MEOW #39: Jigsaw

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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Bird Lives
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#41

Post by Bird Lives »

I needed a nudge that was more like a knock on the head, but although official word has not yet arrived from Copenhagen, I'm watching the cat, which looks to me like a level or two above Persian, roam free. What an idea for a puzzle -- clever, unique (at least I've never seen one like this), and no unchecked squares or two-letter words. The on thing it wasn't for me was 36A. I Kept thinking that there must be a way to use Excel to do what I'm doing by hand.
Jay
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HeadinHome
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#42

Post by HeadinHome »

Got it .. fun part was the very end. Never would have gotten this without pretty direct instructions from @whimsy and @woozy as to how to do the grid… I’ve never encountered this kind of puzzle. The numbers definitely threw me… maybe i missed some instructions/tips early on.
The other Wendy. :roll:
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#43

Post by Abide »

Cool unique idea. Got there pre-nudges, but with a Muggle nudge on how the grid worked (Thursday). Very 37-D MAD/40-A CAP!
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madhatter5
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#44

Post by madhatter5 »

Solution:


The key was to think of the puzzle as a jigsaw puzzle with the clues as the puzzle pieces. They all go into the grid, you just had to figure out where. You can get started with the long entries which can only go in a few places and work from there.

When the grid is completed the next step is to fit the circle-regions together, again like a jigsaw puzzle. Doing so successfully yields PRETTY AS A PICTURE, which is the answer.

Thanks to @KayW for the graphic!



jigsaw.PNG
https://pandorasblocks.org/crosswords-for-cancer
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Meg
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#45

Post by Meg »

I tried putting the pieces together, but I didn’t realize I could TURN them. Then the letters would be sideways, wouldn’t they. Ah, well. When you assume……so true.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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auee89
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#46

Post by auee89 »

I created the puzzle pieces on my iPad and could rotate and move them around until they fit together that made sense. Another fun spin to completing the meta!
Kevin
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CPJohnson
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#47

Post by CPJohnson »

I finally got it, after the third nudge. Great puzzle, Josh!
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#48

Post by whimsy »

auee89 wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:26 am I created the puzzle pieces on my iPad and could rotate and move them around until they fit together that made sense. Another fun spin to completing the meta!
For me, and my less tech and more preschool ways of doing things, it was cutting out little bits of old re-purposed grids with the correct letters entered, sitting on my porch shifting them around, and hoping I didn't lose one in the cracks between the floor boards! :D
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#49

Post by Dplass »

madhatter5 wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:19 am Solution:


The key was to think of the puzzle as a jigsaw puzzle with the clues as the puzzle pieces. They all go into the grid, you just had to figure out where. You can get started with the long entries which can only go in a few places and work from there.

When the grid is completed the next step is to fit the circle-regions together, again like a jigsaw puzzle. Doing so successfully yields PRETTY AS A PICTURE, which is the answer.

Thanks to @KayW for the graphic!




jigsaw.PNG
Ouch. I never would have realized that the green P went inside the other two. :( My spatial skills are horrendous.
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#50

Post by Dplass »

Meg wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:21 am I tried putting the pieces together, but I didn’t realize I could TURN them. Then the letters would be sideways, wouldn’t they. Ah, well. When you assume……so true.
Same. "Sideways letters? That's unpossible!"
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boharr
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#51

Post by boharr »

My spatial skills are pretty much nonexistent. I cut all the little letter pieces out and just kept moving them around until I saw PICTURE, which was a big piece of the puzzle.
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auee89
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#52

Post by auee89 »

whimsy wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:54 am
auee89 wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:26 am I created the puzzle pieces on my iPad and could rotate and move them around until they fit together that made sense. Another fun spin to completing the meta!
For me, and my less tech and more preschool ways of doing things, it was cutting out little bits of old re-purposed grids with the correct letters entered, sitting on my porch shifting them around, and hoping I didn't lose one in the cracks between the floor boards! :D
Pretty much the same as I did! "Cut" out the pattern on graph paper and grouped the letters together so each of the 4 pieces could be spun around as a group. Although, I did not have to worry about losing the pieces down the cracks :-).
Kevin
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Meg
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#53

Post by Meg »

boharr wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:17 am My spatial skills are pretty much nonexistent. I cut all the little letter pieces out and just kept moving them around until I saw PICTURE, which was a big piece of the puzzle.
Don't you have a scrabble game? :)
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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boharr
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#54

Post by boharr »

Meg wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:25 am
boharr wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:17 am My spatial skills are pretty much nonexistent. I cut all the little letter pieces out and just kept moving them around until I saw PICTURE, which was a big piece of the puzzle.
Don't you have a scrabble game? :)
I do. Somewhere. But it's the kind where the letters are held in small slots to keep them from sliding. I wanted the freedom to slide the little buggers around and avoid getting weary by having to lift them up, put them down, repeat.
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#55

Post by Laura M »

I fit together the puzzle pieces in MS Paint, do not recommend. But somehow it seemed easier than getting scissors and paper :-)
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