Easy As...
Print Puzzle
Download .puz File
Account / Settings
Construct a Puzzle
Profile

Easy As...

· By Mikey G

Meta Prompt
[Level 2.5] The answer to the meta is 6 characters long.
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • KayW solved 2023-12-22T21:36:05.175Z
  • Jeffrey solved 2023-12-22T21:36:15.479Z
  • benchen71 solved 2023-12-22T22:37:03.367Z
  • kurtalert solved 2023-12-22T22:41:36.215Z
  • SamKat9 solved 2023-12-22T22:46:29.255Z
  • Hector solved 2023-12-22T22:56:51.105Z
  • Laura M solved 2023-12-23T03:20:54.955Z
  • DJB solved 2023-12-23T05:56:11.799Z
  • woozy solved 2023-12-23T16:06:39.476Z
  • boharr solved 2023-12-23T22:14:15.054Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2023-12-23T23:30:42.179Z
  • Bob J solved 2023-12-24T00:42:52.652Z
  • Meg solved 2023-12-24T03:08:47.864Z
  • MatthewL solved 2023-12-24T17:55:58.570Z
  • HeadinHome solved 2023-12-24T21:48:06.950Z
  • Darth solved 2023-12-25T01:02:49.935Z
  • Philip Chow solved 2023-12-25T10:37:08.352Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2023-12-26T00:15:25.105Z
  • DCBilly solved 2023-12-27T13:38:50.211Z
  • FrankieHeck solved 2023-12-27T13:42:29.704Z
  • whimsy solved 2023-12-27T15:56:26.117Z
  • JM solved 2023-12-27T17:03:24.483Z
  • BarbaraK solved 2023-12-27T17:46:15.828Z
  • markhr solved 2023-12-28T04:08:27.332Z
  • hoover solved 2023-12-28T05:13:26.306Z
  • Steve M solved 2023-12-28T05:19:31.366Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2023-12-28T20:01:38.603Z
  • andeux solved 2023-12-28T21:26:00.656Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2023-12-29T02:44:38.769Z
  • LarsCaine solved 2023-12-29T16:30:53.322Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2023-12-29T20:29:35.574Z
  • Matt A solved 2023-12-30T15:48:02.627Z
  • oldjudge solved 2023-12-30T16:11:26.051Z
  • BrennerTJ solved 2023-12-30T16:18:11.294Z
  • Joe solved 2023-12-31T04:52:19.235Z
  • Schmeel solved 2023-12-31T09:01:35.990Z
  • edestlin solved 2023-12-31T18:28:43.965Z
  • rjy solved 2024-01-01T06:50:41.470Z
  • JR solved 2024-01-01T21:34:42.700Z
  • Carolyn solved 2024-01-02T06:55:35.024Z
  • DrTom solved 2024-01-03T20:05:43.632Z
  • Qmark solved 2024-01-06T17:08:31.317Z

Comments

Sign in with google to leave a comment of your own:

  • Mikey G constructor · 2023-12-22T21:00:03.382Z
    Answer: 123123
    Explanation: There are a few signposts in the grid, namely FIVE and PIE, indicating that we need to find five PIE words in the grid. All of these were clued to the pies themselves, making some sound relatively sensible as is (OREO and TACO), some a bit questionable (POT, which is referring to the company Banquet and their potpies, and HUMBLE), and one completely nonsensical as written ("Chatterbox" for MAG - but the bird MAGPIE makes sense for that!). So, all five of these entries are PIES: humble pie, potpie, taco pie (a yummy Tex-Mex casserole!), Oreo pie, and magpie.
    Per the central entry TIMES (X), this implies we would need to do some multiplying, and indeed, we multiply the five clue numbers of these pies together (see, no calculus at all!): 3 x 7 x 11 x 13 x 41 = 123123, our meta answer. This indeed has 6 characters (didn't say the characters were letter!), which also makes sense with the other common "easy as 123" phrase (albeit repeated twice in 123123). Also, did you catch the bonus? When separated into pairs, 123123 becomes 12/31/23, the final day of 2023! Here's to a happy, puzzle-filled 2024!
    • KayW 🤓5:12 · 2023-12-22T21:41:53.038Z
      WOWZA!!!! Mind blown - what a fantabulous meta!! I did not catch the 12/31/23 bonus but caught on to multiplying the five prime numbers together to see what popped out. Thanks for yet another year of elegant and entertaining puzzles!
      • Mikey G constructor · 2023-12-23T18:32:00.244Z
        Will have to respond to your message on Muggles. Thank you, Kay, for your constant encouragement! You are a blessing.
      • SamKat9 🤓11:09 · 2023-12-22T22:49:13.032Z
        I am currently hitting myself over the head for all the wrong answers I submitted multiplying by Pi. Not to mention I used lava pie as one of the desserts and didn't notice magpie until later. I went to multiply the 5 desserts and before I could multiply by pi for the umpteenth time, I get 123, 123 as an answer. I've never had such a huge doh! moment lol
        • Mikey G constructor · 2023-12-23T00:21:42.137Z
          I was worried about pi has a red herring and also the 38-Down at which PIE was located. Now I want some OREO pie, of course!
          • SamKat9 🤓11:09 · 2023-12-23T01:21:38.031Z
            Oreo pie is quite delicious, you should treat yourself!
        • benchen71 🤓1:14 · 2023-12-22T22:43:57.025Z
          I found the PIEs quickly enough. But then I was stuck wondering how TIMES was involved in a way that would get us from 5 themers to a 6-character answer. It was only when I stopped to think about #77, saw that it was 7*11, then saw that two of the 5 themers were found at 7 and 11, then saw that the clue numbers for the other themers were also primes, that I thought to multiply all five numbers together, thereby obtaining a 6-digit number! (Of course, the date shenanigans only work for Americans! :D)
          • Mikey G constructor · 2023-12-23T00:20:59.328Z
            I was thinking of you with the clue for POT also, wondering if you have Banquet "Down Under"! Yeah, for you, it'd be 311223, which is 3 × 11 × 9431. I don't think I can make a crossword with a 9431-Across! 🤣
            • benchen71 🤓1:14 · 2023-12-23T01:54:22.040Z
              I've never heard of Banquet Pot Pies, but I had Pot Pies on my mind since last week's MEOW!
          • Hector 🤓6:18 · 2023-12-22T23:10:56.872Z
            Cool! I had LAVA in the mix for a while until realizing that the clues need to clue the whole word/phrase that includes PIE. Maybe it's more of a CAKE anyway (certainly not a sandwich).
            • Mikey G constructor · 2023-12-23T18:31:27.086Z
              I actually was wondering about that - I looked up LAVA pie just to be sure and didn't see too much. Sounds yummy in any case!
            • Laura M 🤓9:11 · 2023-12-23T03:23:22.087Z
              Hahaha this was fantastic!! Thanks and Happy Holidays!
              • boharr 3s · 2023-12-23T22:14:47.565Z
                Thanks Mikey and Merry Christmas
                • HeadinHome 🤓3:13 · 2023-12-24T21:49:26.530Z
                  Needed some help with the final step (kept thinking pi would be involved… like a 6-character formula including pi, though i wasn’t sure how i was going to type it in if I found it!)
                  • Darth 🤓2:50 · 2023-12-25T01:09:28.850Z
                    Lol. Loved it! So, I said to myself, How do you get 6 "characters" (I noted letters weren't necessarily stated) from 5 "desserts" (not counting the "piece of cake" in LAVA cake)? ... I had to ruminate a bit, but I finally got the wild idea to you know what and saw that the answer couldn't have been a coincidence. Constructed by a math teacher, well... it finally came together in a nice AHA and made sense! Way to go! Great one, Mikey! :D
                    • Philip Chow 🤓7:47 · 2023-12-25T10:41:30.261Z
                      So much fun! Thank you for a math meta that did not require calculus 😉… I found all the “pies” except TACO and started playing around with the calculator until a noteworthy six-digit number popped up
                      • Mikey G constructor · 2023-12-25T18:41:12.886Z
                        I would love to make a calculus meta for '24, haha. Now I want some taco pie! (I want all the pies, let's be honest.)
                      • whimsy 🤓15:13 · 2023-12-27T16:16:38.132Z
                        Early on, I went the LAVA route too, until I did that same googling with no good results. But finally OREO registered, and I changed my mind about what dessert to have. But then, with the help of my visiting engineer son, we over complicated things, trying to use 3.14 somehow. I was pretty sure the "pi" symbol wouldn't be required in the solution itself because of keyboard limitations, but I figured decimal points and other readily available characters would be fair game. Then, as promised, after I deciphered the last two nudges, simple plutification brought us to a beautiful and appropriate answer! Thank you, Mikey!
                        • BarbaraK 4:10 · 2023-12-27T17:50:41.326Z
                          I also found the pies right away, but even with the TIMES in the middle, didn't consider multiplying the numbers until I saw your nudge.
                          Thanks for the puzzle, and Happy New Year!
                          • hoover 7s · 2023-12-28T05:16:30.876Z
                            Wow, intricate! Finally got there with the nudges. For funzies, here are my scribblings:
                            HP TOM ... RIDDLE? No, not accepted.
                            SLICES ... also not accepted.
                            RUMINANT ... cow pie
                            TEN TIMES PIE
                            TEN TIMES PI over E
                            PI-RATE
                            radius ... not accepted
                            TIMES
                            Easy as ... 123 but what to do with 1 and 2 and 3
                            • Steve M 21:56 · 2023-12-28T05:33:04.055Z
                              I spent some time looking for hidden fruit pies. Not finding them, went with the pie words. Also wondering if there was a way to get 314159 or 314314… nope. Had a few wild guesses before noticing MAGPIE. Fun puzzle!
                              • oldjudge 2s · 2023-12-30T16:15:10.119Z
                                How could people solve this 8 days ago? I just got the email yesterday.
                                • Mikey G constructor · 2024-01-02T07:22:50.160Z
                                  Perhaps fitting for New Year's Eve, I dropped the ball on the e-mail this time - and that's on me. Think I got distracted with baking and gift-wrapping the day I posted this early that Friday - my apologies on that.
                                • Joe 🤓8:50 · 2023-12-31T04:54:59.416Z
                                  I bet I'm the only one that submitted PAHPAH. facepalm
                                  • rjy 2s · 2024-01-01T06:52:57.578Z
                                    I almost did! But clever and fun, Mikey! Happy New Year to you and yours… cheers!
                                    • Mikey G constructor · 2024-01-02T07:23:13.292Z
                                      Hahaha, that's great. 🤣
                                    • Carolyn 4s · 2024-01-02T06:57:43.148Z
                                      Amazing! I also used LAVA at first, then decided OREO would be better. Love the date connection! Thanks for the New Year fun.
                                      • Mikey G constructor · 2024-01-02T07:23:45.316Z
                                        Now I'm hungry! We make these Oreo bites for Christmas - still have another batch to last me through mid-January!
                                      • DrTom 3s · 2024-01-03T20:10:49.075Z
                                        Silly me, I did 4 Pi x Pi first, then tried multiplying the numbers (since I knew they would give me a 6 figure number- that I figured from “characters “) but entered 6 instead of 7 by mistake. Once I put in the right number I knew that was it, very nice tie in to the end of the tear.
                                        • Qmark 3s · 2024-01-06T17:08:50.029Z
                                          wow! thanks Mikey!
                                          1A
                                          "Oom-___ / Loom-___ / doom-pa-dee-dawesome / Dwight is now gone, which is totally awesome" (Andy Bernard)
                                          1
                                          2
                                          3
                                          4
                                          5
                                          6
                                          7
                                          8
                                          9
                                          10
                                          11
                                          12
                                          13
                                          14
                                          15
                                          16
                                          17
                                          18
                                          19
                                          20
                                          21
                                          22
                                          23
                                          24
                                          25
                                          26
                                          27
                                          28
                                          29
                                          30
                                          31
                                          32
                                          33
                                          34
                                          35
                                          36
                                          37
                                          38
                                          39
                                          40
                                          41
                                          42
                                          43
                                          44
                                          Across
                                          1. 1A
                                            "Oom-___ / Loom-___ / doom-pa-dee-dawesome / Dwight is now gone, which is totally awesome" (Andy Bernard)
                                          2. 4A
                                            Start of an address
                                          3. 8A
                                            Palaver
                                          4. 12A
                                            Post-op stop
                                          5. 13A
                                            Sweet black-and-white dessert
                                          6. 14A
                                            I ___ talking about volcanoes! (Just don't inter-erupt me)
                                          7. 15A
                                            Cow, e.g. (I had a pun, but it was udderly ridiculous)
                                          8. 17A
                                            Smart guy?
                                          9. 18A
                                            Took one's time
                                          10. 19A
                                            Introduction to physics?
                                          11. 20A
                                            "Whenever my friend plays poker, he starts firing off arrows if he gets a good hand" "He must have a ___"
                                          12. 21A
                                            Planet whose name anagrams to an organ
                                          13. 24A
                                            Two U-turns from ENE (whoops)
                                          14. 25A
                                            X (relevant to the meta!)
                                          15. 26A
                                            Dollop
                                          16. 29A
                                            Jejune
                                          17. 30A
                                            Princess who said, "Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf herder!"
                                          18. 31A
                                            Yearned (for)
                                          19. 34A
                                            "Everyone on this train has turned into plywood!" "All ___!"
                                          20. 36A
                                            So, it's kind of a long story
                                          21. 37A
                                            Calculus, often (no calculus needed for this meta, thankfully!)
                                          22. 39A
                                            Section of IHOP
                                          23. 40A
                                            "Tres" follower
                                          24. 41A
                                            Chatterbox
                                          25. 42A
                                            Number of "desserts" to find in the grid
                                          26. 43A
                                            Relinquish
                                          27. 44A
                                            Ticker tape, briefly?
                                          Down
                                          1. 1D
                                            Clemente or Wagner, notably
                                          2. 2D
                                            Perspicacity
                                          3. 3D
                                            Crow, basically, in a similar proverb
                                          4. 4D
                                            Fine-tune (some animated movies are fine toons)
                                          5. 5D
                                            Deal on a lot
                                          6. 6D
                                            X (not relevant to the meta!)
                                          7. 7D
                                            Banquet offering
                                          8. 8D
                                            Country singer who wore striped shirts and polka-dot slacks: Johnny ___ (I walk the line with these puns)
                                          9. 9D
                                            "Hold it right there!"
                                          10. 10D
                                            State
                                          11. 11D
                                            Zesty Tex-mex dish
                                          12. 16D
                                            "___ say!"
                                          13. 19D
                                            @@@
                                          14. 22D
                                            Doc bloc
                                          15. 23D
                                            Tightened, as one's winter boots
                                          16. 25D
                                            Dollop
                                          17. 26D
                                            "Stars above!"
                                          18. 27D
                                            Alveolus
                                          19. 28D
                                            "What a scoundrel that omelet chef is!" "Yeah, he's such a ___"
                                          20. 29D
                                            "If ___ Street Could Talk" (James Baldwin work)
                                          21. 30D
                                            Reed, e.g.
                                          22. 31D
                                            "Dream on!"
                                          23. 32D
                                            "Pretty please?"
                                          24. 33D
                                            My mom's favorite cable channel, featuring "Love It or List It" and "Property Brothers"
                                          25. 35D
                                            My orthopedic surgeon is truly ___-afide
                                          26. 37D
                                            Easy as ___ (not relevant to the meta!)
                                          27. 38D
                                            Easy as ___ (relevant to the meta!)
                                          Loading...