Explanation: Sixteen of the entries in the grid are spelled out backward in the very beginning of their clues (i.e., Subway alternative = BUS). Thus, if you start a few letters in (either the 3rd or the 4th), and go backward to the beginning, in each of 16 clues, you'll spell out the actual clue entries. A sample of others include GNU, TIDE, and the bizarre, esoteric clue for ROY, the last to drop on my end. Per the theme of spelling out backward, taking the last letters of these entries in right-left, bottom-up order, we spell out MANY HAPPY RETURNS, a fitting seasonal answer...especially if you didn't get what you wanted! ("They could've just given us gift cards!") Finding all the clue-entry pairs, constructing a tight grid, and editing carefully was probably about a 6- to 8-hour enterprise for this one! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you!
Ah! I'd listed the clue words in grid order of the entries, which doesn't give the right order, even backwards. So I just anagrammed my way to the answer, suspecting that I was missing something. Thanks and happy holidays!
Bird Lives 5s · 2023-12-13T18:45:04.262Z
I put them in a spreadsheet. Then beside the column with the entries, I started another column with the letters reversed (BUS SUB, etc.). After the first two, Excel filled in all the rest. Then, I inverted the spreadheet. Not perfect, but close enough.
Berto 🤓1:51 · 2023-12-09T19:27:57.138Z
Many Happy Returns to you, too Mikey!!!
oldjudge 6s · 2023-12-09T20:01:48.722Z
Hector--It works. Do it on a grid. The last letters of the down entries fall below some higher number across entries.
Great job Mikey!
nice puzzle! title + awkward cluing helped a lot to see what was going on... never heard this phrase before so i thought it was a pun you made up about buying stuff for the holidays but then having buyer's remorse so want to get a refund on everything you bought
That was the intent, though, haha! I think it's more of a European phrase than an American one, but I like the pun on taking gifts back (and on the words "returning," which is likely a cryptic indicator for reversing).
Super solid. I went to bed last night grumbling about how to deal with the 16 words. While shaving this morning, I thought “maybe anagramming?” Got the answer and then figured out the backward elegance.
Bird Lives 5s · 2023-12-13T18:38:37.802Z
Ooh, nice. Another great instance of title, metanism, and answer all in sync.
Brilliant! I sat there and wondered how many of these you had written down because you saw them at some point in the past or if you saw one (probably BUS SUB) and said "Hey, wait a minute...."
Whichever, what a great idea for a meta. You definitely have some of the most unique mechanisms. I enjoyed the heck out of it (BUS SUB was my way in by the way) and did not even need the nudges.
...and even more brilliant - it wasn't even anagrammed. All I had to do was read it in reverse order. What a construction!!
KayW 🤓8:55 · 2023-12-16T03:23:23.294Z
LOL back at ya Mikey!! I tried anagrams til I was blue in the face and didn't see THAT one. Somehow I convinced myself PUN or PUNNY had to be one of the words. I can't imagine why, haha.
HeadinHome 🤓1:09 · 2023-12-17T21:22:47.702Z
That. Was. Awesome!! Got to this very late as usual; I’m glad the solution wasn’t up yet. I was stuck for a while with only the across ones circled… and kept thinking that center word was going to PARTY (celebrate). I suspect I’m not alone in that!
Argh... very frustrating in making my notes I entered "NOH" as HON and I somehow skipped writting TRAP. "SUNRETPRYNAAMYN? Okay, backwards and sideways that's MA-NY NA-P(r)Y RET-U(R)N-S. Many Happy returns. The 'many' and 'returns' are too good not to be true but PYNA to 'happy'?..."
But I entered SUNRETPRYNAAMYN into an anagramer and got "Amer puns tyranny" which is not totally inappropriate.....
And it looks like there might be one missing! Not sure! Yeah, I think I had one meta (SINGULAR a while back) that involved anagramming. I try to avoid the answer being spelled out that way at all costs!
I found TRAP/Partake. I just when writing my notes down forget to include it (Although I didn't find TIDE/Edit at first I'll admit). I wrote them down both first and last letters [I thought that may be part of the trick] but switched the order of Hon/NOH. Didn't really think about the last letters would stop being in grid order (although that is obvious in hindsight). I'd like to think if I had included TraP and NoH so I got SUNRETPRYPHAAMYN I would have figured it was grid order. As it was it was almost grid order but the big deal was how to get HAPPY from RYNA so who knows if I'd have gotten it. As I absolutely inable to proof my own errors I would NEVER have noticed I transcribed NOH backwards (although I might have eventually counted my letters to realize I left out TRAP)