This puzzle was originally created as a themed crossword. But then I realised it could also work as a meta, with minimal editing required. So here it is! The answer to the meta is next in the system. Answer & explanation: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=133726#p133726
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!
Oh I get it. That's clever but... well, mechanical.
rjy 2s · 2023-06-20T14:11:57.727Z
Fun one, and a better construction than I realized since I totally whiffed on EARTH - got Natick'ed by misspelling WANE as WAIN for a legit answer to 60D "Diminish, as patience" and just assumed SPAROWERS was some aboriginal thing, because why not?
MatthewL 🤓7:28 · 2023-06-20T14:28:44.166Z
Nice one, Peter! Thanks for the puzzle!
MrTheHan 11:23 · 2023-06-20T14:30:14.058Z
I probably unsurprisingly put JUPITER then J as my first attempts at the meta before tackling it at a different angle, though I'm still trying to work out what the asterisks mean... The rebuses for MARS and EARTH were truly inspired!
I assumed ASTER(ISK)OID. And they are physically on the grid around the perimeter of the puzzle which physically represents the inner solar system. That's all I got though. I got that there were twelve asterisks and there are twelve letters in ASTEROID BELT and eight of the asterisks are across and four are down so I imagine there must be a way to get the across asterisks to spell out the letters of ASTEROID and the down asterisks to spell BELT.
But I can't get further that. You can spell Adrate
Slat
Teeth
lattE
elgaR
venusdemilO
tonI
bleD
Asteroid but I can't replicate it for belt or come up with a consistent decoding as to which you take the first letters of and which you take the last letters of.
MatthewL 🤓7:28 · 2023-06-20T19:31:39.292Z
I started with the A at 23A, and then, moving clockwise, went thusly: 1A (first letter), 4D (first letter), 9D (first letter), 9A (last letter), 27A (last letter), 47A (last letter), 73A (last letter), 64D (last letter), 41D (last letter), 71A (first letter) and 44A (first letter). I think the idea is, you only use the letters (whether first or last), that are located on the edge of the grid.
I was wondering about something like that but I was too lazy to play with it. I don't like to waste paper printing these things and if I put nail polish on my screen I have learned that I usually regret it.
You know... maybe you could have put asterisks at the end of some of the clues. As the idea is the asterisks are actually supposed to be on the grid and not associated with the clues.
MatthewL 🤓7:28 · 2023-06-20T14:30:04.093Z
Crap -- I meant Ben, of course. Sorry -- need a second cup of coffee before commenting.
Carolyn 3s · 2023-06-20T16:49:43.818Z
Really enjoyed this! I was about to submit JUPITER but decided to try and figure out the asterisks. Glad I did! Very clever!
whimsy 🤓15:09 · 2023-06-20T18:16:24.536Z
I knew asteroid belt before I found asteroid belt. But find it, I did!
Almost two metas in one! Thanks, Ben!
KayW 🤓12:20 · 2023-06-20T17:59:57.072Z
Nice one Ben. Count me as one of those who reflexively entered JUPITER as a first guess. Er, submission.
ReB 16s · 2023-06-20T19:32:50.662Z
Well executed idea. I figured out the answer from the 42A plus the rebus entries (once I saw was going on with square 27, I was primed to find the others). It was helpful to remember that (1) between Mars and Jupiter is the asteroid belt, (2) Jupiter is not part of the inner solar system [always a good idea to remember to look at the title, which also didn't specify planets] - and of course noting that (3) the letter J does not appear in the grid.
However, I needed the comments to nudge me as to how to decode the asterisks. It was neat how you managed to spell out the answer around the perimeter, thereby ringing the inner planets.
HeadinHome 🤓12:28 · 2023-06-20T23:35:54.417Z
A complete google guess (after guessing ALL the other planets, and working a looong time with the moons of Jupiter… since ADASTRA is so dang close to one of J’s moons, Adrastrea, and ELGAR is one letter off from anagramming Elara !). NOW I see that the starred answers form the answer if you only the first OR last letter of each (opting for the one that is on the outside ring of the grid). This was challenging!!
WOW. I just saw the ASTEROID BELT. Starting with 23 and going around taking the first letter of the 1sr across and last letter of the 2nd across then the last letter of each down (so THAT'S why 9 was repeated!) spells it out .... AMAZING construction because you had a LOT of constraints. Wonder of wonder you could have almost have done it for OUTER SYSTEM except for an unfortunate positioning of the U and T. If those ahd been switched you would have had it. I am IMPRESSED!!!