MEOW #92: The Hardest Crossword

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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Cindy
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#21

Post by Cindy »

hoover wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 12:58 pm Oh H--- No! Guess what? Whereas Crosshare saves a cookie so if you close your window, your completed grid is still there when you go back to it, Crossword.info doesn't. Unnnnngggggghhhhh.... Note to self: print out the PDF and use a pen next time.
Been there, done that. Crosshare even saves it across devices. Look at crossword.info the wrong way and it will just clear the grid for you!
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Bird Lives
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#22

Post by Bird Lives »

I've breezed through the grid. Now on to Step 2.
Jay
markhr
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#23

Post by markhr »

Awaiting confirmation from Josh, but the cat is, I believe, free.
Amazing concept here, very well executed.

EDIT: Confirmed. Kitty has escaped.
Last edited by markhr on Wed Aug 24, 2022 3:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
dudeski
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#24

Post by dudeski »

Ditto.
Await confirmation.
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ChrisKochmanski
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#25

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

hoover wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 12:00 pm Grid completed... now making faces like @rjy's avatar to try to figure out and/or backsolve the meta.
Ditto for me.

I’ll add that I very much enjoyed completing the grid.
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woozy
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#26

Post by woozy »

Spell a word, you damned letters, spell a word!

I have a concept of a mechanism which I feel is the only thing that could be valid. It's a clever mechanism and practical and ingenious. The only minor problem is it doesn't work. Oh well....

Well, the skein between reality and the unreal and the common and the obscure has always been a wadded matted mess in my life....
GUAVA is not an anagram of VAGUE and PEPPER is not a palindrome.
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Cinny
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#27

Post by Cinny »

Grid completed, but so far I have no clue as to how to get the meta.

Answer submitted, but I am confident that the cat has escaped!

EDIT: confirmed

It turned out to be a fun puzzle! Thanks, Josh!
Last edited by Cinny on Thu Aug 25, 2022 1:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Cindy Heisler
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Cindy
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#28

Post by Cindy »

I have a grid. And I just sent a PM with a solution. Wait and see.
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boharr
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#29

Post by boharr »

Grid done, if not quite as expeditiously as @Bird Lives

Answer submitted.
EDIT: Confirmed. The cat is free.

Thanks, Josh
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Meg
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#30

Post by Meg »

I got the meta, but did not do the heavy lifting. Clever idea all around.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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woozy
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#31

Post by woozy »

Thanks to a nudge ("keep doing what you were doing, ya mook!") I got it figured out. Submitted but not confirmed. But I'm sure of it now.

EDIT: Confirmed.
GUAVA is not an anagram of VAGUE and PEPPER is not a palindrome.
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Darth
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#32

Post by Darth »

feature_hairball_unsplash-2-e1607625106346-960x540 (1).jpg
The cat is out...after coughing up a huge sweetgum hairball! :shock: :twisted:
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ChrisKochmanski
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#33

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Cat’s out. With a bit of help. Which I shouldn’t have needed. Because … well, I won’t say; it might tell too much.

I very much enjoyed this unusual puzzle, Josh. You go!
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whimsy
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#34

Post by whimsy »

(Here's where I belong!)
Was nudged to just sit back and look at the grid, so now I'm pretty sure I'm running on all fours --
Untitledwheels.png
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MarkWoychick
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#35

Post by MarkWoychick »

When I first saw this puzzle, I thought, "No, not going to do it." But, like a moth to a flame, I came back to it. It took a different kind of persistence, but I think I've got it - answer submitted. Thanks for the puzzle, Josh.

Edit: Cat's out!
Last edited by MarkWoychick on Thu Aug 25, 2022 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
hoover
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#36

Post by hoover »

whimsy wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 12:56 pm Well, half done, I guess.
Have the grid, but nothing to stand on so far for the meta --


Untitledhalfcat.png
Why is my cat on your stairs?
I don't have anything clever to say, but if I did, it would go here.
Eli
hoover
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#37

Post by hoover »

Answer submitted, awaiting confirmation.

Cats are fighting over who gets what furniture. 4 cats, 3 multilevel cat trees, 2 people chairs, 1 couch, several other soft cat-shaped surfaces, but somehow there are always arguments.

---
Update: Confirmed!
Last edited by hoover on Thu Aug 25, 2022 11:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
I don't have anything clever to say, but if I did, it would go here.
Eli
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benchen71
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#38

Post by benchen71 »

Cat's out! Whew, that was exhausting!!
Check out "The MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands" here. US$5 gets you 7 Marching Bands which, hard enough on their own, now contain metas too. And once again there's a mega-meta! :D
Schmeel
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#39

Post by Schmeel »

Solved! Cat's gone.
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rjy
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#40

Post by rjy »

Got back to this for a few and finished the grid... quite fun in its own right! Kudos, Josh, on that part alone!

On to step 2...
Ray
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