All the Ingredients
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All the Ingredients

· By Mikey G

Meta Prompt
[Level 3] The answer to the meta is a beverage.
This is a toughie! Check out the Muggles post with some nudges here: https://xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?t=3051
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • oldjudge solved 2024-08-03T17:00:58.765Z
  • KayW solved 2024-08-03T17:39:53.448Z
  • Hector solved 2024-08-03T17:52:41.334Z
  • LarsCaine solved 2024-08-03T17:58:22.152Z
  • Darth solved 2024-08-03T18:01:19.237Z
  • boharr solved 2024-08-03T18:47:26.327Z
  • Carolyn solved 2024-08-03T18:49:06.396Z
  • Meg solved 2024-08-03T19:26:44.817Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-08-03T19:49:13.587Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2024-08-03T20:40:45.819Z
  • Gutman solved 2024-08-03T22:25:14.711Z
  • woozy solved 2024-08-03T23:31:58.760Z
  • FrankieHeck solved 2024-08-03T23:38:33.782Z
  • DJB solved 2024-08-04T03:26:45.624Z
  • lbray53 solved 2024-08-04T10:59:32.568Z
  • Alex Sisti solved 2024-08-04T13:22:46.862Z
  • damefox solved 2024-08-04T14:56:35.383Z
  • BrennerTJ solved 2024-08-04T18:02:45.848Z
  • markhr solved 2024-08-04T18:22:11.144Z
  • BarbaraK solved 2024-08-05T01:09:38.718Z
  • heidi solved 2024-08-05T02:28:53.496Z
  • Danny K Bernstein solved 2024-08-05T05:38:25.355Z
  • Philip Chow solved 2024-08-05T13:48:14.604Z
  • omnilynx solved 2024-08-05T14:25:42.568Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2024-08-05T15:52:19.520Z
  • Rosetta Stone solved 2024-08-05T17:15:16.009Z
  • DIS solved 2024-08-05T20:16:33.037Z
  • JM solved 2024-08-05T21:33:52.272Z
  • Abide solved 2024-08-06T21:45:38.835Z
  • Schmeel solved 2024-08-08T04:19:07.785Z
  • Tyrpmom solved 2024-08-08T19:01:37.088Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2024-08-08T19:09:08.642Z
  • hoover solved 2024-08-08T20:06:38.809Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2024-08-09T00:15:23.216Z
  • benchen71 solved 2024-08-09T01:49:46.475Z
  • Toast solved 2024-08-09T04:21:12.763Z
  • Bob J solved 2024-08-09T04:35:45.886Z
  • Meta World Peace solved 2024-08-10T03:39:17.327Z
  • whimsy solved 2024-08-10T14:32:41.587Z
  • dannyvee solved 2024-08-10T15:35:06.024Z
  • rjy solved 2024-08-10T19:47:36.426Z
  • kurtalert solved 2024-08-11T00:44:00.906Z
  • DrTom solved 2024-08-11T04:29:44.512Z
  • Kulea solved 2024-08-11T05:45:22.786Z
  • Tyler Johnston solved 2024-09-07T05:52:16.912Z
  • lukadisgre solved 2024-09-10T20:59:55.521Z

Comments

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  • Mikey G constructor · 2024-08-03T17:00:42.763Z
    Answer: V8
    Explanation: This could be as SAD as it gets: the 8 squares with an 8 in it (8 through 78) contain the letter "V." Well, there's your V8, haha.
    There is more, however, likely hinted at by some weirdly worded clues. All of the clues that intersect at the Vs have clues that start and can be combined to form the name of one of the 8 vegetables. For instance, LEAVE and VANISHINTOTHINAIR start with "Watercr-" and "Ess-," and they concatenate to form "watercress," one of the eight vegetables. All 8 V-intersections play out this way, and catching some of that awkwardness along the way might be another in if you don't notice the Vs right away.
    Also, it's the 8th month, so you knew I would try to celebrate with something related to it somehow! Also note the middle third column of the grid, which is where I tried my utmost to make it look like an "8" with the white and black squares. Furthermore, I do not think I've ever had a V8 in my life. That is all.
    • KayW 🤓12:40 · 2024-08-03T17:44:27.014Z
      Wow! I coulda had a one ...much earlier if I wagged my hunch instead of finishing the grid and then counting :D Nice one, thanks!
      • Darth 🤓12:28 · 2024-08-03T18:03:23.633Z
        Lol. That was the quickest meta solve in my life. I just felt like there were a lot of Vs as I was filling the grid. :D Thanks, Mikey.
        • Darth 🤓12:28 · 2024-08-07T12:57:46.285Z
          It's a MikeyG puz... We've come to expect amazing cluing and other fun surprises. This puz is no exception! :D
        • Hector 7:31 · 2024-08-03T18:14:58.638Z
          I enjoyed how the mechanism gradually emerges. V8s are salt bombs, like most Campbell products...
          • oldjudge 2s · 2024-08-03T20:12:51.901Z
            Yes, if Campbell ever goes out of business a lot of salt mines will close.
          • boharr 3s · 2024-08-03T18:51:22.246Z
            Ok. But how about a beer for solving? Thanks, Mikey.
            • Carolyn 2s · 2024-08-03T18:49:28.831Z
              Delicious!
              • oldjudge 2s · 2024-08-03T20:10:29.370Z
                I hope everyone noticed the vegetable pieces crossing at the V's. To me that made this puzzle really special.
                • Philip Chow 🤓12:40 · 2024-08-05T19:35:04.129Z
                  I noticed the vegetables but failed to notice that all the V’s landed in an 8 box (8, 18, 28, 38, etc)… so really special puzzle just got extra special
                • Meg 3s · 2024-08-03T19:31:32.867Z
                  IN is in the grid 10 times plus the title! I really thought that was something.
                  • Mikey G constructor · 2024-08-07T17:12:19.629Z
                    Complete coincidence!
                    • whimsy 🤓4:39 · 2024-08-09T20:37:52.762Z
                      Yes! And the cryptic message about strange beginnings or patterns in the grid somehow got me thinking of 9 (which is what finally led me to thoughts of numbers and the v's) Spine, diner, cuisine, line, Frankenstein, Nein, etc. Only off by one!
                    • woozy 🤓15:19 · 2024-08-03T23:35:58.392Z
                      Wow. Impressive construction!
                      • woozy 🤓15:19 · 2024-08-03T23:32:51.381Z
                        Okay... now to backsolve. ... or to just click the reveal.
                        • Philip Chow 🤓12:40 · 2024-08-05T13:52:35.193Z
                          parsley unlocked this one for me - thanks mikey! i tried a low-sodium v8 once to try and be healthy... it was not pleasant 😝
                          • Mikey G constructor · 2024-08-05T23:06:51.433Z
                            Bonus points if anyone who solved this puzzle drinks V8 on a regular basis and likes it, hahaha.
                          • Abide 🤓18:48 · 2024-08-06T21:59:09.578Z
                            ILIKEIT OVERICE. Level V for me.
                            • Mikey G constructor · 2024-08-07T17:13:10.750Z
                              This is likely playing like a Level 4, I'd say. The giant 8 in the middle of the grid art is screaming to me, but if you don't know it's there, you likely won't see it! I should do a poll afterward and see who's actually had a V8, haha.
                            • Tyrpmom 28:24 · 2024-08-08T19:03:54.739Z
                              I didn’t take note of all the V’s for quite awhile. I found moon teas diagonally to be pretty interesting.
                              • Cindy Heisler 2s · 2024-08-08T19:15:08.155Z
                                Great construction. I was sure this was going to be a beverage I had never heard of, but we drink V-8 all the time!
                                • hoover 7s · 2024-08-08T20:07:56.173Z
                                  I pushed the laptop far enough away from me that I could see a giant 8, which was enough to go take a fifth look at mechapuzzle to see that there were, in fact, 8 Vs in the puzzle. Sheesh! I had tried highlighting TEA, ALE, VEG, INGREDIENTS, INT, and several other combinations of letters. Nice one!
                                  • Mikey G constructor · 2024-08-10T16:17:30.198Z
                                    Whoa, someone did find the "8"! Okay, that's awesome.
                                  • whimsy 🤓4:39 · 2024-08-09T20:56:36.111Z
                                    I didn't see "the big 8" -- obviously the younger cousin of "the big W." I did see the v's but was trying (oh, so close) to make them spell vegetable, or something along those lines. Which leads me to ask -- Are we really not surprised that the veggie ingredients are arrived at by con"cat"enation of the pairs of clues!😄
                                    What I did see in the grid was -- WASABI, in the WASI/SAAB crossing area; and NUTELLA, in the IFIFELL/NUT/TIA area. Maybe Campbell's will consider tossing those in as secret ingredients!
                                    A wonderfully and oxymoronically elaborate "simple and difficult" production. Thanks, Mikey!
                                    • Meta World Peace 6s · 2024-08-10T03:41:11.558Z
                                      V for Victory... after 8 nutritious nudges!
                                      • andeux 🤓6:00 · 2024-08-11T00:15:59.942Z
                                        My first thought was that if you combine the RUMS with all the Gingers in the clues and you could make a dark 'n' stormy.
                                        After the hints, the only thing that stood out was that a lot of the clues (but not quite 16 of them) started with the letter W. But if you took all the clues that contained WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, HOW, or WHY there were exactly 16! I figured those had to be the 16 clues that had something unusual about the phrasing, mostly early in the clue. (They were not.)
                                        • DrTom 4s · 2024-08-11T04:39:34.306Z
                                          It took a further nudge to look at letters and a trip back to Mechapuzzle (which I had already used and saw there were WAY more Is and N's and Geneva make a great gin and ILIKEIT (a G&T) OVERICE. Of course there is also a drink called a F-104 (46A) and the Meta # and several drinks with gin and other possible ingredients interpolated from the grid that have a 16 letter name. I can truly say I never would have gotten this. Perhaps if I had reviewed Mechapuzzle more carefully or, as Darth did, said WOW that is a lot of V's for a puzzle (cause we know those are hard). I can also say that I would never have arrived at the answer the "long" way. Innovative puzzle and interesting because I had thought of a V8 puzzle long ago but was just goign to have the veggies hidden in the grid or clues...MUCH more mundane. Thanks Mikey!
                                          • DrTom 4s · 2024-08-11T04:44:24.932Z
                                            Oh, my other HUGE rabbit hole. INT in the middle crossing UNI and about twice the normal number of I's and N's for a puzzle that has All the INgredients. I was taking words with IN in the clue or IN in the Grid (there are a lot) but of course never got anywhere.
                                            1A
                                            Bubble tea (but not the answer to the meta!)
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                                            Across
                                            1. 1A
                                              Bubble tea (but not the answer to the meta!)
                                            2. 5A
                                              Watercraft serviceman's vacation
                                            3. 10A
                                              About 2.2 pounds
                                            4. 14A
                                              "I am right here, you know!"
                                            5. 15A
                                              Middle name of the author who wrote the line "the tintinnabulation of the bells, bells, bells"
                                            6. 16A
                                              "Zounds!"
                                            7. 17A
                                              Stadium that operated from 1964 to 2008
                                            8. 18A
                                              Spines have radicular ones
                                            9. 19A
                                              James, e.g.
                                            10. 20A
                                              Strong connection, like that found on the Muggles forum
                                            11. 22A
                                              Where you might look occasionally
                                            12. 24A
                                              Jam ___ (where I've been told not to bring my bagpipes)
                                            13. 25A
                                              Sad-sounding auto?
                                            14. 26A
                                              Celebratory cheer "Mazel ___!"
                                            15. 29A
                                              "So, that's how I was supposed to have solved the meta!"
                                            16. 30A
                                              Many mins.
                                            17. 31A
                                              It's always going places: Abbr.
                                            18. 34A
                                              Adjective that often describes my cuisine
                                            19. 36A
                                              "Works for me!"
                                            20. 38A
                                              Parse : ___ :: skim : slightly (thoroughness of reading strategies)
                                            21. 39A
                                              Flabbergasts
                                            22. 41A
                                              Start to freeze?
                                            23. 42A
                                              Church section
                                            24. 43A
                                              1099-___ (bank-issued tax form)
                                            25. 44A
                                              "What'd you think of the German class?" "I give it a ___ out of ten"
                                            26. 45A
                                              Tell it like it's not
                                            27. 46A
                                              F-, for one
                                            28. 48A
                                              Be a couch potato, with "out"
                                            29. 49A
                                              Still on deck?
                                            30. 52A
                                              "Come on, give me a real challenge, why don't you!"
                                            31. 55A
                                              Jazz quintet's location?
                                            32. 56A
                                              WWW code
                                            33. 57A
                                              "Let tumblers have a lot of cold cubes in it" result
                                            34. 60A
                                              Track 3 on the 1964 album "A Hard Day's Night"
                                            35. 64A
                                              When it comes to Ginger Cat getting more treats, it's in the ___!
                                            36. 65A
                                              What a good listener!
                                            37. 66A
                                              "I bought Almond Joy instead of Mounds" "___ a problem!"
                                            38. 67A
                                              Mowry of "Sister, Sister"
                                            39. 68A
                                              "Tom's Diner" singer Suzanne
                                            40. 70A
                                              Martin's partner
                                            41. 72A
                                              When it comes to a pirate's favorite quaff, ___ the word!
                                            42. 73A
                                              Main component of a ferrous wheel
                                            43. 74A
                                              Front-wheel alignment
                                            44. 75A
                                              Change your story?
                                            45. 76A
                                              ID that began being randomized in 2011
                                            46. 77A
                                              Corundum
                                            47. 78A
                                              Caretaker of cats (try telling Ginger that)
                                            Down
                                            1. 1D
                                              When I lounged around under the sun all day, my parents took me to ___
                                            2. 2D
                                              "Didn't see you there! Didn't even want to see you there!"
                                            3. 3D
                                              Existed
                                            4. 4D
                                              Conglomerate
                                            5. 5D
                                              Achieves opulence toward
                                            6. 6D
                                              Nobody knew I invited Dumbo to dinner - it was kind of the ___
                                            7. 7D
                                              He lit the Olympic torch in Atlanta in 1996
                                            8. 8D
                                              Essentially disappear
                                            9. 9D
                                              Tangles up
                                            10. 10D
                                              "Roast meat," literally
                                            11. 11D
                                              Marty Feldman, in "Young Frankenstein"
                                            12. 12D
                                              Come down to earth
                                            13. 13D
                                              "What are the ___?" "Well, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9..."
                                            14. 21D
                                              "Check out this sauna! It's all you can ___!"
                                            15. 23D
                                              "Now, where ___..."
                                            16. 26D
                                              Leyte Island in the Philippines is about 4,000 miles from this island group north of Fiji
                                            17. 27D
                                              What I'm lucky to knock down in bowling
                                            18. 28D
                                              Ryder Cup competitors are well-___ in golf (yeah, this awkward clue isn't winning any awards, but it's par for the course)
                                            19. 31D
                                              "Et" means "and" in this, Switzerland's second most populous city
                                            20. 32D
                                              Feels for
                                            21. 33D
                                              Parsimonious
                                            22. 35D
                                              Assent that sounds like a vowel
                                            23. 37D
                                              Mo. neighbor
                                            24. 40D
                                              College, briefly
                                            25. 46D
                                              Not prix fixe, in dining
                                            26. 47D
                                              "Do you see me laughing?" (a common response)
                                            27. 50D
                                              It. is here
                                            28. 51D
                                              How some contests end in
                                            29. 53D
                                              Skip
                                            30. 54D
                                              The North Pole tycoon is an ___-made millionaire
                                            31. 57D
                                              "A ton of people already know that, duh"
                                            32. 58D
                                              Ceases to stay on course
                                            33. 59D
                                              The proud, arguing breakfast chefs had a lot of bruised ___
                                            34. 61D
                                              Practice piece
                                            35. 62D
                                              What the formal definition of the derivative requires
                                            36. 63D
                                              "Hey, look at this World's Worst award I once got!" "Wow, that's a ___ from the past!"
                                            37. 69D
                                              Patchett who wrote "Bel Canto" and "Tom Lake"
                                            38. 71D
                                              Infinitesimal
                                            39. 72D
                                              Rotate the crankshaft swiftly, in a way
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