I just thought I'd keep it local again. The House is about 10 minutes from my house.
- Bbaack 12:37 · 2022-07-12T01:01:51.174ZNicely done! Had to google to figure out the punny title!
- I still don't get it. :(
- ReB 6s · 2022-07-12T20:17:43.837ZThe author of the The House of Seven Gables is Nathaniel HawTHORNe
- michaelm 🤓10:19 · 2022-07-12T06:16:29.779ZAs always, thanks Cap’n Rick. What a creative mind! Never read it but now on my short list.
- ReB 6s · 2022-07-12T11:07:01.207ZI saw the probable answer almost immediately (from 21A + 27A + 55A), but it took a fresh look just before heading to bed last night to see the first GABLE that unlocked the mechanism and prove that my surmise was correct. The title was icing on the cake.Very clever to create a grid that you could fit them all in symmetrically. (I knew something was up with the unusual grid symmetry, but it's clear in retrospect you needed that layout to fit in the seven GABLES in an aesthetically-pleasing pattern.)
- Thanks, ReB! Yes I had to use vertical symmetry to get those 7 GABLES to fit into a decent pattern. It was challenging, but I'm glad the end result is turning out to be fun for solvers.
- Qmark 5s · 2022-07-12T20:35:22.967Zenjoyed it!
- Fun puzzle and elegant construction - thanks!
1A
Trade blockade
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
Across
- 1ATrade blockade
- 8ALittle crawler sometimes called a roly-poly
- 15ASpanish treasure ship
- 16AOf service
- 17ASwiss cheese
- 18AIBM nickname
- 19AU-turn from NNW
- 20ABlue Jays, on scoreboards
- 21AReal-estate listing
- 24ASched. placeholder
- 27ACapital of Oregon
- 31AWeapons, to Caesar
- 32ACries loudly, like a banshee
- 34AHefty volume
- 35AConfederate soldier, for short
- 36ADecorative garden "guardian"
- 37AOrioles, on scoreboards
- 38AWendy's last name in "Peter Pan"
- 41AReady for market
- 44ACandied, as fruits
- 45A"Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" singer Crystal
- 46AWorkers without stingers
- 52ABack muscles, for short
- 55ANumber of times a Gothic feature is depicted in this grid
- 56ASunrise direction
- 60ASphere
- 61A"Love Boat" character
- 62AWhere 61-Across worked
- 63ACarpenter's punch tool
- 66APleasant
- 69AConstruction beams
- 70AInscribe
- 71AConfuses
- 72ABelittled
Down
- 1DOmelet ingredient
- 2DDeface
- 3D___-ray Disc
- 4DActress and activist Milano
- 5DActress Witherspoon
- 6D"Earth in the Balance" author
- 7DInseparable
- 8DPlace for a pint
- 9D"___ soup yet?"
- 10DKids' building blocks
- 11DMaze-running rodent
- 12DOPEC unit
- 13DCurved Alaskan knife
- 14D"Golly!"
- 21DGood start?
- 22DHair product, Preference by L'___
- 23DEclipse shadow
- 24DNASA beverage
- 25DLife story, for short
- 26DCharitable donations
- 28DHotel area
- 29DOnline shopping mecca
- 30DFree-for-all
- 32DChicago superstation
- 33DPoseidon's domain
- 39DSome TV screens
- 40DComparative suffix
- 42DBigger than med.
- 43DPeer Gynt's mother
- 47DBasketry willows
- 48DHatchlings' homes
- 49DZsa Zsa's sister
- 50DBlues street of Memphis
- 51DCalifornia live oak
- 52DMiddle of May?
- 53D"It's ___!" (speakeasy cry)
- 54DClassic Ford, for short
- 57DArafat's successor
- 58DSoothing ointment
- 59DCornered
- 64D"Bad" cholesterol
- 65DObserve
- 67DSoviet spy org.
- 68DCoach Parseghian
Loading...