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Questo è un concorso/meta puzzle. Per inviare la tua risposta, prima finisci di risolvere la griglia (o rivelala se rimani bloccato o risolvi offline).
Explanation: Five rows consist of two entries such that, with a certain number of consecutive letters removed from one entry (flying the coop!), the two entries together form a common noun or phrase: TOWNCRISPER (TOWN CRIER), BRINGITPART (BIT PART), SAFETYCHINET (SAFETY NET), WARPSPECKED (WARP SPEED), and TENABLESALT (TABLE SALT). The letters you remove spell out SPRING CHICKEN, itself an idiom - but that's 13 letters, meaning we need (per the prompt) the 2-letter word before that to complete the phrase. We did remove those letters, after all, making the answer to the meta the negation of the idiom (also an idiom!): NO SPRING CHICKEN
This meta was written about 3 weeks ago or so, and I am fully aware of the coincidence that a key piece of this mechanism is virtually identical to Chen's guest MGWCC last weekend! 'Tis the meta life sometimes! Rest assured that this did not at all make me get the MGWCC in any less time than 8 hours, haha.
Joe 🤓5:50 · 7 giorni fa
Cool! I don't completely no-doubts-100% understand the mechanism, but I can wait! Or can I? I'm no spring chicken.
It's actually pretty SAD: just remove a group of consecutive letters from 5 symmetric rows so the two remaining entries on each row from a legitimate, actual phrase or item.
Perhaps a speck inelegant in the sense the consecutive blocks are different lengths and not removed from the same entry (i.e. always the first or second word). I figured the trade-off is things like TOWNCRISPER and WARPSPECKED glare out. Of course, they might just do that to me, we'll see!
boharr 34s · 7 giorni fa
Well, that’s apt. Thanks, Mikey
Mr Tex 🤓8:13 · 7 giorni fa
I saw the clever mechanism after solving: remove the letters of "SPRING CHICKEN" and you're left, crossing the grid with two-word phrases: BIT PART, TOWN CRIER, SAFETY NET, etc.
I 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 got there on my own...I was adding letters to words (FUNK -> FUNKY (chicken), SPECKED -> SPECKLED (hen), PEP-> PEEP (no explanation necessary) and it met my three rule but was so spotty. Then I thought, "Why specked, instead of speckled,an arguably better word. But as a constructor I know you sometimes have to go with what the great Goddess of crosswords (the muse COLUMROWNEY) gives you so perhaps that was what fit. I toyed with the FUNK(Y) on one side and the SPECK(L)ED and tried to make the famous joke about the opposite shore fit, "TO (two letter word).....SIDE"
Finally I looked at the nudges. Nudge one was not really helpful, but nudge two certainly was. I found the 5 x 4x7 rows and pondered, "what is going on". TABLE SALT almost leapt up off of the page and I knew hat had to be done.
TFTP Mike...now if you'll excuse me, I need to go to the roost room
I think that's how they all fit symmetrically. I think I found TOWNCRISPER first and wanted normal symmetry, so that was at least 12 squares across. SAFETYCHINET might have been next, forcing 13, and I kind of just went with there. I have an unwritten rule that if I think I can do it in under 15-by-15, I go for it!
Berto 1s · 5 giorni fa
I couldn’t get away from FUNK-Y (CHICKEN) and SPECK-L-ED (HEN) - needed the nudges :(
Never even noticed that, wow. Completely unintentional! And it's in 1-A too.
whimsy 11:28 · 5 giorni fa
I kept seeing the chicken but not the egg and couldn't figure out what to do with it. Also saw the L-shaped CHICKEN from 33A as far as 34D. Maybe wring its neck? Needed the "five row" nudge and finally saw WARP SPE(CK)ED but it still only made me want to do something related to Chicken Run (neRd stUN.) Eventually got the appropriate symmetric rows. Just dandy -- Thanks, Mikey!
MatthewL 🤓6:57 · 4 giorni fa
Finally saw it. Was stuck in the Funky Chicken/Speckled Hen rabbit hole for quite some time. Thanks for the puzzle, Mikey!
Steve M 2s · 2 giorni fa
Wow! I wasn’t seeing that at all until the final nudges. Very clever puzzle. Thanks!