"Come From Behind" by benchen71

Can you storm the castle by getting across the MOAT? A weekly meta crossword constructed by forum member Ben (aka benchen71). These metas range from relatively easy to more challenging, depending on how many Australianisms he puts in them! Puzzles are posted in a new thread every Tuesday, with nudges appearing on Saturdays, and the solution coming out on Mondays. (At least, that's the plan. Given he lives in Australia, and they are so far ahead of the US time-zone-wise, things may get posted early!)
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benchen71
Posts: 2378
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:50 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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#21

Post by benchen71 »

We're a day and a half off nudges, but there have been lots of solvers already!

woozy
hashbrown
Cindy Heisler
Hector
boharr
kymike
Dave C
LuckyGuest
Cindy Weatherman
Meg
dplass
Chaddog
ChrisKochmanski
hoover
Sommersmith
Carolyn
Julia
Laura M
joe
whimsy
Brookz180
dudeski
Darth
madhatter5
lbray53
oldjudge
Matt A
quatrevingtneuf
CPJohnson
BrennerTJ
Wouter van Dijke
CAe39
KayW
Abide
BarbaraK
Prasant
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
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sharkicicles
Posts: 798
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 12:03 pm
Location: Chicago

#22

Post by sharkicicles »

I also backsolved this, but it was a pleasant surprise to discover the mechanism!
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DrTom
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Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:46 pm
Location: Jacksonville, FL

#23

Post by DrTom »

Well, like others I did indeed come from behind (ie snuck in the back door) and got it correct. I see the answer but so far am not clever enough to detect the mechanism.

Thank you for the puzzle, I had a little difficulty because I am unfortunately a generation and continent or two behind - but I slogged through. Of course now I want one of those chocolate things which WERE available for a short while in the US but apparently not now. What a down under trick :D !
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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DrTom
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Location: Jacksonville, FL

#24

Post by DrTom »

Ok, I was just informed about the obvious thing I was missing. VERY clever in retrospect, nice job (and I still want a 26D - perhaps that should be the prize!)
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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ImOnToo
Posts: 442
Joined: Thu May 02, 2019 5:28 pm
Location: Texas

#25

Post by ImOnToo »

Solved, submitted and confirmed.

And, if you are not familiar, I suggest YouTubing 26D.
Konnie
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benchen71
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#26

Post by benchen71 »

Nudges, in order of increasing blatancy:

1. There is one hint in the grid. 5 D says you need to SEARCH the grid for the meta answer.

2. Two grid entries appear in the meta answer: SNATCH (27 A) and JAWS (50 D).

3. For the rest of the phrase, look for something repeated in the grid.

4. If you're still stuck, search the rows (ignoring black squares).
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
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benchen71
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#27

Post by benchen71 »

Here are the additional solvers:

shalmanezer
sharkicicles
DrTom
K7
somylai
DIS
bergie
Orfington
ImOnToo
Caroline
Jimmy James
ellequin
Qmark
Last edited by benchen71 on Sun Oct 17, 2021 5:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
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benchen71
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:50 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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#28

Post by benchen71 »

Monday morning, here in Melbourne. So here's the solution to Come From Behind:

Come From Behind (solution).png

I probably shouldn't have included the hints on SNATCH and JAWS. It seems that a number of solvers worked out the answer just from these hints in combination with the puzzle title. Some went on to find the mechanism. I know that's OK, but I still think it was too easy as a result. (I'll edit the puzzle on Crosshare now to tweak it for future solvers!)

As for the main mechanism, if you turn your head and use a bit of imagination, it's almost as though the DEFEATs form a mouth!

This week's puzzle will be food related...
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
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