Key Matchups
Print Puzzle
Download .puz File
Account / Settings
Construct a Puzzle
Profile

Key Matchups

◆ · By Cory Calhoun

Meta Prompt
Hint: Find a common pet breed. (Side note: I want to thank Lewis Dean Hyatt, whose March 2020 puzzle for the Fireball Contest Crossword was--full disclosure!--where I got the idea for this meta's mechanic from. Credit where credit is due! Check out Diary of a Crossword Fiend's review of the puzzle here, but do so after solving this one, as the explanation of his puzzle's mechanic will spoil this puzzle. Cheers! https://crosswordfiend.com/2020/03/29/fireball-contest-march-25-2020/)
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • FrankieHeck solved 2024-12-04T14:12:51.109Z
  • Meg solved 2024-12-04T17:58:23.714Z
  • AxelPlays solved 2024-12-04T18:30:01.560Z
  • Hector solved 2024-12-04T18:30:51.489Z
  • kurtalert solved 2024-12-04T20:40:48.650Z
  • Darth solved 2024-12-05T00:03:59.502Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-12-05T05:14:03.291Z
  • DIS solved 2024-12-09T18:15:02.336Z
  • rjy solved 2024-12-11T20:19:01.433Z
  • DrTom solved 2024-12-19T17:35:00.115Z

Comments

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

  • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-04T07:30:41.965Z
    The meta answer is SIAMESE (Hint: Look for a common pet breed.)
    Please visit this post on my blog for the full explanation of the answer; there's some formatting involved in describing that can't be pulled off in this comment box. Thanks!
    https://cscxwordstoo.blogspot.com/p/meta-answer-to-key-matchups.html
    • kurtalert 🤓3:12 · 2024-12-04T20:42:20.137Z
      This was super cool. I can't believe you found 5 words that all convert to 5 other legit words using the same cipher. Pretty amazing.
      • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-04T22:11:25.230Z
        Thanks! Yeah, it took a good long time, to be sure! And I started with finding some real word that "ENCODED" could be. It was a bit arbitrary, but my options were also limited (ha!) Thanks again.
      • Darth 10:21 · 2024-12-05T00:05:39.762Z
        Nice! Thanks, Cory!
        • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-05T02:10:36.568Z
          Cheers!
        • rjy 14:27 · 2024-12-11T20:19:59.674Z
          Wow! Intricate and clever construction, kudos!
          • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-12T00:29:56.575Z
            A shameless ripoff of a WSJ (or Matt Gaffney... or both!) meta, but was still quite the challenge to put together. Thanks!
          • DrTom 7s · 2024-12-19T17:36:14.650Z
            What a super puzzle! Hidden enough to be challenging but clear enough to be solvable. Another great mechanism.
            Thanks Cory
            ⏎ All Puzzles
            Powered by crosshare.org · Open on crosshare.org
            1A
            Set of kettledrums
            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
            45
            46
            47
            48
            49
            50
            51
            52
            53
            54
            55
            56
            57
            58
            59
            60
            61
            62
            63
            64
            65
            66
            67
            68
            69
            70
            71
            72
            73
            Across
            1. 1A
              Set of kettledrums
            2. 8A
              44-Acrosses taken by H.S. seniors for coll. credit
            3. 15A
              Local individual in a news story--or, often, an Onion "article"
            4. 16A
              Baton wielder
            5. 17A
              * Like warm winter underwear
            6. 18A
              "Alien: Romulus," to "Alien"
            7. 19A
              London suburb that's a homophone for the last name of the famed optical-illusion graphic artist whose first two initials are M.C.
            8. 21A
              Adjusted, as a guitar
            9. 22A
              Leaning Tower of ___
            10. 25A
              Metal in rocks
            11. 26A
              See 39-Across
            12. 27A
              Kitchen sponge brand
            13. 29A
              Pet lovers' org.
            14. 31A
              Late Supreme Court Justice ___ Bader Ginsburg
            15. 35A
              Mother ___
            16. 37A
              Lil Wayne's forte
            17. 38A
              Fencer's blade
            18. 39A
              With 26-Across, meditative exercise discipline
            19. 40A
              * Converted via cipher ... or what the answers to the starred clues are
            20. 43A
              Demolition stuff
            21. 44A
              Knowledge assessment
            22. 46A
              Texter's "That's incredible!"
            23. 47A
              Put down
            24. 49A
              Sandwich shop
            25. 50A
              Waterproof cover
            26. 52A
              Picard's first officer on "Star Trek: TNG"
            27. 53A
              Fr. holy woman
            28. 55A
              Matterhorn, e.g.
            29. 57A
              100 centavos
            30. 58A
              Joe ___ (average guy)
            31. 61A
              Singer Osmond or physicist Curie
            32. 63A
              Pseudonyms
            33. 66A
              * Lower completely into liquid
            34. 70A
              Canned, tightly-packed fish
            35. 71A
              Involves
            36. 72A
              Make more attractive
            37. 73A
              Pragmatic sort
            Down
            1. 1D
              Bug, as a phone line
            2. 2D
              Lyricist Gershwin
            3. 3D
              Club ___ (resort)
            4. 4D
              The "PA" in "IPA"
            5. 5D
              "Cornflake Girl" singer Tori
            6. 6D
              Cheesy chip
            7. 7D
              Comic book artists and tattoo artists
            8. 8D
              PA system component
            9. 9D
              Average
            10. 10D
              Saw things?
            11. 11D
              * The mythological figures Ra, Sol, and Helios, for three
            12. 12D
              Knock for a loop
            13. 13D
              Branch headquarters?
            14. 14D
              Auctioneer's closing word
            15. 20D
              Change an electronic device's settings, perhaps
            16. 22D
              Like most indoor plants
            17. 23D
              Mountain climber's tool
            18. 24D
              Kind of number
            19. 26D
              Batman, aka the ___ Crusader
            20. 28D
              Suffix with "verb" or "malt"
            21. 30D
              No-goodnik
            22. 32D
              Understanding
            23. 33D
              Present and future, for two
            24. 34D
              Prefix with "normative"
            25. 36D
              "Please make ___ of it"
            26. 41D
              Nashville-based awards org.
            27. 42D
              "Varsity Blues" actor James Van ___ Beek
            28. 45D
              * Living room furniture pieces
            29. 48D
              Like a two-footed being
            30. 51D
              Carpenter's smoothing tool
            31. 54D
              "I'm afraid I'll have ___ this one out"
            32. 56D
              Accident-___
            33. 58D
              Disrespect
            34. 59D
              Hammer part
            35. 60D
              Bring on
            36. 62D
              Tiny bit
            37. 64D
              Opposite of WSW
            38. 65D
              Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren: Abbr.
            39. 67D
              52, in Roman Numerals
            40. 68D
              Golf pro Ernie whose last name sounds like raised Chicago trains
            41. 69D
              Summer clock setting: Abbr.
            Loading...