Solid Inner Core
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Solid Inner Core

· By Cory Calhoun

Meta Prompt
Hint: Find an 11-letter adjective.
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  • rjy solved 2024-12-10T21:24:29.277Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-12-10T21:26:55.166Z

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  • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-04T03:47:52.119Z
    The meta answer is RESPONSIBLE (Hint: Look for an 11-letter adjective).
    Five symmetrically placed Across answers had clues with both an upper-case first letter (which, of course!) and an unusually upper-case last letter as well. (In the original print version of this puzzle, those first and last letters of those clues were subtly bolded).
    This might have led you to notice that the first and last upper-case letters of those five clues also appear in their own answers, but with a few extra letters in between them.
    Before we get to those in-between letters, let's recap those clues:
    17A: "OPEN," "SALE!", and "10 items or lesS"
    23A: Under typical conditions, the state water's in when temps are higH
    39A: Thing that gets "pulled" in order to deceivE
    51A: Elastic properties that allow stretched materials to snap back to normaL
    63A: Rich coffee cake with a two-color swirL
    From top to bottom, the first upper-case letters spelled OUTER and the last upper-case letters spell SHELL. So we've not got an OUTER SHELL... so what's that to do with an 11-letter adjective?
    The puzzle's title, "Solid Inner Core," hints that the answer involves the inside of something. Could there be something within that OUTER SHELL?
    Yes, that's where those "in-between" letters come in. Here are the answers, with the "OUTER SHELL" letters in square brackets:
    17A: ST[O]RE[S]SIGNS
    23A: GASEO[U]SP[H]ASE
    39A: FAS[T]ON[E]
    51A: R[E]SI[L]IENCIES
    63A: MA[R]BLE[L]OAF
    Recall the puzzle's title, "Solid Inner Core." From top to bottom, the letters at the core of the grid's "OUTER SHELL" letters spell RESPONSIBLE, which is a synonym for "solid" and an 11-letter adjective that satisfies the puzzle's hint.
    • Meg 14s · 2024-12-09T01:12:23.516Z
      I got stuck after OUTER SHELL. Should have seen the next step. I would have If I’d written the right letters next to the themes. Very nice construction!
      • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-09T02:14:23.051Z
        Thanks!
      • rjy 🤓15:26 · 2024-12-10T21:25:57.938Z
        Took much staring, iterating and collaborating, but aha! found it! Very unique, clever construction
        • Cory Calhoun constructor · 2024-12-10T23:06:32.390Z
          Thanks, I've seen metas that yield a word or words that you know aren't the answer, but may point to it, and this was my attempt. Cheers!
        • DrTom 4s · 2025-01-03T23:37:47.296Z
          WOW! That could be a Gaffney 5 any day of the week. Very sophisticated (way too sophisticated for me who was looking at ORES and STONE for solidarity. I saw the end letter capped but did not think of taking the first letter as well. Additionally I did not see any except two of the so formatted clues. I'd like to think that if I had I would have seen OUTER SHELL and realized what to do next, but I'd be fooling myself. This was a superbly constructed meta. You have some imagination COry!
          1A
          LGBT ___ (what a rainbow flag symbolizes)
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          Across
          1. 1A
            LGBT ___ (what a rainbow flag symbolizes)
          2. 6A
            Shark tale of 1975
          3. 10A
            Empty spaces
          4. 14A
            Submarine detector
          5. 15A
            Complex dwelling
          6. 16A
            Raison d'___
          7. 17A
            "OPEN," "SALE!", and "10 items or lesS"
          8. 19A
            Sportscaster Andrews
          9. 20A
            Circus sight
          10. 21A
            Knee part, for short
          11. 22A
            Boo-boos
          12. 23A
            Under typical conditions, the state water's in when temps are higH
          13. 27A
            Hard to understand
          14. 30A
            Alien-seeking org.
          15. 31A
            Russian pancakes served with sour cream
          16. 32A
            ___ carotene
          17. 34A
            Bit of lemon peel
          18. 38A
            "___ the fields we go..."
          19. 39A
            Thing that gets "pulled" in order to deceivE
          20. 42A
            Compete
          21. 43A
            Wool sources
          22. 45A
            "Bye!"
          23. 46A
            Torrents
          24. 48A
            Founded: Abbr.
          25. 50A
            Gravy ingredient
          26. 51A
            Elastic properties that allow stretched materials to snap back to normaL
          27. 56A
            Impatient
          28. 57A
            Dinghy propeller
          29. 58A
            Gymnast Korbut
          30. 62A
            Linguist Chomsky
          31. 63A
            Rich coffee cake with a two-color swirL
          32. 66A
            "Please, that's ___ ask!"
          33. 67A
            Against
          34. 68A
            Throat's "punching bag"
          35. 69A
            After-bath powder
          36. 70A
            Head
          37. 71A
            Fix a driveway, say
          Down
          1. 1D
            "Hey ... over here!"
          2. 2D
            Automatic
          3. 3D
            Aware of
          4. 4D
            Tranquilizing weapon
          5. 5D
            "Able was I ___ I saw Elba"
          6. 6D
            Electricity, slangily
          7. 7D
            ___-Saxon
          8. 8D
            Emerge victorious
          9. 9D
            Peter, Paul and Mary: Abbr.
          10. 10D
            "Golly!"
          11. 11D
            Heart chambers
          12. 12D
            Jimmies
          13. 13D
            Have a feeling
          14. 18D
            Postpaid encl.
          15. 22D
            Choose
          16. 24D
            "Yeah, right!"
          17. 25D
            "Hey, we wanna come with!"
          18. 26D
            Astin of "Lord of the Rings" films
          19. 27D
            Cousin of a bassoon
          20. 28D
            Squandered
          21. 29D
            Lose steam
          22. 32D
            Back of a vinyl single
          23. 33D
            Pilot's announcement, for short
          24. 35D
            Demonic
          25. 36D
            Trig figure
          26. 37D
            Makeup, e.g.
          27. 40D
            Start of a play
          28. 41D
            Cleveland's lake
          29. 44D
            Pertaining to earthquakes
          30. 47D
            Pardon
          31. 49D
            Artful
          32. 50D
            "Gone ___" (Gillian Flynn thriller)
          33. 51D
            Rushed toward
          34. 52D
            "___ Holmes" (2020 Netflix mystery film)
          35. 53D
            Drag one's feet
          36. 54D
            US Civil War side
          37. 55D
            Rustic digs
          38. 59D
            Scoundrel
          39. 60D
            Apple variety
          40. 61D
            Way, way off
          41. 63D
            Capt.'s superior
          42. 64D
            "I'll take that as ___"
          43. 65D
            Where It.'s at
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