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Are There Any Alternate Definitions?

◆ · By Danny K Bernstein · Published 2024-02-08T17:00:25.716Z

Meta Prompt
The solution to the meta is a musical written with alternate versions to accommodate different casts
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • benchen71 solved 2024-02-08T10:57:29.843Z
  • Mr Tex solved 2024-02-08T19:40:57.412Z
  • Hector solved 2024-02-08T19:41:42.889Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-02-08T21:34:31.145Z
  • MatthewL solved 2024-02-08T22:42:21.072Z
  • KayW solved 2024-02-09T02:05:46.148Z
  • Laura M solved 2024-02-09T07:40:47.826Z
  • SamKat9 solved 2024-02-09T08:55:34.036Z
  • hoover solved 2024-02-09T14:36:23.690Z
  • DIS solved 2024-02-09T16:25:33.515Z
  • boharr solved 2024-02-09T16:27:25.050Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2024-02-09T20:19:28.530Z
  • Meg solved 2024-02-09T20:21:26.773Z
  • heidi solved 2024-02-09T21:19:06.971Z
  • Aerion solved 2024-02-10T09:21:06.809Z
  • Philip Chow solved 2024-02-13T02:03:03.594Z
  • Alex Sisti solved 2024-02-29T17:04:53.894Z
  • Alvibu67 solved 2024-04-06T05:48:11.951Z

Comments

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  • benchen71 🤓9:27 · 2024-02-08T17:00:25.716Z
    That was clever! Never having heard of this musical, of course I over-complicated things and tried to enter XTHYME (grid order of the alternate entries) and then THE MYX (anagram of same, self-confirmed by sounding like "mix") which both sounded like absolute bangers, although sadly no one appears to have written those musicals. And then, after a personal nudge from the constructor, it appears the answer was just sitting there in my notes the whole time! :D
    • Hector 🤓10:46 · 2024-02-08T19:41:57.246Z
      Same!
      • hoover 3s · 2024-02-09T14:37:54.956Z
        Same with XTHYME! Except that I have heard of the musical and should have stopped when I saw SPELLING BEE. I went back to my notes and realized that I had gone too far and needed to back up a step.
      • Mr Tex 11:05 · 2024-02-08T19:41:49.423Z
        Very, clever. Like benchen, I made this much harder than it was.
        • Pair O Ducks 🤓5:24 · 2024-02-08T21:36:40.820Z
          Delightful! Putnam was the last one I figured out (apparently I need to brush up on my American history) and what's funny is I read it, thought "Oh, like Putnam County Spelling Bee," and then proceeded to also try and spell something out of XTHYME for a solid minute or two before smacking myself on the head!
          • MatthewL 🤓10:43 · 2024-02-08T22:44:00.253Z
            Yeah, I was flummoxed for a bit on XTHYME as well, but then something finally clicked and I remembered the spelling bee musical. Very clever! Thanks for the puzzle, Danny!
            • KayW 🤓7:41 · 2024-02-09T02:09:30.393Z
              Wow!! What a clever, fun, and elegantly constructed meta! I am amazed that you worked all the words of that title into this metanism so seamlessly!
              • Laura M 🤓8:39 · 2024-02-09T07:41:47.239Z
                Excellent! Like others, I spent way too long on XTHYME :-)
                • SamKat9 🤓9:09 · 2024-02-09T08:58:08.071Z
                  This was so clever! I've never heard of this musical so even though the answer was in my notes the whole time, I struggled for a bit. But then I searched Putnam County Spelling Bee and there it was!
                  • DIS 🤓8:16 · 2024-02-09T16:28:20.537Z
                    I really like having the words rather than their initials be the key -- nice change of pace.
                    • boharr 3s · 2024-02-09T16:30:18.357Z
                      I never heard of the musical and so also went the XTHYME route before Google helped. Thanks.
                      • Danny K Bernstein constructor · 2024-02-09T22:24:36.096Z
                        Explanation: Just as the hints at 43-Across, 44-Across, and 46-Across suggest, you're looking for alternate definitions (or answers) to the starred clues in the down clues ('LOOKUP' literally in 'DOWN CLUE'). The alternates are as follows: "Like the letter 'Y', alphabetically" --> 25th "Part of an APR loan?" --> Annual "Name from Salem 1692" --> Putnam "State subdivision" --> County "Famous Tori" --> Spelling "Careful! It stings!" --> Bee Thus, the answer being [one of my all-time faves] (The) 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
                        • Danny K Bernstein constructor · 2024-02-09T22:37:42.857Z
                          Easter Eggs/Other Fun Tidbits:
                          • This musical is traditionally performed with a small handful of pre-selected audience members being called up onstage and participating in the Spelling Bee. They're required to as "May I have the definition" and "May I have it used in a sentence" for every word they're asked. This becomes a running gag throughout the show.
                          • 51-Across is my homage to the show/an example of what one of these defintions would sound like. When used in a sentence: "When Sarah texted to say 'I'm dying,' Billy wasn't sure whether he was succumbing to illness, or experiencing laziness, disbelief, excitement, boredom, sexual arousal, or a high induced from cannabis, so he decided to text Lauren instead."
                          • 66-Down is a reference to the first lyric in "Pandemonium," a song the spellers sing about the unfairness of life (and spelling bees) shortly after an audience member is asked to spell 'cow.' (Definition: "It's a cow." Used in a sentence: "Please spell cow.")
                          • 41-Down and 65-Down feature two other clarification questions (non-audience) spellers can ask for
                          • 49-Across, 58-Across, and 61-Across all meant to give middle school vibes.
                          • And of course, it only felt right to make this puzzle a pangram. It's a Spelling Bee, after all.
                          • Philip Chow 🤓6:59 · 2024-02-13T02:22:35.958Z
                            thanks for sharing this... i loved reading about all these easter eggs!! omg i was traumatized by my 5th grade spelling bee that i vowed never to participate in another one ever again... there were 4 ppl left... i was given the word "dungarees"... i never heard of it before?! (in my head i thought it sounded like dunkaroos the cookie)... i asked for the definition: "fabric used to make jeans"... still no idea... i guessed "dungaries" and was eliminated and ran off the stage... the next speller got it wrong but remained on the stage due to some arbitrary rule that if there is a final 3, then you only get eliminated if the speller after you correctly spells the word that you got wrong... the three students left on the stage after me all spelled dungarees wrong... so they resumed the bee with a new word while i watched from off the stage as a lovely 3rd alternate 😭... i guess the silver lining is i got to learn about the unfairness of life early on
                          • Philip Chow 🤓6:59 · 2024-02-13T02:08:12.566Z
                            so good!! 👏👏👏 bravo... more please... not knowing that many musicals, the first thing i googled worked... which was "musical 25th..." and autocomplete gave me the rest so i completely missed the bonus XTHYME that everyone else found 😂
                            • woozy 18:16 · 2024-02-17T05:45:04.966Z
                              Never would have gotten it. I did get the tori spelling but that was the only one. I had no idea it would be the first word of the clues and had I gotten them the words as a group wouldn't have rung any bells.
                              Clever though.
                              Play today's daily mini crossword
                              1A
                              Where YouTube makes you tingle: Abbr.
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                              Across
                              1. 1A
                                Where YouTube makes you tingle: Abbr.
                              2. 5A
                                Arouse, as interest
                              3. 10A
                                Office nos.
                              4. 14A
                                SoCal Series from the 2000s
                              5. 16A
                                Frequent hangout
                              6. 17A
                                City north of Des Moines
                              7. 18A
                                *Like the letter 'Y', alphabetically
                              8. 20A
                                *Part of an APR loan?
                              9. 21A
                                Noon, for Nero
                              10. 22A
                                Phrase for the frigid?
                              11. 23A
                                Connections
                              12. 24A
                                Former jrs.
                              13. 27A
                                Poker for a princess
                              14. 29A
                                Stage actress Judy
                              15. 31A
                                *Name from Salem 1692
                              16. 34A
                                Revel in
                              17. 37A
                                Keep an ___ (watch closely)
                              18. 38A
                                Doctors Without Borders, for one: Abbr.
                              19. 40A
                                Culinary milestone for toddlers
                              20. 43A
                                Type of 46-Across
                              21. 44A
                                Find an alternate definition, perhaps
                              22. 46A
                                A good find, or a helpful hint toward one
                              23. 47A
                                The most contagious of a septet?
                              24. 49A
                                Common middle school age
                              25. 50A
                                "You will ___ stranger in the most unlikely..."
                              26. 51A
                                Succumbing to illness; also, a slang term for experiencing laziness, disbelief, excitement, boredom, sexual arousal, or a high induced from smoking cannabis
                              27. 53A
                                *State subdivision
                              28. 55A
                                Burden beasts
                              29. 57A
                                The day before one is Wed?
                              30. 58A
                                Bright students' org.
                              31. 59A
                                Itch
                              32. 61A
                                Permission-slip signer, maybe
                              33. 63A
                                "Are You The One" network
                              34. 65A
                                *Famous Tori
                              35. 67A
                                *Careful, it stings!
                              36. 72A
                                Collegiate assignment
                              37. 73A
                                Eel on a menu
                              38. 74A
                                Main artery
                              39. 75A
                                Something landed or cracked
                              40. 76A
                                Like some data
                              41. 77A
                                Name for a pastry or dragon
                              Down
                              1. 1D
                                Org. for Nadal and Federer
                              2. 2D
                                Word repeated in a Megan Thee Stallion song
                              3. 3D
                                "___ in Tights"
                              4. 4D
                                Bechamel base
                              5. 5D
                                ___ Beta Kappa
                              6. 6D
                                Wherefore art thou Romeo's foot?
                              7. 7D
                                Proton part
                              8. 8D
                                Fictitious
                              9. 9D
                                Summer in San Tropez
                              10. 10D
                                Net
                              11. 11D
                                25th of Dec.
                              12. 12D
                                Annual Hanoi celebration
                              13. 13D
                                GPS direction
                              14. 15D
                                Like some bowties
                              15. 19D
                                Level
                              16. 23D
                                Really enjoying lately
                              17. 24D
                                Discards
                              18. 25D
                                Synthetic material
                              19. 26D
                                Simmered
                              20. 28D
                                The entire Roman calendar?
                              21. 30D
                                Fastener type
                              22. 32D
                                Bee product
                              23. 33D
                                Awards acronym
                              24. 35D
                                Tummy trouble
                              25. 36D
                                Load, as a clown car
                              26. 39D
                                Green-lit
                              27. 41D
                                Language of origin for words like "boss" and "dollar"
                              28. 42D
                                They're saved for latecomers (hopefully)
                              29. 44D
                                Feral feline
                              30. 45D
                                Apartment
                              31. 48D
                                Utah park
                              32. 50D
                                High pt. of Sicily
                              33. 52D
                                Star twins?
                              34. 54D
                                Eastern ring match
                              35. 56D
                                Directing Christopher
                              36. 59D
                                County in Pennsylvania
                              37. 60D
                                "Twilight" series character
                              38. 62D
                                Spelling sort?
                              39. 64D
                                Cognac letters
                              40. 65D
                                Part of speech: Abbr.
                              41. 66D
                                "My oh my!" but spoken like a cow.
                              42. 67D
                                Shoe or drop preceder
                              43. 68D
                                Central
                              44. 69D
                                TV on TV?
                              45. 70D
                                Putnam Investments offering: Abbr.
                              46. 71D
                                Brit. flying group
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