Explanation: Somewhat SAD, but it's harder to explain in words! Per the clue in the central themer RIGHT, the "L" shape must be prevalent in this puzzle, and the four symmetric "L" shapes in the corner are part of the key to this meta. (Note that they all inhabit a total of four 2-by-2 squares, and 4 x 4 = 16, so that fits with the length.)
First, note each "L" is "ensconcing" a letter: respectively: N, D, U, L. These four letters all each occur only one other time in the grid. (For instance, note the other N as the second letter in the 9th row). Form a 2-by-2 square using the other instance of this letter so that the other instance is the same position relative to its "L" (for example, the N in the "L" is in the lower right of this 2-by-2 square. The 2-by-2 square formed with the other N in this same position would be PE/EN).
These four squares will be PE/EN, RP/DI, CU/RI, LA/TY. When they are superimposed onto the four 2-by-2 corners (so that the new letter matches up with the original), the letters will read, in top-down order, PE RP / EN DI / CU LA / RI TY, or PERPENDICULARITY, the answer to the meta and a feature of right angles.
Sometimes, in geometry, I'd look at a proof and think, "Oh, this is three steps," and it would end up taking ten. That's how I felt writing out the explanation to this one! Perhaps it is less SAD than I initially intended!
syoustra 8:25 · 2024-04-03T06:33:16.207Z
As someone relatively new to the meta world ... what does "SAD" mean/stand for?
Clever! I'll admit, one of the first things I tried long before figuring out WHAT to put in the corners, was searching OneLook for ?????ND??UL?????. The only real-looking word was, of course, the answer, but I couldn't see how it connected (and wasn't familiar with the form of the word), so I ignored it. Little did I know how much pride and glory I coulda had, if only I'd trusted it!
Reminds me a bit of BODEGA in that tour de force of "Corner the Market" - OH! Another "corner" puzzle - unintended reference, haha. But I couldn't take the chance unless I knew for sure!
I was trying so hard to find letters that would make all the surrounding entries work, too! That proved to be impossible. In the end, I caved and used onelook with the prompt ?????ND??UL????? which led to the answer right (pun intended) away!
I alluded to this earlier, and I will reecho it: this is exactly like when I taught small groups geometry in the summer sessions, and we did proofs. And I would make up a quick one really fast and think, "This'll probably take three or four steps" (small for a proof) - and it ends up taking 10 or more! That's kind of like this one: I thought this was a SAD mechanism, but then I started writing it out, and I was like, "Uh, yeah, I think I underestimated this..."
syoustra 8:25 · 2024-04-03T06:31:54.417Z
Thanks for the nudge/pointer to the meta analyzer! I had never seen that, and it was super helpful in this case!
I almost always use that if I get stuck. Rarely, to be honest, does it help - but occasionally, it offers some insight!
hoover 2s · 2024-04-06T04:28:49.999Z
Hmm... I used it, but didn't glean any insight from it this time.
Steve M 2s · 2024-04-04T18:44:55.912Z
Wow! I was stuck trying to get four words from the 2x2 corners. Needed the latest hints to finally see what to do. Thanks for the puzzle!
Carolyn 4s · 2024-04-04T18:38:16.519Z
Wow! I did need a couple of the extra nudges. Never would have seen it on my own.
KayW 🤓4:12 · 2024-04-04T20:14:32.997Z
Brilliant!! The meta, that is. Me - not so much. I needed remedial nudges on this one but wowza that's a great construction. Thanks Mikey!
FrankieHeck 🤓3:55 · 2024-04-04T20:33:12.126Z
Wow. I definitely tried this mechanism after Nudge 2, but apparently I did a very bad job of it. About 82 nudges later, I tried again succesfully. Nice puzzle!