"Borne on the Fourth of July"

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.
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Abide
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#21

Post by Abide »

OTC. Reminiscent of Marie Kelly. Week 2 difficulty. MMM great!
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LesY
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#22

Post by LesY »

Al, this was outstanding! I flew off the couch this morning.

I second Abide's point about Marie Kelly - right down to the subtle nudge. Which was artfully subtle - I thought about it early on, but it took me a while to come back to the idea - spent too much time on some alternatives that were far less subtle/Sistine.
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MarkL
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#23

Post by MarkL »

Still learning Al's Modus Operandi. On the couch and awaiting Nudge Wednesday. Seeing potential paths, but certainly no 64D.

Cheers!

PS "Guinness" does not fit in 47D !?!!
Last edited by MarkL on Wed Jul 01, 2020 8:41 am, edited 2 times in total.
'tis... A lovely day for a Guinness!
Djquimby
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#24

Post by Djquimby »

Off the couch...tremendous
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MarkL
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#25

Post by MarkL »

Got it with a little nudge. Thanks, Al, for the excellent puzzle (agree, WSJCC worthy) and the nudge.

'til Thursday,
MAL
'tis... A lovely day for a Guinness!
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Anita
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#26

Post by Anita »

I see that "Off the couch" is our beach equivalent for this. Well, we're off the couch! Fun puzzle, and hey, it's always nice when we can actually solve the meta!
Dplass
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#27

Post by Dplass »

Off the couch. Amazing construction.
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boharr
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#28

Post by boharr »

Nudged off the couch. Clever puzzle.
markhr
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#29

Post by markhr »

Do couches have rabbit holes? If so, I went down a few on this puzzle. But I finally made my way off the couch. This was an elegant puzzle, and I completely agree it could have been a WSJ contest puzzle with no tweaking at all. Very nice effort.

Muggle Meta Mondays is quickly becoming a can't-miss event.
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Al Sisti
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#30

Post by Al Sisti »

I had the idea for this one back in April or May, and I ran it by Brian. He gave me some great suggestions, including one that essentially said “Maybe you ought to try creating a regular crossword first.” Well, I bought some crossword construction software, read everything Brian sent me (I highly recommend his *outstanding* instruction post; topic “Constructing Rules and Resources” under “Other Puzzles/Other Muggle Puzzles”) and the blog essays on the cruciverb.com web site. Even so, I knew I had to get this done before July 4th, so I jumped in and butchered my way through a few metas -- making mistakes that Brian (patiently) used as teaching moments – and at some point, brazenly assumed I knew enough to attempt this one. After a couple false steps and awkward entries, I had something I thought was passable, and sometime in May or June, he/we decided it was probably ready to go public (despite a couple of Naticks that I tried really hard to get rid of).

Anyway, for this meta, you were asked to find something that people like to do on the Fourth of July, and we were given the title “Borne on the Fourth of July.” “Borne”? Was that a typo? Nope, I intended that to mean “carried;” in this case, “carried” on the Fourth of July. And what, pray tell, does that mean? Well, I threw in a hint using what is becoming a favorite tactic for me – a hidden nudge, usually placed in one of the three primary places on the grid that these nudges are placed are: either upper left, lower right, or dead center. And in this case, dead center was 36D, which said “Third of December” (CEE), which I hoped would make people see that I wanted them to look for the Fourth (letter) of July, and note the letter that was borne/carried by each Y…. and doing that gives the answer to the meta: BARBECUE, found by 26 solvers.

BorneOnTheFourthOfJuly.jpg
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FrankieHeck
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#31

Post by FrankieHeck »

Wow, I breezed right past the "third of December" without thinking to apply it to your title! Nice one. I did eventually get it, but it took me a long time! The OLDE in the grid had me looking at adding Es to stuff, as well as a few other things I can't even remember. Has it only been a week since you posted that puzzle? That seems impossible...

Loved this puzzle.
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boharr
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#32

Post by boharr »

Very enjoyable. Keep doing them.
Dplass
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#33

Post by Dplass »

Al Sisti wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 12:13 pm I had the idea for this one back in April or May, and I ran it by Brian. He gave me some great suggestions, including one that essentially said “Maybe you ought to try creating a regular crossword first.” Well, I bought some crossword construction software, read everything Brian sent me (I highly recommend his *outstanding* instruction post; topic “Constructing Rules and Resources” under “Other Puzzles/Other Muggle Puzzles”) and the blog essays on the cruciverb.com web site. Even so, I knew I had to get this done before July 4th, so I jumped in and butchered my way through a few metas -- making mistakes that Brian (patiently) used as teaching moments – and at some point, brazenly assumed I knew enough to attempt this one. After a couple false steps and awkward entries, I had something I thought was passable, and sometime in May or June, he/we decided it was probably ready to go public (despite a couple of Naticks that I tried really hard to get rid of).

Anyway, for this meta, you were asked to find something that people like to do on the Fourth of July, and we were given the title “Borne on the Fourth of July.” “Borne”? Was that a typo? Nope, I intended that to mean “carried;” in this case, “carried” on the Fourth of July. And what, pray tell, does that mean? Well, I threw in a hint using what is becoming a favorite tactic for me – a hidden nudge, usually placed in one of the three primary places on the grid that these nudges are placed are: either upper left, lower right, or dead center. And in this case, dead center was 36D, which said “Third of December” (CEE), which I hoped would make people see that I wanted them to look for the Fourth (letter) of July, and note the letter that was borne/carried by each Y…. and doing that gives the answer to the meta: BARBECUE, found by 26 solvers.


BorneOnTheFourthOfJuly.jpg
I love this kind of behind the scenes writeup. Thanks!
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Hector
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#34

Post by Hector »

I didn't even see the clue for CEE while solving. Just focusing on what the title could possibly mean delivered the mechanism.
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Richard B.
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#35

Post by Richard B. »

Same here, Hector.
I think my CEE just fell in from the crosses. Nice reminder to check all entries after finishing a grid. There may be some gems hiding in plain sight.
Thanks again, Al, for a worthy effort.
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TMart
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#36

Post by TMart »

I was looking at 7th and 4th letters of longer words, and when I thought of the 4th letter of July from the title, had a “where did I just see that” moment and went back to the CEE clue. Great puzzle.
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oldjudge
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#37

Post by oldjudge »

Let me join the crowd of those missing the CEE but still solving the meta. That was our fault, not yours. It was a great puzzle, thoroughly enjoyable and challenging. Thank you for taking the time to do these.
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Joe Ross
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#38

Post by Joe Ross »

Al,

I was encouraged by a muggle (who holds this puzzle in highest esteem) to finish my attempt at solving, since I had this evening. With the encouragement came a slight hint about a grid clue having bearing, but not pointed out. Using that muggle's previous use of the word BORNE in the title, it was left to me to take the last 1½ steps. I wouldn't have made them without the help, but should have.

BRILLIANT PUZZLE! I will make time to give my best efforts to all MMM puzzles going forward. All of you muggle creators are fantastic at this.

Borne on the Fouth of July MMM Al Sisti solution.gif
Last edited by Joe Ross on Mon Jul 06, 2020 12:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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BarbaraK
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#39

Post by BarbaraK »

This was a Kas 4 me - I didn't get it, but I should have and am kicking myself for not seeing it. Very clever!
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KayW
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#40

Post by KayW »

Kas 4 for me, too. I’m sorry now I peeked at the answer instead of sticking with it a bit longer. Brilliant! And as others have said, definitely WSJ-worthy.
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