I revealed the answer to this one... and still have no idea of the mechanism!
whimsy 🤓13:20 · 2024-12-01T07:29:53.624Z
Put the letters that spell ICHABOD in front of the asterisked entries in order. But don't go any further even though all the new words have synonyms in the grid! (I probably solved the meta backwards! ) Thanks, Cory!
Thanks Whimsy--I'd actually meant to remove those asterisks (and I still may). This originally appeared in a print publication for an audience that included arguably more novice solvers than might be found on Crosshare (though that's just a guess, I'm still learning!) Though I've heard the mechanic for this one is on the trickier side, but I've seen other metas in major publications that use this kind of thing with no helpers like asterisks.
The meta answer is ICHABOD (Hint: Find the first name of a classic American literary character). Recall the puzzle's title: "Tossed Noodle Surprise." The climax of 1820's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" involves teacher Ichabod Crane surprised by what he thinks is a head (or "noodle," slangily) tossed at him. If you guessed the hint based on that: great! The grid, of course, contains another avenue. 7 clues were relevant to finding the meta answer:
15A. Bad-mouths: SLANDERS
16A. "Stranger Things" sheriff: HOPPER
29A. Retouches, as a photo: AIRBRUSHES
39A. Invalidating a contract: VOIDING
47A. Downpours: RAINSTORMS
64A. Yearning: PINING
67A. Union: ALLIANCE
Perhaps you noticed how those looked like words missing a first letter. (Or rather, missing their "heads"?) In fact, there are 7 other answers in the grid whose clues could fit those 7 "headless" words if they had their "heads" reattached:
The meta answer is ICHABOD (Hint: Find the first name of a classic American literary character). Recall the puzzle's title: "Tossed Noodle Surprise." The climax of 1820's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" involves teacher Ichabod Crane surprised by what he thinks is a head (or "noodle," slangily) tossed at him. If you guessed the hint based on that: great! The grid, of course, contains another avenue. 7 clues were relevant to finding the meta answer:
15A. Bad-mouths: SLANDERS
16A. "Stranger Things" sheriff: HOPPER
29A. Retouches, as a photo: AIRBRUSHES
39A. Invalidating a contract: VOIDING
47A. Downpours: RAINSTORMS
64A. Yearning: PINING
67A. Union: ALLIANCE
Perhaps you noticed how those looked like words missing a first letter. (Or rather, missing their "heads"?) In fact, there are 7 other answers in the grid whose clues could fit those 7 "headless" words if they had their "heads" reattached:
Hadn't noticed that as a possible red herring! I'm not one to add red herrings on purpose... though if one happens to end up in the puzzle, they just might stay in... :) Thanks!