MEOW #103: What Time Is It?

[ChrisKochmanski]

Sitting here with an empty cat bag.

Thanks, Mark!

[edestlin]

Thanks to a nudge from Mark, the cat is out of the bag. Thanks!

[MarkWoychick]

Here's an updated leaderboard, followed by some nudges for anyone still working on the puzzle.

29 Jade
30 Benchen71
31 Bbaack
32 Jim Dean
33 ChrisKochmanski
34 edestlin

There are a couple of different paths you can use to get to the same solution, so if the first two nudges don't work, the next two might:

Look in the clues to find a word that 15 of them have in common. The grid entries for these clues are the theme answers for the puzzle

There is another element that the 15 clues have in common - if you identify that, you will have the meta answer

There is a word that can be used with each of the 15 grid themers, which is the same word I am referring to in nudge 2

It might be easier to identify the word that can be used with each of the 15 themers by starting with the grid entries that are full words, rather than abbreviations (or by writing out the full word for abbreviated ones).

I will provide a more blatant hint tomorrow, and you can PM me in the meantime if needed.

[KayW]

Doh!! Got it after the nudges. Oddly enough, since the nudges didn't tell me anything I hadn't already noticed or assUme-d. But I just didn't put all the pieces together til now...


Very clever meta and impressive construction - thanks!

[MarkWoychick]

Just in case the previous hints aren't helping, here are a couple more:

Look at 19A and 23A - what word might go with those clue numbers and entries?

Speaking of 19A: in recent news, a head of state was pitted against a head of lettuce to see which would last longer. What is the name of her position?

[Abide]

Well done! Lots of constraints here...

[MaineMarge]

Cat is exiting the bag, finally. Took all Mark’s nudges to get me there.
Great job, Mark. You have the meta knack.

What time is it? It’s bedtime for me and Lewis the cat, who likes to get under the covers with me EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for 10 minutes

2016 photo- and every night since then

[MikeyG]

Time for another good puzzle! Kicking myself for not seeing a couple of what now seem like "ins," but that's what I get for solving at midnight (that's my kind of time!). First nudge did it.

Thanks for the first of what I hope are many of your puzzles!

[MarkWoychick]

Here's the final leader board - congrats to all the solvers. Reveal tomorrow!

35 DebbieC
36 CPJohnson
37 KayW
38 BarbaraK
39 Magistra
40 Teddybear
41 Carolyn
42 Sharkicicles
43 Abide
44 MaineMarge
45 SeamusOL
46 markhr
47 Mikey G
48 Darrell
49 jbird
50 ReB
51 Johnny Luau

[MarkWoychick]

Fifty one solvers found the meta answer, PRIME (PRIME TIME also accepted). The theme entries were cued by the 15 clues that contain the word "or." The theme entries in the grid are all prime numbers, and each of their corresponding grid entries is a word that goes with "prime."

The grid was also a "prime" at 13x13, and the prompt included the word "directive," as in prime directive.

Due to the constraints of the mechanism, I had to make a number of compromises, which likely made solving the puzzle more difficult (sorry about that). Specifically, there were a lot of abbreviations and theme answers crossing one another, which limited the words I was able to use. I also would have liked to have had 13 rather than 15 themers to go with the prime theme. And there are so many good words that go with prime that I was unable to fit in this puzzle - maybe another puzzle for future development?

OK, on with the explanation:

2 Prime Month "April is a prime month for home sales"
3 Prime Spot "Main Street is a prime spot for this business"
5 Prime Yrs "I enjoyed my prime years, but I'm well past it now"
7 Prime No's - "Each of the themers is a prime number"
11 Prime Feat. "A prime feature of a Tesla is the electric motor"
13 Prime Terr. "The northwest is prime territory for pickup sales"
17 Prime APR "what is the current prime APR?"
19 Prime Minister "The Prime Minister of England doesn't usually change so often"
23 Prime Rib "Prime Rib special on Saturday"
29 Prime Assets "The prime assets in the merger were the IP and patent library"
31 Prime Target "The QB's prime target was his all-star wide receiver"
37 Prime Cuts "Prime cuts are often featured in the butcher shop and greatest hits albums"
41 Prime Sub. "My prime subject was xxx in school"
43 Prime Role "The lead was a prime role that many actors sought"
47 Prime Day "I can never find anything I want to buy on Amazon Prime Day"

[DrTom]

Wow 51 solvers, EXCELLENT response! Believe me if you liked this you'll like his next one even better! Mark has definitely got the knack of weaving an entertaining web around what at first seems an impossible idea. I guess, seeing where he is from, that merits a lot of ATTA BOISE! (OUCH)

T

[dsbened]

I'm a newbie to MEOW. But where can I view the solution to the puzzle?

[MarkWoychick]

I'm a newbie to MEOW. But where can I view the solution to the puzzle?

Thanks for your question - I just added a screenshot of the completed grid to the reveal post above

[rjy]

7 Prime No's - "Each of the themers is a prime number"

Wow. Just wow!

[MikeyG]

Just caught that all the themers were prime as well! Absolutely brilliant.