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Not As Easy As They Say

· Por DrTom · Publicado 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z

Meta Prompt
The answer is what you might receive if you don't solve the meta
"Give me a meta long enough and a full day to solve and I will move the cat out of the bag..."
Drat, just as you feared, I'm back! I came up with today's puzzle after solving another meta I first tried to solve using the technique here. It did not work of course, "But it could", said I.
As stated in the prompt, the answer is what you might receive if you don't solve the meta, but I am sure most of you will. Though I'd put this as a solid Calico, maybe a Persian, I know some of you are going to see this immediately. I won't say who because that would probably tip it too much.
Still, it should be challenging enough that you raise a little sweat while you are trying for the prise (props to Mr. Gaffney for that lovely pun).
I want to thank Al Sisti and Whimsy for test solving and helping me clean this up. As is the norm, nudges Friday and reveal next Tuesday.
NUDGES:
Nudge 1] Puzzle creators LOVE to be topical and if their puzzle will be published on a day, or on a day before, an “event” they like to include it.
Nudge 2] If you look through the grid, aren’t there a lot of symmetric words that begin with the same two letters?
Nudge 3] The “dead center” clue/answer is soooo often important.
Nudge 4] If you combine Nudge 2 and Nudge 3 does that give you a clue to any numbers?
Nudge 5] If a puzzle creator gives you numbers, what do you do with them?
EXTRA STRONG NUDGE:
Nudge 6 THIS OUGHTA DO IT] You have probably found a common beginning IN six places. But if we used a different preposition and it was instead TO six places???
THE REVEAL:
A puzzle published one day before PI day.
A graphic that points to Archimedes the father of PI, acting out his famous quotation and trying to move, not the Earth, but a giant pie
Six words, symmetrically placed, in the grid that begin with the letters PI
A center clue that hints towards a decimal place
A realization that PI to six places gives a number: 3.141592
Plugging in the letter in the grid squares that match those numbers gives DEMERIT, the meta answer
For a more complete explanation and graphic depiction of the solve please go to:
Comprobando datos de juego anteriores…

Tabla de clasificación (actualizada cada hora)

  • woozy solved 2024-03-13T06:39:46.965Z
  • Berto solved 2024-03-13T07:05:22.591Z
  • Meg solved 2024-03-13T13:33:06.715Z
  • boharr solved 2024-03-13T13:44:25.578Z
  • Cindy Weatherman solved 2024-03-13T13:46:26.376Z
  • I K Snamhcok solved 2024-03-13T14:41:53.394Z
  • Darth solved 2024-03-13T15:19:48.159Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2024-03-13T15:22:05.695Z
  • Hector solved 2024-03-13T15:54:34.923Z
  • DCBilly solved 2024-03-13T16:11:12.960Z
  • MatthewL solved 2024-03-13T18:15:13.320Z
  • LarsCaine solved 2024-03-13T18:16:50.603Z
  • Mike D solved 2024-03-13T19:48:36.719Z
  • andeux solved 2024-03-13T20:41:56.725Z
  • HeadinHome solved 2024-03-13T22:45:47.200Z
  • Carolyn solved 2024-03-13T23:07:32.631Z
  • Tim solved 2024-03-14T00:26:08.554Z
  • KayW solved 2024-03-14T00:52:00.671Z
  • Gutman solved 2024-03-14T00:55:11.027Z
  • rjy solved 2024-03-14T01:00:52.859Z
  • heidi solved 2024-03-14T03:58:07.973Z
  • lbray53 solved 2024-03-14T12:06:16.686Z
  • DIS solved 2024-03-14T14:11:07.796Z
  • markhr solved 2024-03-14T15:20:50.163Z
  • ajk solved 2024-03-14T15:26:05.698Z
  • Danny K Bernstein solved 2024-03-14T19:29:22.239Z
  • SJMcK solved 2024-03-15T03:59:10.586Z
  • Mr Tex solved 2024-03-15T13:04:45.652Z
  • whimsy solved 2024-03-15T13:07:20.060Z
  • hoover solved 2024-03-15T16:58:40.602Z
  • Johnny Luau solved 2024-03-15T17:19:01.856Z
  • JM solved 2024-03-15T20:42:18.554Z
  • Jaclyn solved 2024-03-16T00:18:54.150Z
  • Tom Wilson solved 2024-03-16T03:18:31.202Z
  • Dave C solved 2024-03-16T16:03:03.112Z
  • omnilynx solved 2024-03-16T16:59:12.627Z
  • CPJohnson solved 2024-03-16T17:27:34.466Z
  • Mwoychick solved 2024-03-16T22:21:34.061Z
  • Cindy Heisler solved 2024-03-17T00:15:11.727Z
  • Laura M solved 2024-03-17T05:13:49.768Z
  • Capn Rick solved 2024-03-17T18:45:14.459Z
  • Jeremy Smith solved 2024-03-17T19:25:44.756Z
  • Ergcat solved 2024-03-18T13:51:49.667Z
  • Sharkicicles solved 2024-03-18T17:42:37.895Z
  • Qmark solved 2024-03-26T14:17:33.235Z
  • Serafin solved 2024-12-05T18:29:21.227Z

Comentarios

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  • woozy 🤓13:38 · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
    But this goes on forever!
    • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
      Well I was going to try to make the answer "ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM" but there wasn't enough room for all the letters...😂
    • Berto 2s · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
      Ha! So we stop at 6 “places” after the decimal point per 38ac b/c there are 6 Pi-entries? Lots of other helpful hints. But tricky (imho). Thank you!
      • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
        Yep, exactly PI to 6 places is a number with 7 digits with only one repetition. I had a devil of a time coming up with a word that fit and had repeating letters in the right spot, but DEMERIT finally checked all of the boxes. I figured that the statement by Archimedes (and the references to his "peeps") along with him standing there with the lever trying to move a HUGE pie made to look like the Earth and a sleeve full of PI symbols (6 to be exact) would make it too easy, I am assuming that is not the case since there have not been that many posters yet...but the day is young. Now if only this had been a Thursday puzzle and could have been 3/14, that would have been perfect.
        • HeadinHome 🤓1:22 · 2024-03-13T22:55:06.261Z
          Clearly I need to examine these graphics more closely… I knew the phrase about levers (hubs is an engineer and loves explaining simple machines to me)… but I never saw the round thing as a pie, and never saw the pi signs on the sleeves. That’s what you get for thinking you get it… you stop looking deeper!
        • woozy 🤓13:38 · 2024-03-13T21:45:58.792Z
          I did not catch that at first!
        • boharr 4s · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
          Happy Pi Day, DrTom.
          • woozy 🤓13:38 · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
            Oh, god. So it is!
            So... do we revise the great pi vs. tau debate? (Please, no. It's pi. live with it.)
            • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
              PI/TAU…pish tosh
              • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                PI/Tau, Pish/Tosh
                • hoover 7s · 2024-03-15T16:59:51.279Z
                  Isn't Pi/Tau just 2?
              • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                Well, one day short but I rounded up
              • Meg 2s · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                That was a GREAT aha moment. It’s truly a drug. Thanks!
                • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                  It IS! I find myself looking for metas in regular crossword puzzles
                  • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                    It is indeed, I find myself looking for the meta in a regular crossword!
                  • I K Snamhcok 4s · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                    My wife — a retired middle-school math teacher who annually celebrated Pi Day with many baked treats — approves.
                    • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                      I always wanted a secant helping of PI…
                      • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                        When it comes to PI I alway want a secant piece. (groan)
                      • Darth 🤓11:34 · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                        Lol. Nice one, DrTom! ... I was hoping for "just desserts" =)
                        • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                          Funny you should say that, originally I had hoped to do that and was so psyched but I had a terrible time trying to make the numbers come out right. The prompt was going to be “Solve the meta and you may just get these”. Maybe another time.
                        • Hector 2s · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                          Neat!
                          • MatthewL 🤓7:55 · 2024-03-13T19:10:01.395Z
                            Took a tiny nudge to get me to refocus, as I tried the correct mechanism originally, but started with 1 instead of 3 because 38A says "after a decimal point." Got to EMERITER and just gave up on that. I'm going to take this solve as a moral victory. And now, I'm hungry for some pie. Thanks for the puzzle, Tom!
                            • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:18:54.276Z
                              Sorry, that was my way of hinting PI to 6 places. It worked about half well, glad you pressed on!
                            • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-13T19:30:52.226Z
                              For those of you thinking, OK, he has finally popped his cork and is answering everything twice. Apparently if you have the "Private" tag activated your own comments do not show up. I had replied to a lot of these comments on my phone and saw my comments there. BUT when I went to the website on my desktop they were not. I assumed I had just not saved them so I answered again and then (and of course only then) looked back at my phone that showed them. When I removed the "Private" tag I could see my comments. Why is allowed me to do it one place but not another, or why it allowed me to see other comments but not mine I am not sure but Michael (the creator) usually has a very good reason. So, I'll just beg your indulgence for double comments.
                              • Mike D 3s · 2024-03-13T19:50:56.853Z
                                Comments can sometimes take a while to go through the moderation and caching process even though they always appear to be instantaneous on the device you're using to write them. I'm still at work on adding a delete option for comments which would help to clear up double posts like that - hopefully soon!
                              • HeadinHome 🤓1:22 · 2024-03-13T22:52:21.776Z
                                YES, I… even I, the math-averse English and art major… enjoyed this throroughly and got it (eventually) without any nudges!! (Though my memory served me poorly… I was sure the mnemonic was “Pi… I wish I could REMEMBER pi” which would be 2.141582 rather than …92. The word “remember” should be “calculate”… silly me.). Got stuck for a while trying to find the shortest lines between POINTS of some kind (PINTO anagram, and all the PI in the puzzle I thought were related to that word.. then I realized ALL of them have PI at the beginning, duh). Thanks for the math fun (did I just say that??)
                                • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-14T03:43:58.474Z
                                  For me math has to be fun or it is just a drudge. I mean math was very important in my working life, but I knew what I needed to know and not much beyond that. So, If I can combine math AND wordplay, well that is right in my wheelhouse. Of course as Wendy (who has tested a few of my puzzles) will tell you, grammar and punctuation don't even know what end of the ship my wheelhouse is on
                                • Carolyn 3s · 2024-03-13T23:10:12.537Z
                                  Cute! I wanted it to be HUMBLE PIE, but then realized there was a mechanism at play. I entered SIX DEMERITS at first for the six PIs in the grid, but then settled on DEMERIT. Very nice.
                                  • KayW 🤓6:26 · 2024-03-14T00:57:20.651Z
                                    Fun one - and now I'm hungry! Thanks Dr Tom!
                                    • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-14T03:44:55.834Z
                                      There HAVE to be some good pie shops in Chi Town!!!
                                    • lbray53 7s · 2024-03-14T12:08:37.254Z
                                      I stubbornly dismissed the mechanism as highly unlikely. I finally gave it a try when nothing else worked. Genius!
                                      • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-14T15:03:28.820Z
                                        Thanks Larry, I'll take that as high praise! When I thought of this a while back I had no idea HOW I would do it, luckily it worked out.
                                      • ajk 🤓8:08 · 2024-03-14T15:34:27.980Z
                                        Ha, very nice. One of those puzzles where mid-solve you go 'I hope this isn't the mechanism because then I can use it.' 😂 By now I know to look at your graphics closely, so I saw the pie on the end of the lever. But apparently I don't know to look closely enough, because I missed the pi symbols on the sleeve. 😂😂 So I spent yesterday trying to find anything that would complete "Easy as ____" and not getting anywhere. Today I followed instructions and looked back through the grid, and the 38A clue jumped out. So PIE + 'decimal point' pretty quickly became PI, and then I spotted the six in the grid. Brief diversion examining letters after the PIs, or what was left if you delete the Pis, or first letters of the PI clues. Then I came back to 'decimal point' and was like, no way. 😂 Had EMERIT first because I was just using the six decimal places, but didn't take long to backsolve that the 3 was required. Very nice indeed, thanks.
                                        • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-14T18:07:03.390Z
                                          You were one of the people I mentioned in the intro that I thought would see it quickly. Glad it gave you a little sport!
                                          • ajk 🤓8:08 · 2024-03-15T00:00:13.629Z
                                            Definitely 😆
                                        • hoover 7s · 2024-03-15T17:02:20.823Z
                                          After the first nudge, I knew to look in the grid and found the PI words, but then I got sidetracked trying to do something with them. And then I saw four Pi- / pi- words in the clues... That's my excuse for having to use all the nudges. Sadly, I even emailed my mom to tell her Happy Pi Day yesterday. She's almost 90 and proudly announced that she has memorized pi to 40 digits.
                                          • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-15T19:36:27.992Z
                                            So sorry, as per usual those other herring "PIs" in the clues did not even occur to me, and the maddening thing is that I could have easily eliminated them all with different wording or by using a different clue. I deserve a PI in my face! I suppose I cannot say this was a piece of cake? Thanks for sticking it out.
                                          • Dave C 3s · 2024-03-16T16:03:35.049Z
                                            Needed all the nudges. Well done - should have seen the PI's.
                                            • Laura M 🤓10:46 · 2024-03-17T05:15:43.921Z
                                              Ohhhhh... I was trying it with the pi digits that corresponded to the theme entry numbers, which was a lot harder...
                                              • Capn Rick 🤓6:10 · 2024-03-17T18:47:00.215Z
                                                Nice one, DrTom! I needed the nudges, but it all came together nicely in the end (or at least to 6 decimal places). 😄
                                                • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-17T20:56:11.411Z
                                                  Thanks Rick, I keep trying to include as many "Easter Eggs" (or perhaps for today they should be called "cabbages") as a Cap'n Rick puzzle, but you are definitely the content king.
                                                • Ergcat 🤓17:42 · 2024-03-18T13:54:12.471Z
                                                  Took me a while even with nudges…. Nudge 6 finally did it! I was looking at number of letters after PI. Garbage. Looking at number of letters total in PI words, etc. all my lacking….the puzzle was great!
                                                  • Sharkicicles 3s · 2024-03-18T17:42:57.960Z
                                                    Will this go on my permanent record?
                                                    Thanks Dr!
                                                    • DrTom constructor · 2024-03-18T21:00:30.583Z
                                                      Absolutely, you will receive de merit badge of MEOWdom next time we post de list!
                                                    • Qmark 4s · 2024-03-26T14:18:11.189Z
                                                      Very clever DrTom! Got to this puzzle a week late, but just needed the first 2 nudges.
                                                      1A
                                                      Pilot's guess
                                                      1
                                                      2
                                                      3
                                                      4
                                                      5
                                                      6
                                                      7
                                                      8
                                                      9
                                                      10
                                                      11
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                                                      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
                                                      Horizontales
                                                      1. 1A
                                                        Pilot's guess
                                                      2. 4A
                                                        Food found in the field, often
                                                      3. 7A
                                                        Something people do at a wall
                                                      4. 11A
                                                        Where to dock your boat, unless there is too much pressure
                                                      5. 13A
                                                        Stocking gift for bad kids
                                                      6. 14A
                                                        Beans you get in a Mexican restaurant
                                                      7. 15A
                                                        Lacking any get up and go
                                                      8. 16A
                                                        Usually associated with crafts
                                                      9. 17A
                                                        One form of addition
                                                      10. 18A
                                                        Party hearty
                                                      11. 20A
                                                        Clean out a pipe, maybe stuffed with paper?
                                                      12. 21A
                                                        In an appropriate manner
                                                      13. 22A
                                                        This is not nothing, but it's related
                                                      14. 23A
                                                        "Stop" to a salt
                                                      15. 26A
                                                        Production dependent on numbers
                                                      16. 30A
                                                        Niche for a pendulum
                                                      17. 31A
                                                        One of the famous Greek mathematicians, this one known for Geometry
                                                      18. 35A
                                                        Job of a relief pitcher
                                                      19. 36A
                                                        One of the forty you might put your mule on
                                                      20. 38A
                                                        A location, like perhaps after a decimal point
                                                      21. 39A
                                                        Like much folk music: Abbr.
                                                      22. 40A
                                                        Ruiner of a field day
                                                      23. 41A
                                                        Wisest, like 31A or his contemporaries
                                                      24. 43A
                                                        An animal that might root for you
                                                      25. 44A
                                                        Description of a rock group's hotel room if they did 18A
                                                      26. 46A
                                                        Lane on a plane
                                                      27. 48A
                                                        Unhappy bag occupant
                                                      28. 49A
                                                        Soldier with a red cross on his helmet
                                                      29. 52A
                                                        God that was hammered in Marvel Comics
                                                      30. 54A
                                                        Delightful, many layered, desserts fit for an Emperor
                                                      31. 58A
                                                        Complains
                                                      32. 59A
                                                        Not a spot for a drink, with Al
                                                      33. 60A
                                                        Kilometer, mile or furlong
                                                      34. 61A
                                                        Football venue
                                                      35. 62A
                                                        Group that often believe otherwise
                                                      36. 63A
                                                        Seat for non-players; "riding the ___"
                                                      37. 64A
                                                        Club for the musically inclined
                                                      38. 65A
                                                        Something found on the end of a butt
                                                      39. 66A
                                                        Highlander's hat
                                                      Verticales
                                                      1. 1D
                                                        Story writ large
                                                      2. 2D
                                                        Time does not improve the chance that this will wait for you
                                                      3. 3D
                                                        Farmer's location, it is said
                                                      4. 4D
                                                        The end of some stories
                                                      5. 5D
                                                        Threadbare and worn
                                                      6. 6D
                                                        Choice word
                                                      7. 7D
                                                        What I consider grape reading
                                                      8. 8D
                                                        Girl associated with the King of Siam
                                                      9. 9D
                                                        Couple in a newspaper
                                                      10. 10D
                                                        Rye friend from Nova Scotia
                                                      11. 12D
                                                        Where you can see large schools in the Caribbean
                                                      12. 13D
                                                        Some say this can be found in front of a horse
                                                      13. 14D
                                                        Name of a very trendy Hilton
                                                      14. 19D
                                                        It often follows a nibble
                                                      15. 22D
                                                        Subjects of paintings and magazines
                                                      16. 23D
                                                        No longer together
                                                      17. 24D
                                                        Big man in the local parrish
                                                      18. 25D
                                                        Parts of hearts
                                                      19. 26D
                                                        Animals cruelly treated by the farmer's wife
                                                      20. 27D
                                                        Bottom feeders and often the subject of dissatisfaction
                                                      21. 28D
                                                        Make useful to yourself
                                                      22. 29D
                                                        Pigeon perch on a high-rise
                                                      23. 32D
                                                        Unexpected win or loss
                                                      24. 33D
                                                        Clothed in
                                                      25. 34D
                                                        Can be the product of a jet plane
                                                      26. 37D
                                                        Settle in comfortably
                                                      27. 42D
                                                        Follow
                                                      28. 45D
                                                        Like winters in the Arctic
                                                      29. 47D
                                                        What your windows will do in 45D
                                                      30. 49D
                                                        Morgans' flowing locks
                                                      31. 50D
                                                        Historical or geological age
                                                      32. 51D
                                                        Single word warning
                                                      33. 52D
                                                        All work and no play
                                                      34. 53D
                                                        Emotion often evoked by anger
                                                      35. 54D
                                                        Rocket launcher
                                                      36. 55D
                                                        "No worries, got that!"
                                                      37. 56D
                                                        One of a Columbian fleet
                                                      38. 57D
                                                        Acronym that includes chemistry and calculus
                                                      39. 58D
                                                        Measure of trip efficiency in the US
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