MEOW #20: If You Can't Stand the Heat ...

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.
dudeski
Posts: 371
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:56 pm

#21

Post by dudeski »

Good job, Whimsy. Nice Aha.
Cat’s out of the bag.
User avatar
MamaE
Posts: 334
Joined: Tue May 05, 2020 6:15 pm
Location: Maryland

#22

Post by MamaE »

Finally saw it - cat out of the bag! Nice puzzle!!
- Just puzzling it out here in Delmarva :D
User avatar
Abide
Moderator
Posts: 1274
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:16 pm
Location: Biloxi
Contact:

#23

Post by Abide »

This evil sage enjoyed it!
The site is just a web page, a meeting place, a clubhouse - it's the group that's special.
—Brian MacDonald
User avatar
TMart
Posts: 816
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:13 am
Location: Malvern, PA

#24

Post by TMart »

Cat’s out of the bag - great debut, Whimsy! More please!
Dave C
Posts: 293
Joined: Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:30 pm
Location: Round Rock, TX

#25

Post by Dave C »

Cat's out of the bag. Great AHA moment.
User avatar
Cindy
Posts: 1248
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:39 pm
Location: Matthews

#26

Post by Cindy »

Solved. Kitchendiva loved it.
User avatar
joequavis
Posts: 500
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 12:29 pm
Location: Windsor, Colorado

#27

Post by joequavis »

Cat's out of the kitchen!
Great puzzle, Whimsy!
Dplass
Posts: 1739
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:09 am

#28

Post by Dplass »

The prompt on the PDF is different. Intentional?
User avatar
whimsy
Posts: 2718
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2020 9:51 am
Location: Hopkinton MA

#29

Post by whimsy »

A tiny spoiler in answer to Dplass' question if you're confused also --
Maybe I should have used the prompt "Somethin'' from the oven....." with 2 apostrophes after "somethin to indicate 2 letters could be missing.
Sorry for the possible confusion and misleading. I'm afraid I usually choose fun over exactitude!
User avatar
hcbirker
Posts: 1985
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:24 pm
Location: Studio City, CA

#30

Post by hcbirker »

First time I’ve done a MEOW puzzle. I believe the cat is out of the bag?

Edit: confirmed
Heidi
User avatar
whimsy
Posts: 2718
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2020 9:51 am
Location: Hopkinton MA

#31

Post by whimsy »

Hi -- Nudges for anybody still looking to solve --
As a follow-up to my earlier post#29, the answer is actually plural.
All the asterisked entries are treated similarly, but with a bit of a difference between the one asterisk and the two asterisks.
Sort of a backwards meta; rather picking out letters from the grid, you have to supply the letters.
User avatar
CPJohnson
Posts: 1078
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:38 pm
Location: Kingsport, TN

#32

Post by CPJohnson »

Finally got it, confirmed by Whimsy, who kept me at it until I succeeded.
Cynthia
Hidden in 3D
Posts: 379
Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2019 11:42 pm

#33

Post by Hidden in 3D »

Whimsy just confirmed that I got the solution. I definitely needed the nudges, though! Such a fun puzzle!
Sara
User avatar
DrTom
Posts: 3765
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:46 pm
Location: Jacksonville, FL

#34

Post by DrTom »

Well that cat definitely almost cooked my goose! I needed Whimsy to tell me to do something that I really should have done earlier (but didn't of course). Wonderful debut puzzle and with that level of cleverness I expect to see a LOT more. I think EVERY Muggle should give it a try, it is quite fun and, as last week proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, quite humbling. Sometimes you just can't sugarcoat it.....

Thanks for almost an entire week of amusement Whimsy - now I need to go and cook dinner!
Cat chef.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!
MaineMarge
Posts: 1597
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:57 pm

#35

Post by MaineMarge »

Really fun to do this meta, Whimsy.
Great job❤️
Early in our marriage, our crusty old Vermont landlord would take umbrage at folks from “away” who now called themselves Vermonters. He was fond of saying, “ if the cat has kittens in the oven,
D13E1585-A413-41E5-BEFB-FB00568B5F0C.jpeg
Do you call them biscuits??”
User avatar
cbarbee002
Posts: 591
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:02 pm
Location: Philly Area

#36

Post by cbarbee002 »

Well, after being hit by a 2x4 (or was it a 6x6?), Whimsy pulled me across the finish line. I was SO locked into looking at this puzzle one way (uh, not the right way) that I overlooked what is now, in hindsight, quite obvious. Great one Whimsy!!!

Someone snapped this picture of Whimsy pulling me across the finish line.
Attachments
cat-cat.jpg
Dow Jones
Posts: 472
Joined: Thu May 09, 2019 11:02 pm
Location: Yakima, WA

#37

Post by Dow Jones »

Cat's out of the oven. Great debut, whimsy.
User avatar
whimsy
Posts: 2718
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2020 9:51 am
Location: Hopkinton MA

#38

Post by whimsy »

Here's the solution, courtesy of, who else? Joe Ross. :)
Capturesolution.PNG
Thank you all so much for playing along and indulging me!
User avatar
boharr
Moderator
Posts: 3183
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:57 am
Location: Westchester, NY

#39

Post by boharr »

Thank you @whimsy

Do more puzzles!
Locked