"Air Force Beats Navy!"

A weekly meta crossword created by members of the forum. Difficulty levels will vary. Hints are usually available starting Wednesday, and solutions are posted on Sunday.
Djquimby
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Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 5:47 am

"Air Force Beats Navy!"

#1

Post by Djquimby »

Good afternoon! Better late than never, here's this week's Muggle Meta Monday puzzle entitled "Air Force Beats Navy!" The answer to the meta is A NORTH AMERICAN FOOTBALL TEAM. Many thanks to Brian for giving this one a look and providing great notes.

AirForce.PDF

I don't have a prize to offer, but will gladly make a donation to the charity of the random winning solver's choice.
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Joe Ross
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Location: Cincinnati

#2

Post by Joe Ross »

Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024

PLATELET ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ.
๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ENORMOUS ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ:
๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฌ% ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ,
๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ% ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ,
๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ & ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฎ. ๐—ฃ๐—Ÿ๐—˜๐—”๐—ฆ๐—˜ ๐—ฆ๐—›๐—”๐—ฅ๐—˜!
Laura M
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Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:49 am

#3

Post by Laura M »

Off the couch! This was fun! And thanks to Joe Ross for providing an Excel version.
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oldjudge
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Location: Pasadena, CA

#4

Post by oldjudge »

Pretty sure I have it.
Djquimby
Posts: 58
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 5:47 am

#5

Post by Djquimby »

OTC

LauraM
oldjudge
DJB
cindy
Meg
boharr
hashbrown
Sfull411
lbray53
markhr
Last edited by Djquimby on Fri Nov 06, 2020 8:16 am, edited 6 times in total.
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MikeM000
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Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:31 am
Location: Metro Detroit

#6

Post by MikeM000 »

Haven't done the meta yet but the grid was fun and I greatly enjoyed the cluing style.

I'm curious to know how many people know of/follow the Twitter account mentioned in (I think) 18A? I do, but I have no idea if anyone outside of a certain type of Twitter user would know that. BTW, if you like that account I also suggest following @radishharmers and @dlicj.
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boharr
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Location: Westchester, NY

#7

Post by boharr »

I think I'm off the couch.

EDIT: Confirmed. Enjoyed the puzzle a lot. Thank you.
Last edited by boharr on Tue Nov 03, 2020 11:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Meg
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:41 pm
Location: St. Petersburg, FL

#8

Post by Meg »

๐Ÿ›‹
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
Dplass
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Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:09 am

#9

Post by Dplass »

MikeM000 wrote: โ†‘Tue Nov 03, 2020 9:10 am Haven't done the meta yet but the grid was fun and I greatly enjoyed the cluing style.

I'm curious to know how many people know of/follow the Twitter account mentioned in (I think) 18A? I do, but I have no idea if anyone outside of a certain type of Twitter user would know that. BTW, if you like that account I also suggest following @radishharmers and @dlicj.
Yeah I'm definitely WAAAAY too old for this puzzle. Can't even get the grid. Next!
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Abide
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Contact:

#10

Post by Abide »

Very nice MMM Hail Mary from DJ/Ryan! Stellar cluing. Liked the Biloxi shoutout (even though the clue was wrong)
The site is just a web page, a meeting place, a clubhouse - it's the group that's special.
โ€”Brian MacDonald
Djquimby
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Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 5:47 am

#11

Post by Djquimby »

Oh right, that reminds me...

ERRATA
The Biloxi clue is wrong
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whimsy
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Location: Hopkinton MA

#12

Post by whimsy »

Capturepuzzleonface.JPG
I'm going to blame my inability to complete the pass on this thus far on my insufficient knowledge of football --- (even if that"s not a valid reason! :P )
SewYoung
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Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:25 pm
Location: Meridian, MS

#13

Post by SewYoung »

whimsy wrote: โ†‘Wed Nov 04, 2020 11:51 am Capturepuzzleonface.JPG

I'm going to blame my inability to complete the pass on this thus far on my insufficient knowledge of football --- (even if that"s not a valid reason! :P )
I'm there on the couch with you. I, too am lacking in football knowledge and that sounds like a very reasonable reason to not have the answer.
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Cindy
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Location: Matthews

#14

Post by Cindy »

SewYoung wrote: โ†‘Thu Nov 05, 2020 9:01 am
whimsy wrote: โ†‘Wed Nov 04, 2020 11:51 am Capturepuzzleonface.JPG

I'm going to blame my inability to complete the pass on this thus far on my insufficient knowledge of football --- (even if that"s not a valid reason! :P )
I'm there on the couch with you. I, too am lacking in football knowledge and that sounds like a very reasonable reason to not have the answer.
Just solve it like any other meta without a sports mental block. Google will help you with the team.
Djquimby
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Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 5:47 am

#15

Post by Djquimby »

With regard to that...

Yes! The phrasing of the meta question is intended to give you a sign of how to let Google be your guide if lists of football teams aren't already in your head. As long you have some idea of the mechanism, something will jump out if you look in the right place.
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C=64
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Location: PDX

#16

Post by C=64 »

Got the grid, highlighted the 4 long answers, wrestled with them over the course of many days, not getting it.
markhr
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Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2019 7:56 pm

#17

Post by markhr »

On the board and verified. Another fun MMM puzzle.
Djquimby
Posts: 58
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 5:47 am

#18

Post by Djquimby »

Couple hours left for anyone who still wants to get in
Djquimby
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Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 5:47 am

#19

Post by Djquimby »

Your final roster of all-star solvers:

LauraM
oldjudge
DJB
cindy
Meg
boharr
hashbrown
Sfull411
lbray53
markhr

The answer to the meta was the WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

The four theme phrases all featured BLUE being replaced by another word:

(ATOM) RIBBON
(CARPET) CHIP
MR (DIRTY) SKY
(SMART) WHALE

Each of the new words precedes BOMB in a 2-word phrase. I wanted them to all be "types of bombs" but realized that CARPET missed that target.

WIth all the BLUEs being BOMBed out, that either immediately struck a chord to our many devoted fans of the Canadian Football League, or perhaps gave a leg up to those who took the "North American team" prompt to heart while they did some Googling, eh?

And for the point-after (or rouge!), the randomly-selected winner this week is CINDY. I will be happily making a donation to the charity of her choosing (if it's, you know, not run by hosers). PM me, cindy!

Thanks for solving, everyone.
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Cindy
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Location: Matthews

#20

Post by Cindy »

Yay!
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