MEOW #96: She Sells Sea Shells

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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Meg
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#21

Post by Meg »

The nudges helped me realize that I had totally misinterpreted the prompt. And of course I had missed the main puzzle theme. But other than that it was a fun solve!
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benchen71
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#22

Post by benchen71 »

We have indeed had some solvers since the nudges came out! Here's the list:

DrTom (tester)
lbray53
Cindy Weatherman
Meg
DIS
Qmark
Darth
boharr
Hector
Bbaack
markhr
rjy
oldjudge
ChrisKochmanski
Bird Lives
CPJohnson
SeamusOL
whimsy

I'm currently struggling with the WSJ, so instead of hitting my head against a brick wall, I've decided to construct another meta!
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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HeadinHome
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#23

Post by HeadinHome »

With you at the bar on the ship (WSJ), unless you’ve solved since posting.

Off the couch on this one, but needed all the nudges (this particular area of knowledge is a dim memory that I’ve gladly forgotten almost all of) so between you and Dr. Google I thudded to the floor. Back to noodling on the WSJ.
The other Wendy. :roll:
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CPJohnson
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#24

Post by CPJohnson »

Got it with the nudges. Thanks, Ben!
Cynthia
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edestlin
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#25

Post by edestlin »

Ooh, fun meta! The grid had me fumbling at first but with the nudges it clicked. Nice job!
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whimsy
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#26

Post by whimsy »

"Let's find out what's behind Nudge #3!"
(That's what got me there.)
Thank you, Ben, for the remedial!
Untitledshellcat.png
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benchen71
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#27

Post by benchen71 »

Solver update:

Wendy S HeadinHome
Sharkicicles
edestlin
MH
BrennerTJ
hoover

We're up to 24 now.
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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MikeyG
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#28

Post by MikeyG »

Really clever and fun - I was just way off base. Nudge #3 did it!

(Also: You do not know how hard it was for me not to reply with a punny comment that would give something away, haha.)
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 91. You'll Turn It Around
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benchen71
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#29

Post by benchen71 »

MikeyG wrote: ↑Sat Sep 24, 2022 1:43 am (Also: You do not know how hard it was for me not to reply with a punny comment that would give something away, haha.)
After the reveal, have at it!
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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KayW
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#30

Post by KayW »

:cat: :handbag: :crossed_swords: :rabbit: The cat is out after nudges - and an embarrassing number of wrong submissions even after the nudges. (Are you keeping count, Ben? Did I set a record? I truly lost track.)
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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woozy
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#31

Post by woozy »

Whoa! completely forgot about this! What's the latest one can come back. Well, those nudges did it. Never would have thought of it. Very clever.
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
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benchen71
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#32

Post by benchen71 »

I forgot about it, too! I need to release the answer, but I'll do a solver update first...
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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#33

Post by benchen71 »

Solver update:

Gutman
Mikey G
KayW
woozy

which brings us to a grand total of 28.
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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#34

Post by benchen71 »

Here's the solution to "She Sells Sea Shells":

She Sells Sea Shells (solution).png

All you chemistry experts should have had an easier time of it! I was hoping that "shells" in the title in combination with the grid art would make you think of the Bohr model of the atom. The proliferation of "P"s in the central area sticks out. What might "P" stand for? Well, in the context of the Bohr model of the atom, P=proton. After that, I hoped solvers would make the jump that if P=proton then perhaps E=electron, which is then confirmed by the location of the "E"s in the shells. Finally, once you identify SILICON as the atom you would think back to the puzzle title and recall that she sells sea shells "by the sea shore". And, of course, SILICON is derived from sand, so it would all tie together nicely.
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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woozy
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#35

Post by woozy »

SHELL made me think of UNIX programming. It was clear the rings were shells but.... I just never thought of atoms... although maybe I should have-- after all I needed a reason why the middle core was so much denser and and nearly half Ps. That it's Bohr's atom is pretty logical but I'd have never have thought of it.
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
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Ergcat
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#36

Post by Ergcat »

I majored in Chemistry in college but I didn’t get it….. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Even after the nudges I was still hung up on the title thinking I had to look for repeating letters. Like “n” in outer shell, etc. and looking for a “name” threw me off . I really wanted it to be “Niels” as in “Niels Bohr” but I couldn’t do anything with the 14 “p” at the core!!
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