Well, That's (Mostly) Odd
Print Puzzle
Download .puz File
Account / Settings
Construct a Puzzle
Profile

Well, That's (Mostly) Odd

◆ · By Cory Calhoun

Meta Prompt
Hint: Find a fictional character with a two-word name.
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • Danny K Bernstein solved 2024-11-30T08:16:04.177Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-11-30T11:16:52.157Z
  • Hector solved 2024-11-30T20:03:19.129Z
  • damefox solved 2024-12-03T23:40:32.267Z
  • FrankieHeck solved 2024-12-06T23:02:54.946Z
  • rjy solved 2024-12-10T16:07:26.732Z

Comments

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

  • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-11-28T15:49:26.272Z
    The meta answer is OPTIMUS PRIME (Hint: Find a fictional character with a two-word name.) No obvious long answers to work with; however, the puzzle's central answer, 45-Across, is TWO FACTORS, and the puzzle's title ("Well, That's (Mostly) Odd") points toward odd numbers. And the only numbers that are both (mostly) odd (except for 2) and have two multiplication factors are prime numbers (i.e., numbers only divisible by 1 and themselves). Yes, solving this meant knowing which numbers were prime and the name of the Transformer leader of the Autobots.
    From left to right and top to bottom, the grid's prime numbers contain letters spelling out LATIN WORD MEANING "THE BEST"--which is "optimus." Combine that with the numbers that contain the hidden message, and you get OPTIMUS PRIME, a fictional character with a two-word name that satisfies the puzzle's hint.
    • hoover 🤓12:58 · 2024-11-29T23:16:43.934Z
      Oh hey, love this construction, but the meta was revealed when I solved the grid! I think you can (maybe) edit it to prevent that and to conceal the explanation behind spoiler blocks.
      • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-11-30T03:52:55.202Z
        Ah---I didn't properly enter the meta answer into the correct field, so I think that might have cause the confusion. Thanks for the feedback!
      • Meg 2s · 2024-12-03T03:43:23.636Z
        As a non-math oriented meta solver, I’m glad I revealed the answer. I got kind of stuck on what odd means in a cryptic, and my brain refused to get out of that empty rabbit hole. Nice construction!
        • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-05T20:12:06.059Z
          Thanks Meg!
        • Jessica 17:01 · 2024-12-05T16:38:04.134Z
          Thanks for explaining the meta. I liked 57A
          • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-05T20:12:17.426Z
            Thanks Jessica!
          • FrankieHeck 🤓8:03 · 2024-12-06T23:04:07.888Z
            Fun puzzle, and a great aha moment!
            • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-07T00:22:30.856Z
              Thanks... I know many metas lean heavily on having obvious, long themers, so in absence of those, I hoped putting "TWO FACTORS" conspicuously in the middle of the grid would set off some alarm bells re: the title's meaning. Cheers!
            • rjy 🤓16:18 · 2024-12-10T16:09:42.035Z
              Took me forever! Totally forgot 1 was not prime so I gave up pretty quickly at BLATINW 🙄 Impressive construction!
              • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-10T20:45:53.172Z
                Thanks! Took some tinkering to get a good hidden phrase, and good distribution in the grid, to be sure!
              Powered by crosshare.org · Open on crosshare.org
              1A
              Good times
              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
              74
              75
              76
              77
              78
              79
              80
              81
              82
              83
              Across
              1. 1A
                Good times
              2. 7A
                Beatnik's "Understood!"
              3. 11A
                Colorful salamander
              4. 15A
                Doctor
              5. 16A
                Subject of a 58-Across, often
              6. 17A
                Ron Howard's boyhood TV role
              7. 18A
                Snoopy, for one
              8. 19A
                Hammer home
              9. 21A
                "Au contraire!"
              10. 23A
                Prefix or suffix meaning "skin"
              11. 24A
                Kind of order
              12. 27A
                November birthstone
              13. 29A
                Common folk, with "the"
              14. 33A
                Give out
              15. 35A
                Thor's father
              16. 37A
                "Much ___ About Nothing"
              17. 38A
                Michael Corleone, e.g.
              18. 41A
                Sinus-flushing aids
              19. 45A
                Login authentication often involves them
              20. 47A
                "Well, that explains everything!"
              21. 50A
                Knocking off
              22. 54A
                Logical start?
              23. 55A
                Martial arts school
              24. 57A
                Branch headquarters?
              25. 58A
                Art class product
              26. 62A
                '70s music genre
              27. 65A
                Unagi, at a sushi bar
              28. 66A
                Lake touching Canada and 4 US states
              29. 68A
                Crete's highest pt.
              30. 70A
                Auto-stopping feature with a redundant name
              31. 74A
                It's a trip
              32. 78A
                Yard section
              33. 79A
                "Don't go!"
              34. 80A
                Takes out
              35. 81A
                The "T" in "EGOT"
              36. 82A
                Second-person possessive, informally
              37. 83A
                Souvenir-shop buy
              Down
              1. 1D
                Texter's "I'll return in a sec"
              2. 2D
                Nautical term for "downwind"
              3. 3D
                "Abbott Elementary" principal
              4. 4D
                Harbinger
              5. 5D
                Letter-shaped workbench groove
              6. 6D
                Look after
              7. 7D
                Tactical advancement
              8. 8D
                "With all ___ respect..."
              9. 9D
                Succinct confession
              10. 10D
                "Attack!"
              11. 11D
                Standards
              12. 12D
                Antipollution org.
              13. 13D
                "Brevity is the soul of ___" ("Hamlet" quote)
              14. 14D
                Golf bag item
              15. 20D
                Chapter in history
              16. 22D
                Parodied
              17. 24D
                Rare find
              18. 25D
                Reddit Q&A session, briefly
              19. 26D
                Common motion-graphic file type
              20. 28D
                Type of cold-fighting lozenge
              21. 30D
                ___ Paulo, Brazil
              22. 31D
                Buffalo's summer hrs.
              23. 32D
                "Send help!"
              24. 34D
                Mambo king Puente
              25. 36D
                Total price after adjustments
              26. 39D
                Fess (up)
              27. 40D
                Groundskeeper's supply
              28. 42D
                "Little piggy"
              29. 43D
                Certain investment, for short
              30. 44D
                "Hey ... over here!"
              31. 46D
                J.Lo's former MLBer beau
              32. 47D
                Super ___ (GameCube predecessor)
              33. 48D
                Doc ___ (Spider-Man foe, briefly)
              34. 49D
                Inner turmoil
              35. 51D
                Vex
              36. 52D
                Born, in bios
              37. 53D
                Come together
              38. 56D
                Late-night hosts Fallon and Kimmel
              39. 59D
                Cantankerous
              40. 60D
                Outburst
              41. 61D
                Throw a ___ fit
              42. 63D
                Spotted catlike mammal
              43. 64D
                Bouquets
              44. 67D
                Kitchen add-on?
              45. 69D
                Hindu nursemaid
              46. 70D
                Away from the bow
              47. 71D
                "You stink!"
              48. 72D
                Oedipus, to Jocasta
              49. 73D
                A friend may lend theirs
              50. 75D
                "___ live and breathe!"
              51. 76D
                Neighbor of Aus.
              52. 77D
                Superlative ending
              Loading...