48. A Romantic Centerpiece

Puzzles! Puns! The occasional crosswordese! Solve a new meta at the end of each of month at https://punofakind.blogspot.com/
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MikeyG
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48. A Romantic Centerpiece

#1

Post by MikeyG »

PDF and PUZ

Crosshare

Image

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Sometimes, I have no idea what to put here, haha.

It's a bit of a visual meta this time, and I give super shout-outs to both @Abide and @whimsy for their amazing feedback on this one! Seems like I've been in a Level 2.5 groove as of late, and that's what this one will likely be as well.

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48. A Romantic Centerpiece

The answer to the meta is a 3-word phrase visually depicted in the grid.

Deadline is Tuesday, February 21 at 1 pm ET.

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Best of luck, and may all your solves be beautiful!

Mikey G
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 113. Where's the Rest?
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benchen71
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#2

Post by benchen71 »

Solved, and yes, it was beautiful! Nice one, @MikeyG.
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
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#3

Post by schmidzy »

Nicely done! The clue for 4d taught me some new words, too.
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#4

Post by Cinny »

Grid was kind of tough, but great meta!
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Cap'n Rick
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#5

Post by Cap'n Rick »

Fun one! Thanks, Mikey!
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Meg
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#6

Post by Meg »

Fun puzzle and lovely meta. Thanks, Mikey.
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#7

Post by boharr »

Nice. Thanks, Mikey.
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#8

Post by ky-mike »

Made me think about it for a while. Nicely done.
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lbray53
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#9

Post by lbray53 »

NIce puzzle. Thanks.
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#10

Post by hcbirker »

Cute!
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#11

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Je l’adore!
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#12

Post by Bird Lives »

I PMd my answer as an oblique musical reference. Not yet confirmed.
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KayW
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#13

Post by KayW »

:crossed_swords: :rabbit: Beautiful meta!
catflower3.jpg
(This is a 1990s photo of my one-time cat Mercedes)
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#14

Post by rjy »

Clever challenge, Mikey! Thanks -
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#15

Post by Dow Jones »

Any nudges, Mikey ??
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#16

Post by MikeyG »

Dow Jones wrote: Sun Feb 19, 2023 9:46 pm Any nudges, Mikey ??
Coming tomorrow! By which I mean today. Let me go to sleep and wake up first, haha.
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 113. Where's the Rest?
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#17

Post by MikeyG »

Current solvers: 45

Let's see if we can get to the half-century mark!

Nudges

1. This is more of a visual meta; the phrase is not gleaned from a mechanism in the grid but in something that is represented within.

2. The title implies that what I'm trying to find in the grid is located somewhere at or near the center.

3. This visual image is symmetrical as well!

4. The last-minute "breadcrumb" addition for the clue for 42-Down is a clue for you to notice that some vowels in the grid are less prevalent than others.

5. Also note 1-Across, which points to the two vowels (in the clue!) that are most relevant to this meta.

6. The long spanner at 44-Across also points to elements, and if you take that in conjunction with the two least commonly occurring vowels, you might notice a central pattern!

7. Look toward the center of the grid for the two vowels in question. What shape are these forming?

8. What element has the chemical symbol referenced in 1-Across that this shape comprises?

9. See if you can put the shape and the element together to get the three-word phrase (whose middle word is "of").

Mikey G
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 113. Where's the Rest?
MatthewL
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#18

Post by MatthewL »

Welp -- needed 8 of 9 nudges to get it. I'll console myself with the fact that I didn't need the ninth. Would never, ever have gotten this without the help. That being said, very clever puzzle.
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#19

Post by jhseeman »

Needed the second clue.

NIce puzzle, and Meta mechanism. Thanks.
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#20

Post by Dow Jones »

Nudged to the solve. Thanks, Mikey
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