#659 - "Blank Stares"

An excellent puzzle written by one of the innovators of the meta crossword format. It comes out every Friday at noon and increases in difficulty throughout the month. Available for modest subscription (worth every cent) here: www.xwordcontest.com
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Joe Ross
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#659 - "Blank Stares"

#1

Post by Joe Ross »

This week's contest answer is what you might say after you get the meta.
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—˜!
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RPardoe
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#2

Post by RPardoe »

Submitted - awaiting leaderboard update.
Edit - updated and confirmed
Last edited by RPardoe on Fri Jan 15, 2021 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dannyvee
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#3

Post by Dannyvee »

Beam me up with my number ๐Ÿ’ฏ overall correct answer!
I can be found in Sheridan, NY, veejaying. (8)
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Meg
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#4

Post by Meg »

Submitted. Waiting for Matt to get back from his Starbuck's run.
Confirmed. Walking down the corridor to the transporter room.
Last edited by Meg on Fri Jan 15, 2021 1:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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Bird Lives
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#5

Post by Bird Lives »

Waiting to thumb a ride on the next beam.

Spotting the mechanism didn't seem too difficult. It involved some Mattnesses I now know to watch for. After that, it was a bit of work getting to the answer.

Confirmed.
Jay
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Joe
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#6

Post by Joe »

Beamed aboard at #23
Happy to give nudges. If you notice I've solved, please tell me about avenues you've explored so I can nudge you in the right direction and not off a cliff.
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ky-mike
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#7

Post by ky-mike »

Submitted 100%er. Waiting on leaderboard update.

Edit - On the board.
Last edited by ky-mike on Fri Jan 15, 2021 1:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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spotter
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#8

Post by spotter »

Beam me up! Took me a little bit to figure out what to do.
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Hector
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#9

Post by Hector »

It's a really nice construction, and a pleasant solve. Bit easy for 3/5?
Laura M
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#10

Post by Laura M »

Beam me up! Fun! There was a moment of "...what now?" but it passed pretty quickly.
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Amanda Hugginkiss
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#11

Post by Amanda Hugginkiss »

Either I'm getting better at these, or it's easy for a week 3. Unfortunately, I suspect it's the latter. But I'll take it!
higgysue
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#12

Post by higgysue »

Beam me up. I liked this one!
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TMart
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#13

Post by TMart »

On the board. Fun one - I had to backsolve part of it after I saw where it was headed.
mheverson
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#14

Post by mheverson »

Double checking my grid proved immensely helpful on this one. Very enjoyable. Beam me up.
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sharkicicles
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#15

Post by sharkicicles »

TMart wrote: โ†‘Fri Jan 15, 2021 1:58 pm On the board. Fun one - I had to backsolve part of it after I saw where it was headed.
On the board, and I bet I did the same backsolve you did.
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ajk
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#16

Post by ajk »

On the board.
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
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Joe Ross
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#17

Post by Joe Ross »

Beam me up!

Image
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—˜!
Dplass
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#18

Post by Dplass »

Hm, I think I have the answer, but am not confident. I think I see an inconsistency... shall think some more.

UPDATE: I found the bug, and it was my own. Beam me up.
Last edited by Dplass on Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Cindy
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#19

Post by Cindy »

Solved
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Jeremy Smith
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#20

Post by Jeremy Smith »

Beamed up and on the board. I lost a lot of time erroneously thinking there was an extra piece to this because I had an error in the grid.
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