I was trying to be kind to you, so there's a pretty big hint in the grid of this puzzle (and I'm not talking about 35 across). But I don't want anyone submitting guesses based on that hint. Not that I will be able to tell, but please only submit an answer if you work out the meta mechanism, because it's a really cool one. Pretty please! The answer to the meta is a book. Answer and explanation here: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=94574#p94574
Check out "The MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands" here: https://www.ephesusscroll.com/about/interest4.html. US$5 gets you 7 Marching Bands which, hard enough on their own, now contain metas too. And once again there's a mega-meta!
Comprobando datos de juego anteriores…
Tabla de clasificación (actualizada cada hora)
rjy solved 2022-05-24T15:56:12.808Z
boharr solved 2022-05-24T16:06:27.477Z
Hector solved 2022-05-24T16:50:58.332Z
Darth solved 2022-05-24T20:44:46.221Z
I K Snamhcok solved 2022-05-24T21:06:10.480Z
dplass solved 2022-05-25T01:24:01.158Z
Bbaack solved 2022-05-25T21:10:12.314Z
markhr solved 2022-05-25T23:14:11.942Z
jbird solved 2022-05-26T02:50:26.172Z
whimsy solved 2022-05-26T03:01:49.938Z
Cindy Weatherman solved 2022-05-26T11:46:55.539Z
Meg solved 2022-05-26T12:09:36.968Z
Cindy Heisler solved 2022-05-26T13:41:57.126Z
Johnny Luau solved 2022-05-26T18:51:41.558Z
KayW solved 2022-05-26T19:18:00.904Z
CPJohnson solved 2022-05-27T17:11:56.011Z
Spid4567 solved 2022-05-28T16:36:16.551Z
prog plus chat solved 2022-05-28T19:03:15.858Z
Laura M solved 2022-05-29T04:35:36.170Z
schmidzy solved 2022-06-21T16:27:17.163Z
Comentarios
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rjy 2s · 2022-05-24T16:11:32.049Z
Guessed it via the 66A/67A combo, but collaborated with another solver to get it via the mechanism. Fun journey thru the puzzle, good AHAs along the way, tho I might quibble with having "One" appear in the clue for 22D (it's technically more a number than the adjective "eighth" is). Enjoyed it more than I initially thought I would, dreading that I'd have to do something with ALL those numbers!! Thanks, Ben!
Hector 3s · 2022-05-24T16:59:29.205Z
Plus 1954 is in there too, which is also a numeral - I first had 9411 (Fahrenheit 411?) but then asked myself if one of the 1s could really be an 8.
I kinda see it more as diabolical :) I could see him cackling over his work in the waning hours, looking over the clues to see where he could squeeze even a few more in... surprised in retrospect that so many didn't have numbers!
rjy 2s · 2022-05-25T13:25:42.092Z
That said, I'm only amused because boharr provided a step that led to the final solution. Had I not gotten that, I would have been staring at the numbers forever and perhaps been less amused. I had taken tentative steps with mapping numbers to letters, adding them, etc. to no avail and gave up. Way too many, and way too much ambiguity (is first a number? second? eighth? digits?). I was about to poke into the Book of Numbers to see if anything meshed there (that's not a suggestion for a new one, Ben!!!). Glad I stumbled into a solving partner!
I've now edited this clue. Sorry about the extra complication!
Bbaack 14:25 · 2022-05-25T21:16:13.318Z
Fun mechanism once I caught on to what was going on. Thanks for the clever meta!
markhr 🤓21:13 · 2022-05-25T23:27:12.249Z
I finally cut through the noise and uncovered that last step. I didn't even see the "hint" in the grid until very late.
Clever mechanism.
whimsy 🤓14:37 · 2022-05-26T03:18:41.102Z
Got it with several of the nudges. Yes, all those numbers drove me crazy enough that I put it aside until the hints showed up early. Had to remind myself of the rightful order for the answer, based on the fact that they were all Down entries. Thanks, Ben.
Laura M 🤓18:13 · 2022-05-29T04:39:28.955Z
Needed 3 (three!) of the nudges, and shouldn't have because I knew all of those books and authors and also saw the grid hint! I was too distracted by trying to make something out of allll of the numbers in the clues :-) I love this idea, wish I'd seen it on my own!
One of only three public schools in England to retain a boys-only, boarding-only tradition, which means that students live at the school seven days a week
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Horizontales
1A
One of only three public schools in England to retain a boys-only, boarding-only tradition, which means that students live at the school seven days a week
5A
Swedish band that have recorded nine studio albums, most in the 70s and early 80s, but one came out in 2021
9A
Multiples of twelve months, for short
12A
One turn in the game of chess
13A
Square root of five, for example, but not square root of nine
14A
Character in "None but the Lonely Heart", Ernie ___, played by Cary Grant, the second of only two times when he used a Cockney accent
16A
Filled with wonder and astonishment
17A
Unit of land area equal to 4,840 square yards
18A
Part of the land adjoining the ocean
20A
Professional name for artist Jeremy Phillip Felton, whose self-titled 2009 album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200
22A
"I am able to do that as well" (but more succinctly and probably in a schoolyard retort, too)
23A
Farming community, for example
26A
Screen type in a Kindle Paperwhite
27A
Abbr. for a literacy approach built on the alphabetic principle (look, it's Systematic, Synthetic, and involves Phonics - does that help?)
28A
Avian construction
29A
Physical, mental and spiritual practice originating in ancient India that apparently requires a mat and special pants
30A
Loooooooooong period of time
32A
Opposite of virtue
34A
Opposite of aye
35A
Someone who decides which books will see the light of day and who also keeps track of the numbers, which is something you will need to do to solve the meta
39A
One of five main free-to-air networks in Australia, but that provides multilingual and multicultural services (abbr.)
42A
Earl Grey, Russian Caravan and Orange Pekoe for three
43A
Tennis do-over (Serena Williams once had four in a row!)
45A
Blind character introduced in the second season of "Avatar" who travels with Aang as his earthbending teacher
47A
When you Google this in Australia, the first hit is for the Association for Tertiary Education Management
49A
Two or more hair styles
51A
Italian for hero
52A
Worth something on the second hand market, but in the US
55A
Became less appealing or interesting through familiarity
57A
Sign at an antiproliferation march, perhaps
59A
Upright stone slab or column typically bearing a commemorative inscription or relief design
60A
She gets too hungry for dinner at eight (with "the")
62A
Clothes drier accumulation
63A
Nous sommes, vous ___
64A
Far from shore
65A
Lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter for the band "Thirty Seconds to Mars", Jared ___ (OK, he's also an actor, playing the Joker in "Suicide Squad", and has won one Oscar)
66A
Mining material that gets smelted
67A
"As ___ as can be expected" ("I'm fine, given the circumstances")
68A
"Game of Thrones" character, Jon ___, who had two lives if the constant ads for the show are to be believed (I've never watched a single episode)
Verticales
1D
Key of J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier One, Prelude and Fugue No. nine, for short
2D
Raby Castle in County Durham, England, has nine of these along its perimeter
3D
Say one too many times, as a catchphrase
4D
Dutch term invented in the 70s to describe their music scene of that time
5D
What you would be if you were 64 across in a yacht
6D
Author, John ___, who wrote "John Macnab", a thrilling adventure involving three successful but bored friends in their mid-forties who decide to turn to poaching for kicks
7D
"I'm so cold!"
8D
Nickname for Adrian, perhaps
9D
The only single from the Village People's third studio album, "Cruisin'", with a title comprised of four letters
10D
Actor, Mickey ___, who played one of three janitors in "Night at the Museum"
11D
Member of a set of four on a Monopoly board
15D
French tennis player Jo-Wilfried ___, whose career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. five, achieved in February 2012
19D
Australian spelling for the region of Hungary and Slovakia noted for its sweet wines made from grapes affected by noble rot (which is a good thing, apparently)
21D
Shortest form of "mother"
22D
What New York Giants center fielder Willie Mays famously made during the eighth inning of a World Series game (with "the")
24D
Edits, as a piece of writing
25D
Suffix for exeg-, eiseg-, and gen-
31D
Fruit consisting of a hard or tough shell around an edible kernel
33D
As slippery as an ___
36D
Facial hair worn by 33% of men in the US and 55% of men all over the world (come on, guys, you're lagging behind!)
37D
Not on time for an event
38D
Major League Soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area (owned by the company that makes an energy drink with two bovines in the logo)
39D
Putting one foot in front of the other: taking ___
40D
Boron-oxygen compounds, which can be trigonal or tetrahedral in structure
41D
City in Umbria, Italy, known for its historical "Festival dei Due Mondi" (Festival of Two Worlds) which takes place the last week in June and the first two weeks in July
44D
Author, J. R. R. ___, who wrote "The Hobbit", a children's fantasy book about a halfling who sets out on a quest to slay a dragon with thirteen dwarves and one wizard
46D
Author, Joseph ___, who wrote "God Knows", a tragicomic examination of the life of King David and his relationship to three women (Abigail, Bathsheba, and Michal) who were all married to someone else at some point in their lives
48D
Author, Emily St. John ___, who wrote "The Glass Hotel", a novel about a five-star lodging on Vancouver Island, the owner of which is running an international Ponzi scheme
50D
When someone says "I'm on it!" about a task, you really hope that it will be ___
53D
Demonstrating firm and constant support or allegiance
54D
Article indicating "one", but in front of a noun that begins with a vowel
56D
Absence of difficulty or effort
58D
Put your luggage in one of the overhead bins
60D
Actor, Jude ___, who gained recognition for his role in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" but I thought he was more memorable as the disabled former swimming star in "Gattaca" tbh
61D
56 down missing its first letter or 8 down with a different middle letter