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Break It Up You Two

· By Mikey G · Published 2024-11-23T18:00:25.353Z

Meta Prompt
[Level 2.5] The answer to the meta is an 8-letter word.
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • oldjudge solved 2024-11-23T18:01:25.143Z
  • KayW solved 2024-11-23T18:26:19.238Z
  • LarsCaine solved 2024-11-23T18:37:44.801Z
  • Darrell solved 2024-11-23T18:56:39.207Z
  • Tom Wilson solved 2024-11-23T19:02:09.759Z
  • Meg solved 2024-11-23T19:18:22.990Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2024-11-23T19:40:07.367Z
  • Hector solved 2024-11-23T19:51:45.367Z
  • rjy solved 2024-11-23T20:06:32.328Z
  • FrankieHeck solved 2024-11-23T20:48:51.252Z
  • boharr solved 2024-11-23T20:54:17.446Z
  • Tim solved 2024-11-23T20:56:23.649Z
  • heidi solved 2024-11-23T21:21:54.528Z
  • markhr solved 2024-11-23T21:40:37.517Z
  • Danny K Bernstein solved 2024-11-23T21:59:30.133Z
  • lbray53 solved 2024-11-23T22:58:21.884Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2024-11-23T23:06:51.334Z
  • Abide solved 2024-11-23T23:10:38.321Z
  • Dave C solved 2024-11-23T23:12:32.006Z
  • JM solved 2024-11-23T23:45:03.397Z
  • whimsy solved 2024-11-24T00:17:42.364Z
  • Carolyn solved 2024-11-24T00:33:50.998Z
  • BarbaraK solved 2024-11-24T01:07:01.341Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2024-11-24T01:27:45.190Z
  • Bbaack solved 2024-11-24T02:18:35.005Z
  • Darth solved 2024-11-24T03:56:15.789Z
  • Toast solved 2024-11-24T04:39:53.584Z
  • Berto solved 2024-11-24T05:04:27.248Z
  • rvkal solved 2024-11-24T05:38:32.972Z
  • benchen71 solved 2024-11-24T07:11:22.731Z
  • DJB solved 2024-11-24T11:16:15.770Z
  • Qmark solved 2024-11-24T13:07:30.637Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-11-24T14:20:50.016Z
  • SJ solved 2024-11-24T14:44:01.877Z
  • DrTom solved 2024-11-24T15:23:50.053Z
  • Myelbow solved 2024-11-24T16:29:30.774Z
  • woozy solved 2024-11-24T16:52:54.603Z
  • Morendil solved 2024-11-24T17:24:07.513Z
  • andeux solved 2024-11-24T17:56:57.764Z
  • MatthewL solved 2024-11-24T18:04:30.433Z
  • Bird Lives solved 2024-11-24T20:17:23.279Z
  • HeadinHome solved 2024-11-24T20:32:11.019Z
  • Gutman solved 2024-11-24T20:49:34.864Z
  • imontoo solved 2024-11-25T03:05:57.513Z
  • DIS solved 2024-11-25T14:31:58.087Z
  • Joe solved 2024-11-25T15:11:39.006Z
  • Alex Sisti solved 2024-11-25T16:07:46.896Z
  • BrennerTJ solved 2024-11-25T19:12:39.080Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2024-11-26T13:08:36.362Z
  • Lance solved 2024-11-27T09:06:52.667Z
  • Stun Gun solved 2024-11-28T17:36:35.378Z
  • Eric Porter solved 2024-11-28T19:39:26.220Z
  • Meta World Peace solved 2024-11-29T15:57:23.181Z
  • ELSavage solved 2024-12-01T21:32:54.490Z

Comments

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  • Mikey G constructor · 2024-11-23T18:00:25.353Z
    Answer: WISHBONE
    Explanation: There are eight 8-letter compound words in the pattern 4, 4. Each of these compound words can be broken up further with a four-letter grid entry to form a...compound compound word, I guess? For instance, HOMEROOM = WORK (homework, workroom), TIREMASK (yes, this is a thing - but it was the most contrived entry, I'll admit!) = IRON (tire iron, iron mask). So the new word gives us two additional compound words and/or phrases. The initial letters of these inserted words spell the apropos WISHBONE, an item that is often broken up in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday! Finding the words that worked was a bit of a challenge, but feel free to leave more in the comments! Happy turkey day, everyone!
    • Mikey G constructor · 2024-11-23T18:00:25.353Z
      Oh, I probably should also give the full list, haha: WORK, IRON, SHOW, HILL, BIRD, OPEN, NOTE, EASY
      • Meg 2s · 2024-11-23T19:19:16.399Z
        Very nice!! Just have to find 2 words. Great puzzle and the puns were delightfully horrible!
        • Hector 3s · 2024-11-23T19:52:10.873Z
          Very cool!
          • Tom Wilson 🤓12:35 · 2024-11-23T20:07:24.173Z
            That was a fun one, Mikey. Thanks for the challenge ... and for the gift card!
            • Tim 18:29 · 2024-11-23T20:56:43.099Z
              Happy Thanksgiving
              • boharr 4s · 2024-11-23T20:56:05.275Z
                Very impressive construction. And pun fun too. Thanks
                • FrankieHeck 🤓15:44 · 2024-11-23T20:50:49.413Z
                  Fun puzzle, Mikey. I'm thankful for your metas!
                  • Cindy Heisler 7s · 2024-11-23T23:10:09.067Z
                    Fun one, Mikey. As always, I enjoyed the puns. Thanks!
                    • Dave C 2s · 2024-11-23T23:14:44.627Z
                      It was fun. At first I tried to mix up up the 2 four letter words, but that got me nowhere.
                      • Abide 2s · 2024-11-23T23:14:01.848Z
                        Loved this one. I almost backsolved to FISHBONE based on 15-A. Then thought about the title and found the W.
                        • lbray53 2s · 2024-11-24T00:00:54.307Z
                          So fun! Took me awhile but finally saw it. Great construction.
                          ALSO thanks for the gift card.
                          • Carolyn 4s · 2024-11-24T00:39:09.123Z
                            That was fun! Many happy memories of breaking the turkey WISHBONE after Thanksgiving! And, thanks again for the gift card. Now I can buy myself a crossword mug ;)
                            • whimsy 8:14 · 2024-11-24T00:31:00.065Z
                              The first thing I thought of after successfully test-solving was the PBS show about the Jack Russell terrier that I used to watch with my kids back in the day. 🎵 "What's the story, Wishbone." 😄 But then I quickly realized how close we were to the holiday -- Oh, right!
                              Loved the puzzle, Mikey -- It's just about the furthest thing from being a turkey!
                              • BarbaraK 🤓12:53 · 2024-11-24T01:21:42.675Z
                                What a lovely Thanksgiving puzzle!
                                • whimsy 8:14 · 2024-11-24T19:11:50.493Z
                                  I loved the way there was so little indication (well, except maybe for the over-baked peas) that it was a Thanksgiving puzzle until the happy ending!
                                • Darth 🤓27:14 · 2024-11-24T04:01:33.856Z
                                  Fun puz! I saw them, but started to make up some of my own: home show/showroom; flip note/ notebook... haha :D Love the Thanksgiving theme. Have a good one, MikeyG!
                                  • DrTom 2:36 · 2024-11-24T15:43:46.122Z
                                    Yes, I had those in my list as well as HIGH HILL CARD, LOVE SHOW SONG, DOWN LOW SIDE and some even more inventive. I also tried making new words like GRID IRON, LIMA PEAS (I mean why should BEANS have all the fun)....
                                  • benchen71 🤓12:03 · 2024-11-24T07:12:49.783Z
                                    Great aha moment! Happy thanksgiving, Mikey! 🦃
                                    • Qmark 2s · 2024-11-24T13:07:44.969Z
                                      Enjoyed it...thanks Mikey!
                                      • woozy 15:40 · 2024-11-24T16:53:52.556Z
                                        Took me long enough! Shouldn't but it did.
                                        • DrTom 2:36 · 2024-11-24T15:38:43.094Z
                                          The puns were predictably awful (so I loved them) and the puzzle predictably delightful. I had sooo many false starts yesterday/last night: HOMEROOM (Ha HOMER, lets look for MARGE), NATASHA (is there a BORIS?), three similar AHA entries, that cannot have been by chance (turns out it probably wasn't), a clue that says AHA is the way you solve, Ok, there is SIS (probably someone that heard "Break it up you two") TET, AHA so HIE??? There are plenty of same letters separated by other letters....to heck with it I'm going to bed. Then Mr. Subliminal takes over while brushing my teeth: TIRE IRON IRON MASK (since TIREMASK was about the most forced of them all) - OF COURSE and that was what the AHA clue was AH and HA. I did not run out to solve it (it was 2:30 AM) but literally slept on it. This AM I started searching in earnest, certain when I got an S and an I that it was going to be SIBLINGS, but I should have known Mikey would be topical - WISHBONE indeed, I WISH they were all so FUNNY so they would appeal to my FUNNY BONE.
                                          • MatthewL 🤓11:53 · 2024-11-24T18:06:30.030Z
                                            Saw nothing yesterday, but picked it up again and saw it almost immediately. I'll admit the SSS helped put me in the right frame of mind. Thanks for the puzzle, Mikey!
                                            • Bird Lives 3s · 2024-11-24T20:21:08.793Z
                                              Impressive. And you did it the hard way -- with the letters in order of the derivative entries rather than the order of the themers. (I made a quick wrong guess -- I saw GRID and IRON directly across from one another.
                                              • HeadinHome 🤓3:45 · 2024-11-24T20:37:16.965Z
                                                Love these treasure-hunty kind of puzzles! I was going to try to come up with one of these but couldn’t… which makes it all the more amazing that you thought of 8, and ALL the words uses are 4 letters. Wow.
                                                • imontoo 6s · 2024-11-25T03:06:52.559Z
                                                  Nice workout, Mike! Really enjoyed it.
                                                  • Meta World Peace 4s · 2024-11-29T16:45:34.123Z
                                                    Once I realized what was going on, my first guess for the "tying-together" final answer was something like DISSOLVE. Yours is better, Mikey--and extra appropriate with the "stuffing" needed for those in-between words!
                                                    • ELSavage 🤓30:06 · 2024-12-01T21:33:22.416Z
                                                      late to the party, but enjoyed it nonetheless
                                                      1A
                                                      Language featured in Sara Novic's 2022 novel "True Biz," briefly
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                                                      Across
                                                      1. 1A
                                                        Language featured in Sara Novic's 2022 novel "True Biz," briefly
                                                      2. 4A
                                                        Yak
                                                      3. 8A
                                                        Member of the fam
                                                      4. 11A
                                                        Town with a tower
                                                      5. 15A
                                                        Fish seen in Tahiti?
                                                      6. 16A
                                                        Heroine of Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railroad"
                                                      7. 17A
                                                        Qty.
                                                      8. 18A
                                                        Sesame starter?
                                                      9. 19A
                                                        Place for pupils, perhaps
                                                      10. 21A
                                                        Protective covering used while painting your wheels
                                                      11. 23A
                                                        Whack
                                                      12. 24A
                                                        Understood
                                                      13. 26A
                                                        Young adult thriller author Preston or pop singer Bedingfield
                                                      14. 27A
                                                        Some batteries
                                                      15. 29A
                                                        "Want to go rowing with me?" [silence] "___ not"
                                                      16. 31A
                                                        High degree
                                                      17. 32A
                                                        "I need to get rid of these rugged rocks!" "Put them on ___ list!"
                                                      18. 35A
                                                        Trout, for one
                                                      19. 37A
                                                        What a fabulous guy
                                                      20. 41A
                                                        "Let's do this!"
                                                      21. 43A
                                                        Con
                                                      22. 45A
                                                        "You betcha!"
                                                      23. 46A
                                                        A through G but not H, e.g.
                                                      24. 47A
                                                        Holiday in Hanoi
                                                      25. 48A
                                                        Word sung twice after "Que"
                                                      26. 49A
                                                        Sounds of satisfaction
                                                      27. 50A
                                                        Some are chocolate
                                                      28. 53A
                                                        He might hang out at Peyton's place
                                                      29. 55A
                                                        My jokes about mountains are ___ areas!
                                                      30. 57A
                                                        How much ice cream from my freezer I ate last night
                                                      31. 60A
                                                        2007 Sara Bareilles hit that leads up to its title with "I'm not gonna write you a..."
                                                      32. 63A
                                                        Simple form of animation
                                                      33. 64A
                                                        "How was the test on the sudoriparous glands?" "No ___!"
                                                      34. 65A
                                                        I could put a pun here about typographical marks, but you wouldn't ___ all about it
                                                      35. 67A
                                                        Some beige shades
                                                      36. 68A
                                                        King of France
                                                      37. 70A
                                                        Sinuous swimmer
                                                      38. 71A
                                                        "___ Beso" (1962 song by 14-Down)
                                                      39. 72A
                                                        Waning (but I thought waning isn't everything!)
                                                      40. 76A
                                                        Past-tense verb in the title of the 1975 Best Picture winner
                                                      41. 78A
                                                        When duplicated, the Road Runner's sound
                                                      42. 82A
                                                        Lowest hand in poker, despite its name
                                                      43. 84A
                                                        What I'll likely do to the cookies in the oven (sorry in advance)
                                                      44. 86A
                                                        Singer India.___
                                                      45. 87A
                                                        Xbox rival
                                                      46. 88A
                                                        I mean, it's a job
                                                      47. 89A
                                                        Black or Red
                                                      48. 90A
                                                        Nod in reverse?
                                                      49. 91A
                                                        "Beeps and boops" tunes (says my mom): Abbr.
                                                      50. 92A
                                                        Meh
                                                      51. 93A
                                                        QB's gains (it's not a sports meta, I promise!)
                                                      Down
                                                      1. 1D
                                                        Reacts to twinkling holiday lights
                                                      2. 2D
                                                        A TV executive, producing a special about highways: "Let's get this road on the ___!"
                                                      3. 3D
                                                        South American capital that anagrams to an African nation
                                                      4. 4D
                                                        "Down on the Corner" band, for short
                                                      5. 5D
                                                        Catchy parts of tunes
                                                      6. 6D
                                                        If you're circle is made of this element, it's a ferrous wheel
                                                      7. 7D
                                                        "Well, give me an example!"
                                                      8. 8D
                                                        Plopped down
                                                      9. 9D
                                                        "Sign me up!"
                                                      10. 10D
                                                        Watchband
                                                      11. 11D
                                                        Hair ointments
                                                      12. 12D
                                                        You can drink these brews at hoppy hour, briefly
                                                      13. 13D
                                                        Jam ___
                                                      14. 14D
                                                        See 71-Across
                                                      15. 20D
                                                        Tchotchke holder
                                                      16. 22D
                                                        "A Little Hope" author Joella
                                                      17. 25D
                                                        When the dog won the competition, he got ___ging rights
                                                      18. 28D
                                                        The gardener-turned-emcee was the ___ of ceremonies
                                                      19. 30D
                                                        Mulligans
                                                      20. 32D
                                                        Movie SFX
                                                      21. 33D
                                                        Dorm VIPs
                                                      22. 34D
                                                        Entertaining (usually ending in "-ng" instead of the "-ve" here - hey, two free letters)
                                                      23. 35D
                                                        Latin I verb
                                                      24. 36D
                                                        "When I place bids at an auction, I've got a ___ on my mind"
                                                      25. 38D
                                                        Takes, as an exam
                                                      26. 39D
                                                        Lofty lines
                                                      27. 40D
                                                        Ginger Cat, e.g.
                                                      28. 42D
                                                        "Private ___" (B-52's song)
                                                      29. 44D
                                                        "___ never!"
                                                      30. 46D
                                                        Wild org.
                                                      31. 49D
                                                        What scum!
                                                      32. 51D
                                                        Suisse peaks
                                                      33. 52D
                                                        Salad inventor with a rhyming name
                                                      34. 53D
                                                        Silly string?
                                                      35. 54D
                                                        Daily extreme
                                                      36. 56D
                                                        Business abbr.
                                                      37. 57D
                                                        Elev.
                                                      38. 58D
                                                        Letters for debtors
                                                      39. 59D
                                                        Some videotape brands - remember those?
                                                      40. 61D
                                                        Like some pots
                                                      41. 62D
                                                        Impassive
                                                      42. 63D
                                                        Jolly good people
                                                      43. 66D
                                                        46-Down official
                                                      44. 69D
                                                        Thunderstruck
                                                      45. 71D
                                                        Items with such pour craftsmanship
                                                      46. 72D
                                                        "So, that's how you solve it!"
                                                      47. 73D
                                                        My puns about this creature can't be beak!
                                                      48. 74D
                                                        Exchange premium (its only consonant is one "G")
                                                      49. 75D
                                                        "Do you need these extra crosswords?" "Nah, get ___ of them"
                                                      50. 77D
                                                        "30 Minute Meals" staple
                                                      51. 79D
                                                        "Piece of cake!"
                                                      52. 80D
                                                        Just managed, with "out" (WHAT COULD IT BE HMMM)
                                                      53. 81D
                                                        "You don't like my veggies? I'll give you a ___ of my mind!"
                                                      54. 83D
                                                        Opacate
                                                      55. 85D
                                                        "It's a Wonderful Life" studio
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