I should have been working on my thesis today but I just couldn't face it (I'll blame that on a slight headache). But a meta crossword? Oh yes, that's definitely doable! The answer to the meta is a two-word phrase. Answer & explanation: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=138034#p138034
Check out "The MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands" here: https://www.ephesusscroll.com/about/interest4.html. US$5 gets you 7 Marching Bands which, hard enough on their own, now contain metas too. And once again there's a mega-meta!
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Comments
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Ergcat 16:22 · almost 2 years ago
Fun puzzle! I tried looking below (drop) YOU first but it was gibberish then I reread the prompt “on you” so I looked above YOU! Thanks Ben!
i did the exact same thing (drop = go down one) after going down even more rabbit holes... i always forget how important it is to read and reread the title... the rabbit holes i went down included: (1) "easy as abc" and "cry out loud" so i thought it was about sounding out letters... excel sounds like XL... which is roman numeral for 40 which was in forty winks! (2) greek in one of the clues AND as an entry had me hunting for greek letters and (3) a lot of entries looked like a letter could go in front of "e" words... reduce/deduce, retape, reblast, testes (which sounds like it could relate to the title whoops )
I was trying for a nice, easy "week 1". But it's very hard to avoid potential rabbit holes if the solver misses the mechanism!
merlinnimue 🤓9:21 · almost 2 years ago
Oh, you! Great puzzle idea!
(Sorry to keep being a moaning merlin, but I will ever be jealous of you smarties writing puzzles and writing theses and writing puzzles while writing theses... wishing I might one day have a minute fraction of the creative genius you lot have)
I got started in constructing metas because as I was solving other people's metas I kept trying out strategies that didn't work but that could be metas in their own right. If you come up with a meta idea but you're not sure how to proceed, there is a very helpful thread here: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?t=1450
merlinnimue 🤓9:21 · almost 2 years ago
idea? i don't even know the meaning of the word! thanks for trying tho
Wanna know how long I spent on finding things ASH dropped on (Ash being the name of Ian Holm's character). Then I tried desperately to take the things that dropped on U to no avail...until I finally noticed the YOU's in the puzzle. I tried to make it impossible but thankfully did not succeed. Thanks for a puzzle that did not add to, or factor into, my confusion.
Carolyn 3s · almost 2 years ago
Very nice!
Bird Lives 5s · almost 2 years ago
Stumped until I noticed a Tokyo urchin snapping his yo-yo upwards. (Just kidding; for me it was a fairly quick and enjoyable solve.)
Saw nothing at first look, but the YOUs jumped out when I came back just now. Initially looked under, but quickly transitioned to over. Fun one, thanks.
Cindy Heisler 17:41 · almost 2 years ago
Late start, but quick solve. Thanks, Ben. I needed this after struggling with MikeyG's.
That's so cool! I remember it featuring in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
whimsy 12:45 · almost 2 years ago
Third time was the charm. I worked my way up from looking above and below the U's, then the OU's, finally realizing the whole YOU was there! Thank you for this fun, Ben!
Fortunately I didn't puzzle for long over the three YOUs before I looked again at the title and decide to look up. This title was a new variant hint to a positional mechanism. Thanks
hoover 3s · almost 2 years ago
Ugh, that's about the only variation of "on you" I neglected to try! I got caught up in the "drop" part and was trying to make words out of the letters in the down-words that cross the YOU.