PCC#34 "Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls"
◆ · By Philip Chow · Published 2024-05-18T16:26:01.162Z
Meta Prompt
[Level 5] Meta prompt: The answer to the meta is a traffic sign
CAUTION This puzzle contains several red herrings designed to lead you astray to fake (but very plausible) answers!! Please don't get too discouraged, keep looking, and try try again!!Hint #1: The title of the puzzle is "Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls" (emphasis on the DON'T)
Hint #2: Did you look up the lyrics to the song mentioned in 65-Down?
Hint #3: "Don't go chasin' waterfalls / Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to"
Hint #4: There are a total of 8 clues with a well-known lake or river in them
Hint #5: Here's a breakdown of the 5 rivers and 3 lakes: 3 in the US, 2 in Africa, 1 in South America, 1 in France, 1 in China
Hint #6: If the first letters of the relevant entries don't make any sense in grid order (top to bottom), perhaps you're looking at it the wrong way?
Checking for previous play data...
(no waterfall emoji so closest i could get)... hope you caught the red herrings 
1A
Start of a spider's description, in a children's song
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Across
- 1AStart of a spider's description, in a children's song
- 5A"Carpe ___!" ("Seize the day!")
- 9AFish than can jump up waterfalls
- 15AFish often served with a lemon wedge
- 16ANewton who was inspired by an apple falling from a tree
- 18ADisconnect, as a team of oxen
- 19AMore or less
- 21A"Parting is such sweet ___"
- 22A"If boyhood and ___ are but vanity, must it not be our ambition to become men?" (quote from "Bank of the Seine" painter Van Gogh)
- 23ANile slitherer
- 25ANegatively or positively charged particles
- 26AGimlets and screwdrivers
- 29APlayful aquatic mammals that hold hands while sleeping
- 31ASuffix that means "more or less"
- 33ARegret
- 34AOutgoing message that might end with "please leave a message after the beep"
- 38A"Umbrella" singer, for short
- 39AEn pointe, in ballet
- 41AGPS suggestion
- 42A"___ Tough Enough" (pro wrestling reality show where Jeremiah "Mississippi" Riggs placed third)
- 43ALike two peas in ___
- 45AMakes butter the old-fashioned way
- 47AInexperienced player, in online gaming slang
- 48APlace of worship
- 50AKigali's country, to the IOC
- 51A"Nah... don't think so"
- 53AVillain in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" or the Flame Lord in "Adventure Time"
- 55A"... ___ a redemption that I know I can never deserve" (Kratos's final monologue in "God of War Ragnarök")
- 57ADigital audio file extension
- 58ALike going on a wild-goose chase
- 60AIn medias ___ (in the midst of the plot)
- 63ANestlé chocolate bar (or an ab exercise to work off said chocolate bar)
- 64ALike the brightest teeth
- 66AVenue for drag performer Victoria "Porkchop" Parker
- 69AMovie format that came before DVD
- 71ASteadfastly maintained, as one's principles
- 72ATaiwanese laptop maker whose name originated from the last four letters of a winged horse in Greek mythology
- 73A"Yay!"
- 75AHer biggest hit song begins "Do you believe in life after love?"
- 76ACraggy peak
- 77ATahoe-to-Reno direction: Abbr.
- 79ADrink eagerly, as a puppy might
- 81A"Yikes! A mouse!," in comics
- 82ATorrentially spewed forth, as a waterfall
- 85AClass for some immigrants: Abbr.
- 86A___ Titanic
- 87APurchases from Amazon
- 88ABroadcast again, as an old episode of "Seinfeld" or "Superior Donuts"
- 90ABars
- 93AGandalf portrayer McKellen with the line "You shall not pass!"
- 94AGroup of contestants on "Survivor"
- 97AHeavy burdens
- 99A"Really!"
- 104AMost confident
- 105A"___ Meenie" (2010 Sean Kingston/Justin Bieber song about an indecisive lover)
- 106ACommunity represented at a pride parade
- 107AYuks it up on stage in an overly exaggerated manner
- 108APresent with a Yellow Card, at the World Cup
- 109ABiblical twin
Down
- 1DRoad trip game played "with my little eye"
- 2DEl ___ (wooden roller coaster in Six Flags Great Adventure)
- 3DDetective with a keen sense of smell for sniffing out clues
- 4D"The best is ___ come"
- 5DLike some home improvement projects, briefly
- 6DSuffix for a philosophy
- 7DWater, en francais (pronounced like the letter "O")
- 8D___ and cheese
- 9DBe mistrustful of
- 10DIn ___-win situation (stuck)
- 11DExpression of strong emotion in poetry, art, music, etc. (Var.)
- 12DDoctor in an H.G. Wells novel
- 13D"___ your own" (2020 mxmtoon song ft. Carly Rae Jepsen)
- 14DCurrent events
- 17DEstate of a winegrower
- 20DAuthor of "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience"
- 24D___ the pot (causes trouble)
- 27DOffice midday meal break
- 28D"Family Guy" creator MacFarlane
- 29DWildly deducts too much from one's paycheck (yielding a bigger refund upon filing taxes)
- 30D"Feel So High" singer Des'___
- 31DS&L offerings that combine two types of bank accounts
- 32DSteal gas by sucking it up through a tube
- 35DMilitary no-show: Abbr.
- 36DTriumphant outburst
- 37DDick ___, NFL Hall of Fame coach who popularized the zone blitz
- 40D"Be ___ Guest" (Disney song sung by a candelabra)
- 44DNickname for NBA legend Julius Erving, who won the first-ever slam dunk contest
- 46DSubstance in the sea's H2O
- 47DDiv. in which the Phillies are currently leading
- 49DDried coconut meat
- 51DNeighborhood spot to do laundry
- 52DNail polish brand
- 54D"Seduction of the Minotaur" novelist Anaïs who said "The only abnormality is the incapacity to love"
- 56DChop down with an axe
- 59DLong-running charity in England in which the "V" in its acronym stands for "Voluntary"
- 60DDeliberately distracting clues
- 61DRespect
- 62DBirds associated with delivering babies
- 63D"The Amazing Race" network
- 65D"Waterfalls" R&B trio whose advice in the song's chorus is worth heeding
- 66DExtremely decadent French cake
- 67DNot worth ___ (of no value)
- 68DTraditional nomadic tent featured on the Kyrgyz national flag
- 70DDoo-wop group ___ Na Na
- 73D"If I ___ Rich Man" ("Fiddler on the Roof" song)
- 74DLetters on the "0" button, on old phones
- 77DNeither rhyme ___ reason
- 78DThey prefer to be naked
- 80DNeither improve nor decline
- 83DCream and lemon dessert similar to panna cotta
- 84DBert's "Sesame Street" pal
- 89DSelf-congratulatory boast
- 90D"Waterfall" also known as "legs-up-the-wall," for example, in yoga
- 91DE pluribus ___ (out of many, one)
- 92DDepartment division
- 95DAnother name for bubble tea (drink with chewy tapioca pearls)
- 96DPart of Caesar's dying words to his backstabber, supposedly
- 98DSuffix for many languages
- 100DLondon's ___ Gardens
- 101DGet your ducks ___ row
- 102DOne crying "Cut!," on a movie set: Abbr.
- 103DHankering