Days and Nights
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Days and Nights

◆ · By Mikey G

Meta Prompt
[Level 3.5] The answer to the meta is 8 letters long.
About two years ago, I constructed my first meta, and I'm so happy to be bringing you puzzle number 40: Days and Nights. Here's to the next 40, and may all your solves be beautiful!
Nudges at https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=109334#p109334.
-Mikey G
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2022-10-15T19:47:21.309Z
  • Meg solved 2022-10-15T19:48:16.500Z
  • FrankieHeck solved 2022-10-15T20:49:53.449Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2022-10-15T23:54:58.416Z
  • KayW solved 2022-10-16T00:53:17.925Z
  • Hector solved 2022-10-16T02:43:05.932Z
  • DJB solved 2022-10-16T03:01:40.243Z
  • whimsy solved 2022-10-16T03:48:13.655Z
  • Philip Chow solved 2022-10-16T04:10:57.214Z
  • boharr solved 2022-10-16T18:40:49.283Z
  • lbray53 solved 2022-10-16T20:09:09.159Z
  • Laura M solved 2022-10-16T22:49:25.742Z
  • Darth solved 2022-10-17T00:50:52.243Z
  • Tyrpmom solved 2022-10-17T02:45:25.551Z
  • woozy solved 2022-10-17T08:32:26.715Z
  • DIS solved 2022-10-17T14:54:29.874Z
  • dannyvee solved 2022-10-17T18:11:39.193Z
  • BarbaraK solved 2022-10-19T01:29:49.739Z
  • hoover solved 2022-10-19T13:03:33.284Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2022-10-19T17:57:15.761Z
  • Darrell solved 2022-10-20T02:54:02.683Z
  • Dow Jones solved 2022-10-20T18:23:08.461Z
  • Abide solved 2022-10-21T12:32:50.431Z
  • edestlin solved 2022-10-21T15:39:52.986Z
  • Bird Lives solved 2022-10-21T19:14:49.186Z
  • LesY solved 2022-10-22T01:01:07.511Z
  • SeamusOL solved 2022-10-22T03:05:44.127Z
  • DrTom solved 2022-10-22T12:54:39.881Z
  • oldjudge solved 2022-10-25T16:11:00.585Z
  • Byron solved 2023-01-26T22:02:08.533Z

Comments

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  • Meg 3s · 2022-10-15T19:49:14.041Z
    Mikey, an apostrophe is called for. That was a fun puzzle! Thanks.
    • Mikey G constructor · 2022-10-15T20:58:56.223Z
      Sorry about that! I Noah should've checked it.
    • I K Snamhcok 2s · 2022-10-15T23:55:48.158Z
      I had the same issue with the apostrophe. But no worries. Fun puzzle! Thanks, Mikey!
      • KayW 🤓14:21 · 2022-10-16T00:58:11.412Z
        OMG this meta is fantastic! But you had this person who spends more time in theaters than ballparks going for a while... I kept trying to find the matching clue for OPENING NIGHT. And with this answer, it HAD to be meta number 40. Perfect.
        • FrankieHeck 20:45 · 2022-10-16T01:59:38.538Z
          Such a fun solve! Congrats on 40!
          • Hector 15:16 · 2022-10-16T02:45:11.107Z
            Fun solve, thank you!
            • boharr 5s · 2022-10-16T18:42:32.594Z
              Would not accept apostrophe. Backsolving but got there.
              • Laura M 🤓29:17 · 2022-10-16T22:51:36.002Z
                Nice one! Must have fixed the apostrophe :-) Congrats on 40, and thanks!
                • Darth 🤓35:22 · 2022-10-17T00:52:59.849Z
                  Congratulations on meta 40, Mikey! Well done! And a lot of fun!
                  • Tyrpmom 2s · 2022-10-17T02:50:40.292Z
                    I love this kind of meta. Fun.
                    • woozy 30:29 · 2022-10-17T08:39:16.241Z
                      Wow. This has to be the absolute longest I've ever had between realizing the mechanism and method and actually being able to spell it out. Pretty dang dense on my part. I think because Alp was the last I found I just somehow could not put it in where it belonged. I spent hours thinking "I know I have to put the letters RKHSAONA in grid order and that is NOHSARKA"
                      • DIS 🤓10:21 · 2022-10-17T14:58:40.405Z
                        I made an Ararat first, but I corrected it. Fun puzzle!
                        • Mikey G constructor · 2022-10-20T16:41:39.745Z
                          Oh, nice, hahaha.
                        • Cindy Heisler 2s · 2022-10-19T17:58:58.573Z
                          Great meta 40, Mikey. This was a fun one. Thanks!
                          • hoover 4s · 2022-10-20T05:45:30.185Z
                            Ya know, it wasn't until I saw the tab in my browser, well after solving, that I noticed the significance of "40. Days and Nights." :-P
                            • Dow Jones 3s · 2022-10-20T18:26:13.275Z
                              Loved it. Very well done, Mikey.
                              • Bird Lives 8s · 2022-10-21T19:18:57.343Z
                                I noticed but then ignored the "40." at the beginning of the title as it appears at x-muggles (the top 40?). Nice puzzle, though I needed a nudge from Baywatch Abide.
                                • DrTom 4s · 2022-10-22T13:07:06.238Z
                                  Wow, quite the puzzle and I was in QUITE THE rabbit hole. Definitely a 3.5 or better. I saw the DAYS and NIGHTS in the end but then it was really difficult for me to get to the solution. I kept wanting my MOVIE NIGHT to be PRIVATE (mainly because I mistrusted a K in a word) and my MIDNIGHT to be the hours when I changed the clock. I also have to admit that until I read these comments I did not get the "40" - would have made accepting NOAH'S ARK much easier in my mind (despite the discussion that it was not actually 40 days). Heck it might have taken 40 days to construct the meta! Brilliant Mikey!
                                  • Mikey G constructor · 2022-10-23T01:20:13.642Z
                                    That has to be one of the biggest rabbit holes ever! Yeah, 3.5 --> 4, perhaps? I had to make it now due to the "40 Days and Nights" connection, so the difficulty was what it was. Hopefully it's taking people fewer than 40 days and 40 nights to solve this!
                                  • benchen71 🤓15:14 · 2022-10-23T10:08:33.917Z
                                    I failed to land this one, on Ararat or any other mountain for that matter! I didn't find the alternate for "movie night" (thought it led to "eye", but knew that was a stretch) and "hey day", and was unable to make sense of what I had found. After revealing the answer, I'm still mystified by what "movie night" led to, but I love the way the title fits in.
                                    • Byron 🤓30:40 · 2023-01-26T22:11:42.014Z
                                      Brilliant! For future folks who solve with partial extraction, in grid order: Normal / Everyday (Commonplace), Othello / Twelfth Night (Shakespeare Play), Alp / Hey Day (Certain Peak), Homerun / Opening Day (Baseball fans love it), Sky / Midnight (Shade of blue), Adios / Goodnight (Parting expression), Rush / Same Day (Speedy kind of delivery), Kite / Movie Night (It can be held in a park).
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                                      1A
                                      Some feds
                                      1
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                                      40
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                                      74
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                                      76
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                                      82
                                      83
                                      84
                                      85
                                      86
                                      87
                                      88
                                      89
                                      90
                                      91
                                      92
                                      93
                                      94
                                      Across
                                      1. 1A
                                        Some feds
                                      2. 6A
                                        Book after Daniel
                                      3. 11A
                                        Baseball fans love it
                                      4. 13A
                                        Type of alcohol
                                      5. 14A
                                        Proper
                                      6. 16A
                                        My puns about this animal aren't baaaaad: they're wool done!
                                      7. 17A
                                        "Yeah, ditto"
                                      8. 18A
                                        Picture
                                      9. 20A
                                        Hard work (my students hardly work too)
                                      10. 24A
                                        King and queen
                                      11. 27A
                                        Lissome
                                      12. 29A
                                        They might work a lot
                                      13. 31A
                                        Fulminated
                                      14. 33A
                                        Melodic (I'll make a note of this)
                                      15. 34A
                                        MLA alternative to citations
                                      16. 37A
                                        "But is the risk worth it?"
                                      17. 39A
                                        Shade of blue
                                      18. 40A
                                        Note
                                      19. 42A
                                        Volume
                                      20. 43A
                                        See 82-Down
                                      21. 44A
                                        I thought I'd never get a chance to tell my friend to crack a window, but then I found an ___
                                      22. 47A
                                        Start of a term?
                                      23. 49A
                                        Lets
                                      24. 50A
                                        You can't have one with anybody else
                                      25. 54A
                                        "Hello there!"
                                      26. 55A
                                        Grade in high school
                                      27. 56A
                                        First name of the author who starred in "Austen City Limits" (this is not a thing)
                                      28. 59A
                                        Remove a fruit skin - or an anagram of a fruit with skin!
                                      29. 62A
                                        It might be handed down
                                      30. 63A
                                        First name of female in graphic novel "The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage"
                                      31. 64A
                                        Locates a hole, maybe
                                      32. 67A
                                        Sometimes it throws shade at you
                                      33. 68A
                                        Taiga, for one, but not lion (har har)
                                      34. 70A
                                        Actors John and Sean
                                      35. 72A
                                        Mogadishu resident
                                      36. 74A
                                        "This fireplace is our best seller! It's a ___!"
                                      37. 77A
                                        You'll find it in gallons of quartz
                                      38. 79A
                                        Made a new recording
                                      39. 81A
                                        Not just some
                                      40. 83A
                                        Sound
                                      41. 84A
                                        Author of book that starts "Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead" and makes about as much sense as my clues
                                      42. 87A
                                        Skill
                                      43. 91A
                                        Like AirPods but not headphones (we hope!)
                                      44. 92A
                                        Organic component of some cleaning products (or what you might be if you love to clean)
                                      45. 93A
                                        Only number whose letters are spelled in alphabetical order
                                      46. 94A
                                        Sad song (that says so much)
                                      Down
                                      1. 1D
                                        Commonplace
                                      2. 2D
                                        Emphatic response to "Excited to solve this meta???"
                                      3. 3D
                                        "___ Strikes Back" (1988 Elton John album)
                                      4. 4D
                                        French vineyard (this clue is common but don't wine)
                                      5. 5D
                                        "So ___ me - no, don't ___ me. That is the opposite of the point I'm trying to make" (Michael Scott wisdom)
                                      6. 6D
                                        Hem
                                      7. 7D
                                        Shakespeare play title
                                      8. 8D
                                        Middle word of Stevie Wonder song dedicated to Aisha Morris
                                      9. 9D
                                        One might be private
                                      10. 10D
                                        Certain peak
                                      11. 11D
                                        Utilizes auricular sensations (students: please don't write like this)
                                      12. 12D
                                        ___ Lock (PC key)
                                      13. 14D
                                        Hrs. in which you "spring ahead" (and lose an hour of sleepo beepo)
                                      14. 15D
                                        Poppycock
                                      15. 19D
                                        Female nickname composed only of Roman numerals
                                      16. 21D
                                        Place ___ in the paper ("Cruciverbalists Wanted")
                                      17. 22D
                                        SSN, e.g.
                                      18. 23D
                                        "You haven't seen the film 'Frozen'???" "Yeah, and you need to ___"
                                      19. 25D
                                        Itsy-bitsy
                                      20. 26D
                                        Investment, perhaps in securing a tent
                                      21. 28D
                                        Change
                                      22. 30D
                                        Stone and Stallone
                                      23. 32D
                                        Boulder, for one
                                      24. 34D
                                        Latin love
                                      25. 35D
                                        ___ the King Prawn (Muppets character)
                                      26. 36D
                                        "Right on!"
                                      27. 38D
                                        "Yeah, cut the lawn correctly this time"
                                      28. 41D
                                        First two words in film title with famed quote "I coulda been a contender"
                                      29. 43D
                                        Said Ken to Barbie, "You're such ___!"
                                      30. 45D
                                        British suffix
                                      31. 46D
                                        Some kind of semiconductor (found within the phrase "20%," when written in words)
                                      32. 48D
                                        If you see this land, you might be in Seine!
                                      33. 50D
                                        Greek orator who lent his name to an adjective meaning "boomingly loud"
                                      34. 51D
                                        "A man may learn wisdom even from ___" (wisdom itself from Aristophanes)
                                      35. 52D
                                        PC key
                                      36. 53D
                                        Kind of apples I might ask if you like (I love apple puns to the core)
                                      37. 56D
                                        Barbs
                                      38. 57D
                                        Parting expression
                                      39. 58D
                                        Actress Watts who starred in "21 Lightbulbs" (okay, "21 Grams")
                                      40. 60D
                                        Grp. of lawyers ("This whole crossword is out of order!!")
                                      41. 61D
                                        Speedy kind of 64-Down
                                      42. 64D
                                        See 61-Down
                                      43. 65D
                                        It can be held in a park
                                      44. 66D
                                        Pique
                                      45. 69D
                                        Tom (but not Ginger, who is the BEST FELINE EVER)
                                      46. 71D
                                        Putting on a play
                                      47. 73D
                                        Frozen hexahedra
                                      48. 75D
                                        "La Belle ___" (period before World War I that looks a lot like an English word for "period" but it has a "Q" in it and an extra letter and don't you love my long-winded clues)
                                      49. 76D
                                        "Count ___!"
                                      50. 78D
                                        Skill
                                      51. 80D
                                        He came between HST and JFK
                                      52. 82D
                                        Apt word hidden in 43-Across
                                      53. 84D
                                        Online graphic pronounced like a brand of peanut butter
                                      54. 85D
                                        She said, "Time is a concept that humans created"
                                      55. 86D
                                        "___ out!"
                                      56. 88D
                                        I'm so appreciative of the fisherman taking me out on the river - I think I'll send him a thank-you ___ (this pun was reel great)
                                      57. 89D
                                        "Bali ___" ("South Pacific" tune)
                                      58. 90D
                                        "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me!" network
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