PCC#33 "Noodling Around"
◆ · By Philip Chow · Published 2024-05-04T17:07:45.563Z
Meta Prompt
[Level 2] Meta Prompt: The answer to the meta is an onomatopoeia
Hint #1: The meta answer is 5 letters long and there are exactly 5 clues with bracketed locations
Hint #2: The constructor of the puzzle is a foodie
Hint #3: Sometimes when I'm solving a crossword and I see the clue "Japanese noodle" and its 4 letters long, I don't know which one to put - the thin buckwheat one or the thick wheat flour one... they both fit
Hint #4: The 5 entries with bracketed clues conceal a noodle dish... the location in the bracket can help guide you in case any of them are unfamiliar to you
Hint #5: Read the first letters of the 5 noodle dishes in grid order to spell out a relevant word... it's a good way to enjoy noodles!
Checking for previous play data...
… I needed something for the letter L… I initially considered LO MEIN but couldn’t find any good words to conceal it… there’s “OLOMEINU” (Jewish children’s magazine) and “HALLO MEINE LIEBE” (“Hello my dear!” in German)
… darn it now I’m super curious how the puzzle would’ve played out had I (1) changed the meta prompt from “onomatopoeia” to “5 letter word” and (2) replaced bracketed locations in clues with asterisks1A
Body part a cat uses to "make biscuits"
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Across
- 1ABody part a cat uses to "make biscuits"
- 4ABlow away, so to speak
- 9A"___ un poco" (how I reply when someone asks if I can speak Spanish)
- 14A___ La Table (high-end cookware store where Randy buys a Margaritaville blender in "South Park")
- 15AArtificial baits used in fishing
- 16AEgg-shaped
- 17AOne whose pride flag is dark green, light green, white, gray, and black, for short
- 18ASomething that goes with "cheese"?
- 19AJittery from too much coffee, say
- 20A"Better than I expected" [Japan]
- 22A"The Good Doctor" executive producer Daniel ___ Kim
- 23ASketched or doodled
- 24ALate Bronze Age king of Wilusa who archaeologists believe inspired the Trojan War epics [Southeast Asia]
- 29AMany an Al Jazeera employee
- 31AKiev's country: Abbr.
- 32ASchool whose mascot is Brutus Buckeye: Abbr.
- 33AInstant-replay speed, for short
- 34ASmooth operator, perhaps
- 37AO. Henry, for one [Japan]
- 39AReadies for publication
- 42A___-Loompa (fictional chocolate factory worker)
- 46AShiba ___ (dog breed of Doge memes)
- 47AState of matter
- 48AKept afloat
- 49ACalifornia city where the Kings play [Japan, China (origin)]
- 53AAgenda, informally
- 54APrize "The Price Is Right" contestants freak out about
- 55AAmbiguity in a set of rules that may be exploited [Vietnam]
- 57ASame old routine
- 59ACombine
- 60AExpress approval
- 61AOrb-shaped part of a crown or scepter, from the French for "world"
- 62AWhat you're using when someone tells you to "use your noodle"
- 63AFrequently, in verse
- 64AThe Vidalia variety is Georgia's state vegetable
- 65ACampfire residue
- 66AMajor CA airport
Down
- 1DPolite behavior, so to speak
- 2DPertaining to the northern or southern lights
- 3DCommunicated with, in a way
- 4D"And one more thing..."
- 5DIndian city where dabbawalas are known for their super-efficient system of delivering home-cooked meals to office workers
- 6DFont that sounds like a Disney mermaid
- 7DVideo game princess named after F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife
- 8DSuffix for many languages
- 9D"The nerve!"
- 10DLike emus, ern(e)s, moas, nenes, and rocs
- 11DAlong with pain, one of "the two enemies of human happiness," per Schopenhauer
- 12DWhopper you can't eat
- 13DKind of duck to descibe a strange person
- 21DLike the Okefenokee and the Everglades
- 25D"Congrats!"
- 26DArguably the best part of eating fried chicken
- 27DCountry that ranks second in pizza consumption per capita, after Norway: Abbr.
- 28DCelestial body in a syzygy
- 30D"I beg your pardon / I never promised you a ___" (Lynn Anderson lyrics)
- 34DActress Rainer who won back-to-back Oscars for "The Great Ziegfeld" and "The Good Earth"
- 35DBig name in home security systems who adopted a blue octagon as their logo in 2007
- 36DPancake
- 38DDutch cheese encased in red paraffin wax
- 39D"___ for Cookie, that's good enough for me" (line from a "Sesame Street" song)
- 40D"Put ___ Happy Face" ("Bye Bye Birdie" song)
- 41DComposer of "La Bohème" and "Madama Butterfly"
- 43DGreek tourist destination nicknamed "The Island of the Winds"
- 44DRemove, as a sticker from a piece of fruit
- 45DAcquired more items for, as a collection
- 48DBust a move
- 50DTotal stranger, in slang
- 51DThey might be Giants, for short
- 52DSynagogue scroll
- 56DThey might be clicked, capped, or twisted
- 57DFood label replaced by "bioengineered" in 2022
- 58D"A Beautiful Mind" director Howard
- 59DDegree sought by someone taking the GMAT