"Family First"

[ky-mike]

Fun puzzle. I completed the grid Tuesday morning, but let it sit while I worked on other things. Got around to looking at it over lunch today and the pathway quickly lit up like a Christmas tree for me.

Nice puzzle BrianMac

[hcbirker]

Off the couch! Thanks for a fun puzzle Brian! Glad everyone reminded me to look it up last night on our Zoom call.

[DrTom]

Awaiting confirmation. The entire puzzle was funny ! 1973 Chevrolet Vega (need I say more ?). It never ran again after 1977.

Yes the Vega has to rank up there with the worst. Unlike the Yugo it would never get blown off the Mackinaw bridge because the Macinaw Straits wouldn't want it. I had a 1971 British Racing Green GT Wagon that I bought new and everything that ever went wrong with a Vega went wrong with mine:
Engine warped
Cylinder seal/oil leak
Leaking around the windshield so that your feet got wet as it rolled off the dash
Leaking of radiator into the passenger compartment
Separation of the shock absorbers from the rear bed after hitting a bump

It wasn't a bad looking car, but I was always mad that I got rid of a nice Chevy Nova II to buy it. The 1964 Chevy II was still running strong several years after the Vega was rusting on a junk yard. The rumor was that they repurposed the car from another product - they just removed the MATIC from the VEGAMATIC and put wheels on it....

[DrTom]

GREAT BrianMac puzzle, and as usual entertainment within entertainment. Great clues (thanks for the drug treatment clue, I appreciate it!) and some very funny moments. I am waiting for confirmation but I truly feel there is no way I got the wrong answer (for a change).

[Bob cruise director]

Even better solution. I changed the setting for when a folder is full from "hold back new messages" to "delete oldest message."

So now, it hopefully should not be an issue, but know that your oldest messages will start to be deleted once you are over 1,000 PMs and new messages start coming in.

Mine seem not to be going out to anyone.

Brian - I just sent another PM at 2:45

[BrianMac]

Almost forgot the Wednesday nudges:


Look for words embedded in the theme answers.




The numbers in the clues are hints as to where to find the hidden words.




The original prompt asked for "a well-known book," but had the same answer.

[BrianMac]

Leaderboard as of posting time:

1. DJB
2. FrankieHeck
3. LauraM
4. whimsy
5. Jaclyn (welcome!)
6. C=64
7. ChrisKochmanski
8. BarbaraK
9. Djquimby
10. Hector
11. Abide
12. lbray53
13. Meg
14. MikeM000
15. boharr
16. RPardoe
17. Dow Jones
18. Jeremy Smith
19. m5rammy
20. Beth Tyrpin
21. oldjudge
22. Dannyvee
23. Richard B.
24. Schmeel
25. joequavis
26. bhamren
27. Bird Lives
28. Al Sisti
29. Dplass
30. FrankH
31. dudeski
32. Cinny
33. TMart
34. Cindy
35. ky-mike
36. hcbirker
37. DrTom
38. Sfull411

[Cinny]

Solved, confirmed, and OTC!! I really enjoyed this meta. Thanks, Brian!!

[Laura M]

I actually wasn't off the couch until just now when I read the third hint :-) I had all the pieces but didn't put them together the right way. Excellent answer though!

[SusieG]

Very fun puzzle! I think I’m off the couch. I could add several “worst cars ever” to the list.
1. A 1980-ish Fiat Spider that had endless transmission and engine issues (but it was sooooo cute!). I spent way too much money just to keep it running.
2. My mom’s 1980 Chrysler Newport, which would die at the most inopportune times. Once, as I turned a corner the power steering went out and I slid down the snowy bank of the Rio Grande, luckily stopping just before going into the icy water. Another time as we made a left hand turn with a semi barreling down the highway toward us. And as crazy as it sounds, on the railroad tracks. We all wanted to leave it there and walk away, but we sadly had time to push it out of the way.

[Cap'n Rick]

Solved and confirmed. Fun puzzle.

[Cindy]

Plymouth cricket. Not mine but my husband’s sometime during college. It needed repairs at some point and he just let the repairman keep it.

[ReB]

Off the couch after viewing spoilers, but not going to send PM. I don't think my heart was in it enough this week.

[michaelm]

Off the couch.
I've come to love how numbers within clues can be used to send solvers in so many different possible directions.
Thanks for the puzzle!

[Richard B.]

I've come to love how numbers within clues can be used to send solvers in so many different possible directions.

Wonder how well this meta would have worked without the numbers in the clues? Would just *s with the themers have been enough for a satisfying solve?

[KayW]

I actually wasn't off the couch until just now when I read the third hint I had all the pieces but didn't put them together the right way. Excellent answer though!

My sentiments exactly!

[FrankH]

I managed to find what I needed to find and solve the meta without noticing what was mentioned in Brian's second spoiler. But it took longer as I went down some rabbit holes.

[Abide]

I've come to love how numbers within clues can be used to send solvers in so many different possible directions.

Wonder how well this meta would have worked without the numbers in the clues? Would just *s with the themers have been enough for a satisfying solve?

This is a reply to the spoiler:
As the test solver of the original puzzle without the numbers, I think the leaderboard would be reduced by at least 75%. It took a nudge (and then a shove) for me to see the gimmick.

[whimsy]

I managed to find what I needed to find and solve the meta without noticing what was mentioned in Brian's second spoiler.

Same here -----

I vaguely wondered why Brian needed to update the clue for 42A, and why lbrary53 was so amenable that he did so! Duh on me!

[FrankH]

I managed to find what I needed to find and solve the meta without noticing what was mentioned in Brian's second spoiler.

Same here -----

I vaguely wondered why Brian needed to update the clue for 42A, and why lbrary53 was so amenable that he did so! Duh on me!

I want to add that because I didn't get that observation, I was not 100% certain of my answer, but close. That is because one of the items I found did not work as well as the others. However, I figured it was too much of a coincidence with everything I got and so worthy of submission.