The Doctor's Orders

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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DrTom
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#41

Post by DrTom »

hoover wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 2:44 pm
DrTom wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 1:31 pm I was hoping that I would not have too many challenges at the hospital so that I could get 37D ly and have time to work on it.
I had to say this three or four times out loud before the grooooooaaaaaannnnn moment hit.
I figured that would be the case. I did the same thing with the EWE ly's gold one earlier, though his was MUCH less a stretch than mine.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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lbray53
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#42

Post by lbray53 »

Fun puzzle but difficult solve for me because of a decision I made early. I submitted two answers that I deemed reasonable before Bird Lives nudged me back from my wanderings.
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
Dplass
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#43

Post by Dplass »

Off the couch! Thanks for the puzzle.
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Bird Lives
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#44

Post by Bird Lives »

I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun reading the comments. Thanks to everyone for the alternate clues.

The list of solvers so far (if I've overlooked you, PM me again):
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Solvers.jpg
As for nudges, don’t overthink this one. We’re not in Gaffney Week 3 territory here.

Unlike in the puzzles by constructors who know what they’re doing, the letters to the answer are not in the correct order in the grid.

As if you didn;t know, the answer is derived from the Tom entries. It is also something found in each of the Tom clues.
Jay
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Abide
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#45

Post by Abide »

No room on list for the test solvers?
Last edited by Abide on Wed May 26, 2021 5:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bird Lives
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#46

Post by Bird Lives »

Abide wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 5:48 pm No room on list for the test solvers?
I'll add them to the list, and they will appear in the final version. Apologies.
Last edited by Bird Lives on Sun May 30, 2021 8:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jay
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sharkicicles
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#47

Post by sharkicicles »

Bird Lives, for what it's worth most of the time when I solve a Gaffney I only realize they're in order after I solve them. I thought this one was a lot of fun.
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Beth Tyrpin
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#48

Post by Beth Tyrpin »

24A I like to watch my movies in order so I’m starting with my favorite Aardvarks said Tom ____ly.

17A I like to play cowbell on SCUBA trips said Tom _____ly.
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Bird Lives
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#49

Post by Bird Lives »

It’s been a week. Time’s up. Pencil’s down.
We had 51 solvers – the usual suspects plus a couple of new handles (you all know who you are).
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Tom solvers.jpg
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The answer was ADVERB, the initial letters of the Tom clues.

ARCH (5A)
DOLEFUL - (26D)
VIOLENT - (25D)
EXUBERANT (62A)
RESERVED (38D )
BLUNT (6A)
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Tom.jpg
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The key letters are not in the correct order in the grid because my original plan called for many Tom clues, more than one for each letter. They'd be all over the grid, so I didn't worry about order. But then I managed to fit in only a couple -- AVID (movie-editing software) and DIVERTING ("Greg Louganis gives me goosebumps, thrilled Tom ______ ly"). (Hector and Beth Tyrpin also had the same idea.)

So I made those clues more conventional leaving only one Tom clue for each letter. I was too lazy to take the puzzle apart and put it back together with the letters in order.

You may have noticed that I Ieft the adverbial suffixes out of the grid and relegated them to the clues. Why don't you try constructing a grid where that suffix appears seven times. With crossing letters. Surprisingly, only one solver (Caller #51) brought up the Tom Lehrer song, which I too had forgotten.

Last edited by Bird Lives on Mon May 31, 2021 9:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Hidden in 3D
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#50

Post by Hidden in 3D »

And don't forget me! Must be because I'm HIDDEN! :lol:
Sara
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Bird Lives
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#51

Post by Bird Lives »

Hidden in 3D wrote: Mon May 31, 2021 9:29 am And don't forget me! Must be because I'm HIDDEN! :lol:
My apologies. You're there now, though you've lost a dimension.
Jay
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