MEOW #37: Josh and Tom's Terrible Horrible No-good Very Bad Puzzle

A weekly meta crossword on the forum started by member Josh (aka madhatter5). These puzzles are often very creative with solving mechanisms out of the norm and skewing towards the more challenging. Puzzles are posted every Wednesday, and the solution appears the following Tuesday.
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Bob cruise director
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#21

Post by Bob cruise director »

madhatter5 wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:34 am Rating updated.

As this seems to be even harder than we anticipated I am going to do the same as Matt and release a bonus extra easier puzzle this week in another thread.
Are you going to post spoilers on this one while we work on MEOT
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Joe Ross
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#22

Post by Joe Ross »

madhatter5 wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:34 am Rating updated.

As this seems to be even harder than we anticipated I am going to do the same as Matt and release a bonus extra easier puzzle this week in another thread.
I'm no expert & certainly cannot speak for anyone other than myself (and I may not find the time to attempt this puzzle), but I'm usually wowed & amused by Josh's efforts and the efforts of other creators, here & linked on @Abide's Meta Calendar. I am not challenging others' feedback, which comes from deep experience & skill several standards of deviation better than mine. Its value is exceptional. They may join me in encouraging creators' efforts to try new strategies & designs. There's value there, too.
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๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ENORMOUS ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ:
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#23

Post by auee89 »

madhatter5 wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:34 am Rating updated.

As this seems to be even harder than we anticipated I am going to do the same as Matt and release a bonus extra easier puzzle this week in another thread.
Echoing Joe's comments, keep 'em coming! Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't (or don't work as expected). You all have created a safe space with this forum for experimenting with new ideas and I for one am thankful for the opportunity to play in this sandbox!
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#24

Post by Bird Lives »

RPardoe wrote: โ†‘Wed Aug 11, 2021 2:55 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: โ†‘Wed Aug 11, 2021 2:41 pm By the way, 5D was one of the great humorists of all time - totally irreverent. I will post some of my favorites when this is all over
Agree trying to think of whom else the clue is referring to as another one just does not come to mind. :P
I assumed it was Burnakis.
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#25

Post by RPardoe »

Bird Lives wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 8:47 am
RPardoe wrote: โ†‘Wed Aug 11, 2021 2:55 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: โ†‘Wed Aug 11, 2021 2:41 pm By the way, 5D was one of the great humorists of all time - totally irreverent. I will post some of my favorites when this is all over
Agree trying to think of whom else the clue is referring to as another one just does not come to mind. :P
I assumed it was Burnakis.
The (sarcasm?) emoji didn't help here?
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#26

Post by Bird Lives »

RPardoe wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 8:53 am
Bird Lives wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 8:47 am
RPardoe wrote: โ†‘Wed Aug 11, 2021 2:55 pm
Agree trying to think of whom else the clue is referring to as another one just does not come to mind. :P
I assumed it was Burnakis.
The (sarcasm?) emoji didn't help here?
Sorry. I am emoji-illiterate, so I tend not to notice them.
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#27

Post by Bird Lives »

Hector wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 12:09 am
LadyBird wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 12:02 am Well, I received quite the education while Googling "Dutch wife"! :o
Glad I wasn't the only one!

Solved with an assist from oldjudge, whose comment unstuck my wrong assumption that there were n-1 things where there really were n. It's a solid, amusing, and interesting meta.
I think I know what you mean, but I considered both n and n-1 and still haven't solved it.
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Joe Ross
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#28

Post by Joe Ross »

Bird Lives wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 8:54 am
RPardoe wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 8:53 am
Bird Lives wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 8:47 am

I assumed it was Burnakis.
The (sarcasm?) emoji didn't help here?
Sorry. I am emoji-illiterate, so I tend not to notice them.
I'm afraid to acknowledge emojis in any way.

Either that, or, from this point on, every emoji I send to those feint (<-not misspeeled) of brain is meant in the most aggressive, demeaning, & violent way it could possibly be misconstrued.

Determine for yourself if I am being sarcastic. Also, get off my lawn.
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#29

Post by DrTom »

I echo my co-creator's concern and remorse. To quote the oft mentioned (and lately even oft more) Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan.......
ANH-Ben-great-disturbance-in-Force med.jpg
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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#30

Post by madhatter5 »

Bob cruise director wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 8:01 am
madhatter5 wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:34 am Rating updated.

As this seems to be even harder than we anticipated I am going to do the same as Matt and release a bonus extra easier puzzle this week in another thread.
Are you going to post spoilers on this one while we work on MEOT
Good idea Bob :)

Why is the grid so hideously awful? More precisely why would it never be considered for the WSJ or NYT?

If you've figured out step one above you probably have a set of either n or n-1 thingamabobs. In fact there are n thingamabobs. Those thingamabobs refer to other entries in the grid. I like saying thingamabobs.

The numbers in parentheses do not relate to their corresponding entries, but rather to the entries found in the previous step.
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#31

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Got it. Though with help. (So I wonโ€™t submit, in case thereโ€™s a prize, for the truly worthy.)

Pretty darn cool, but thereโ€™s a reason, which I canโ€™t say (or else Iโ€™d give something away), that I wouldnโ€™t quite elevate my rating to something like super groovy.
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#32

Post by boharr »

To get my cat free it took all the nudges here plus umpteen more.
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#33

Post by Darth »

Stink...stank...STUCK!
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Bob cruise director
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#34

Post by Bob cruise director »

deleted
Last edited by Bob cruise director on Thu Aug 12, 2021 2:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#35

Post by Hector »

โ€œBrad, Gary and Todd Wuebker lost their lives doing what they loved"
[Ed: I see what you're going for here, but can we maybe rephrase?]
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Bob cruise director
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#36

Post by Bob cruise director »

Hector wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 2:32 pm
โ€œBrad, Gary and Todd Wuebker lost their lives doing what they loved"
[Ed: I see what you're going for here, but can we maybe rephrase?]
I deleted it
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#37

Post by Hector »

Bob cruise director wrote: โ†‘Thu Aug 12, 2021 2:39 pm I deleted it
Oh, I didn't mean what *you* were going for., though I see why you might take it that way. Sorry! I was joking about what the editor would/should have said to the author of that piece. For those who missed it, it was a story about the death of three farmers who most definitely were *not* doing what they loved when they passed.
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#38

Post by Cindy »

Solved but with a nudge.
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#39

Post by Darth »

Evil genius! :twisted: Solved with a bit of light saber to the brain. May the "Farce" be with you, too! :lol:
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#40

Post by dudeski »

Thanks for dragging me over the finish line, Madhatter.
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