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◆ · By Cory Calhoun

Meta Prompt
Hint #1: The meta answer is an 8-letter noun. (cscxwords-at-gmail-dot-com)
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Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • rjy solved 2024-12-02T05:52:56.742Z
  • Meg solved 2024-12-02T13:32:36.805Z
  • benchen71 solved 2024-12-02T23:27:18.067Z
  • FrankieHeck solved 2024-12-02T23:33:58.394Z
  • hoover solved 2024-12-03T05:21:53.829Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-12-09T01:54:29.360Z
  • DrTom solved 2024-12-11T18:54:33.475Z

Comments

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  • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-01T19:06:55.973Z
    The meta answer is SURPRISE (Hint #1: Find an 8-letter word. More on hint #2 later.)
    Yes, this had 2 hints--and hint #2 was key to solving hint #1.
    3 answers spelled out "ASK BY EMAIL TO GET THE SECOND HINT." You had to ask me for hint #2 by using my email address, which was listed after hint #1 with no explanation. (I also added a version of the email to the meta tags for extra fun, though not sure that mattered. Moving on!)
    Those who asked me via email got a link to a Cameo video containing hint #2. (Cameo.com is an app/website for requesting personalized celebrity messages.)
    Playing off of the puzzle's title, "Special Guest Star," the video "starred" actor John de Lancie, who played the role of Q on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." (Watch the Cameo video at tinyurl.com/metahint2)
    Why him? The puzzle has exactly 4 Qs. In the video, he says hint #2:
    "IQ, two Q, three Q, four: what lies below and before?"
    Per hint #2, you were to find the letters below and before the puzzle's Qs, which spell SURPRISE--which is both the meta answer and what a special guest star in a cameo role often is. (MANY thanks to Mr. de Lancie!)
    • rjy 🤓15:50 · 2024-12-02T05:54:26.992Z
      Very clever and fun, Cory, thanks!
      • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-02T07:27:51.723Z
        Glad you liked it! A relatively easy meta, I think--I had the idea for the gimmick I use for the 2nd hint and thought, "No way this guy will go for it." He actually said it wrong, but in a way that still worked. Can you guess maybe what he was supposed to have said?
        This was originally the kickoff to a six-part year-long meta contest I did for my hometown's arts-and-entertainment magazine, and I wanted to kick it off with a bang. So glad it worked out. Thanks again!
        • rjy 🤓15:50 · 2024-12-02T14:18:35.357Z
          I’m assuming 1 (one) Q, rather than IQ?
      • Meg 5s · 2024-12-02T13:39:22.934Z
        OMG! He's the guy who plays Q! Well done! I checked before, after, above and below, but I was looking at QU. That was a fun solve! Somewhere on the forum is the cameo by Ted Lange, who plays Isaac on the Love Boat. Muggles have a close relationship with Isaac. Anyway, thanks for a great puzzle!
        • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-03T04:34:08.331Z
          You're welcome!
        • FrankieHeck 🤓6:16 · 2024-12-02T23:37:13.175Z
          What a fun meta!
          • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-03T04:34:23.840Z
            Thanks!
          • benchen71 7:43 · 2024-12-02T23:28:24.689Z
            Now that was a very nice surprise! Well done indeed!!
            • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-03T04:34:18.056Z
              Thanks, I'm glad I pulled it off!
            • Jessica 12:53 · 2024-12-08T02:10:15.306Z
              Great meta and cameo. Thanks for explaining.
              • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-08T03:28:43.648Z
                Thanks, it was fun to put together and I'm glad I pulled it off!
              • DrTom 4s · 2024-12-11T19:04:43.569Z
                Enjoyed it. I've been spoiled by the Muggles, Gaffney and WSJ metas where the answer is in GRID order. I was able to figure out SURPRISE (my WAG was going to be QUESTION for the 4 QU's which I KNOW are hard to fit into a puzzle) but since I had the second hint I used it and glad I did. I did not recognize de Lancie as Q until you mentioned it and then I said "of course!!!" but yes I figured he was supposed to say 1 Q, 2 Qs, 3 Qs, 4 ... and saw the 1 as an I. Nice fill, though RAGEQUIT was a new one on me and neither MADTHROW or TIPBOARD fit 😁.
                Thanks for the puzzle Cory
                • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-12T00:32:05.576Z
                  Cheers! The audience this was made for is mixed--many didn't know what metas were, many did but were new to them, and some did them quite a lot. I suspected if anyone spied the 4 Qs early on they might have figured it out ... but mostly, I wanted to just see if I could figure out a novel way to add a surprise of a celebrity giving a clue in the mix... thanks to the advent of Cameo.com! (I swear, I don't work for them--ha!) Thanks again.
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                1A
                Mani-___ (salon offering)
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                Across
                1. 1A
                  Mani-___ (salon offering)
                2. 5A
                  Free TV ad, for short
                3. 8A
                  Sympathetic syllables
                4. 11A
                  Sault ___ Marie
                5. 14A
                  Bunches of flowers
                6. 16A
                  Student's worry
                7. 18A
                  Declare again
                8. 19A
                  More regretful
                9. 20A
                  "Disgusting!"
                10. 21A
                  Carmen of "Baywatch"
                11. 22A
                  Social media message
                12. 26A
                  Electric guitar hookup
                13. 28A
                  Toy retailer ___ Schwarz
                14. 29A
                  Special instruction, part 1
                15. 33A
                  June 6, 1944, aka WWII's turning point
                16. 36A
                  Where IKEA was founded
                17. 37A
                  "As if!"
                18. 39A
                  Periods
                19. 41A
                  Tool with teeth
                20. 42A
                  Special instruction, part 2
                21. 46A
                  Bowl over
                22. 47A
                  K-6: Abbr.
                23. 49A
                  Install, as tiles
                24. 50A
                  Shortly
                25. 52A
                  Sincere
                26. 54A
                  Special instruction, part 3
                27. 57A
                  Remote targets?
                28. 59A
                  "Quiet!"
                29. 60A
                  "Aladdin" parrot named for "Othello"'s villain
                30. 61A
                  Bailey's Irish Cream, for one
                31. 65A
                  Eve's significant other
                32. 68A
                  Organize
                33. 69A
                  Suddenly and angrily stop playing a game, in modern lingo
                34. 74A
                  Deceive
                35. 75A
                  Move money between bank accounts
                36. 76A
                  NYC time zone: Abbr.
                37. 77A
                  Hosp. workers
                38. 78A
                  Comedy show on which Kenan Thompson about 2 decades, briefly
                39. 79A
                  Musician Amos or actress Spelling
                Down
                1. 1D
                  Cheap beer with hipster cred, for short
                2. 2D
                  Fair-hiring inits.
                3. 3D
                  "Electricity" singer ___ Lipa
                4. 4D
                  Mental figs. averaging 100
                5. 5D
                  Drink garnish
                6. 6D
                  Play on Netflix or Spotify
                7. 7D
                  Reason to use an inhaler
                8. 8D
                  Bishop's seat in ancient churches
                9. 9D
                  "Who's Afraid of Virginia ___?"
                10. 10D
                  Distribute, like butter or jam
                11. 11D
                  Diamonds or clubs, e.g.
                12. 12D
                  Seating section
                13. 13D
                  "Closing Time" band Better than ___
                14. 15D
                  Standard charging-cable type
                15. 17D
                  Pattern read by a phone
                16. 22D
                  Out of style
                17. 23D
                  Stand-up comic Patton
                18. 24D
                  Kebab requirement
                19. 25D
                  "Still undecided" on a schedule, briefly
                20. 27D
                  Beer or ice cream measure
                21. 30D
                  Even so
                22. 31D
                  Hydroxyl compound
                23. 32D
                  Parking place
                24. 34D
                  Cinema epic "Lawrence of ___"
                25. 35D
                  Zig-zagging off course
                26. 38D
                  Flimsy
                27. 40D
                  Melee
                28. 43D
                  Neon, e.g.
                29. 44D
                  Ophthalmologist's study
                30. 45D
                  Conclude
                31. 48D
                  Shared
                32. 51D
                  Yellowfin tuna
                33. 53D
                  Made smooth
                34. 55D
                  Statistical diagrams
                35. 56D
                  "Shucks!"
                36. 58D
                  Tea sweetener
                37. 61D
                  Shiny fabric with metal threads
                38. 62D
                  Camera diaphragm
                39. 63D
                  Queue before U
                40. 64D
                  Some wines
                41. 66D
                  "I've Got ___ in Kalamazoo" (Glenn Miller Orchestra song)
                42. 67D
                  2006 dystopian thriller "Children of ___"
                43. 70D
                  Historic D.C. thoroughfare that the Dumbarton Bridge is part of: Abbr.
                44. 71D
                  Flying saucer, briefly
                45. 72D
                  Suffix with "cash" or "hotel"
                46. 73D
                  Prefix with "cycle" or "pod"
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