Very nice. I got to ORCH- and wondered, how is he going to get -ARD out of the last two words? But then, of course, that made no sense.
Bird Lives 4s · 2024-01-28T15:07:09.202Z
I saw the clever mechanism fairly quickly but spent way too much time trying to fit QATAR in. There aren't many flowers with a Q. Rookie mistake -- looking at the entry rather than the clue.
Very nice indeed, thanks. As I was solving I kept thinking "man, I really need to get better at cluing." Including a few specific instances where I'm fighting the urge to steal your clues. I think the solving path was "these are all two words" followed by "a dragon is a mythical beast." Missed "Mercury or Saturn" the first time through (even though, lol, I specifically thought "oh, this is the right type of clue"), so I had CAR as a baby's toy for a bit (with a ? next to it, in my defense). Also never heard of a butter box, so had that as "Draw from a bakery" ("drawn butter is a thing, so maybe..."). Again, though, with a ? next to it. Once I replaced RRCHAD with ?RCH?D it was obvious, and then I went hunting for the correct matches. Thanks again!
KayW 🤓7:15 · 2024-01-28T17:21:52.173Z
Excellent meta and fun to solve! BUTTER took me a while as I never heard of "BUTTER BOX". But much to my surprise, it's a thing. Learn something new every day.
Fun puzzle, Emma, thanks! If anyone is visiting the Philadelphia area, PLEASE come visit Longwood Gardens here in Kennett Square, PA. It has an absolutely mind-blowing year-round orchid display in its Conservatory.
Very nice. I caught the mechanism early but I got lost a little with trying to remember that the word was not a synonym it was another answer. Very clean fill and great job of disguising the alternates. What a very cool ideas for a meta. Go ahead and do it again, I Dahlia...
ReB 3s · 2024-01-29T21:43:31.981Z
Rather straightforward for me, for once, though finding some of the synonyms took some time. Nice clean meta that blossomed in due season.
I needed a nudge to get me out of an anagram rabbit-hole!
Meta World Peace 3s · 2024-02-01T17:27:55.507Z
I learned a lot from your fun puzzle, Emma... including the provenance of a certain Utah city, and Gregor Mendel's second favorite flower (a scientist cannot live on peas alone)!
Qmark 16s · 2024-02-03T17:44:05.858Z
Got to the puzzle late, but it was an enjoyable solve...thanks Emma and Will!
Fun, thank you! As a rookie meta solver, it took me a few cuts to get the meta. (I came back as to avoid the latest podcast spoiling it, and got it!) BUTTER BOX is also new to me, though my wife recently clued me into the BUTTER BELL.