"I Can't Even!" 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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Bird Lives
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#21

Post by Bird Lives »

Crossed the moat walking backwards, or at least solving backwards.
Jay
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Jeremy Smith
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#22

Post by Jeremy Smith »

Crossed and stormed.
Thanks, Ben!
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Cinny
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#23

Post by Cinny »

Needed a slight nudge out of a rabbit hole. But then I crossed without a hitch. Thanks!
Cindy Heisler
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Dplass
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#24

Post by Dplass »

Got it after a nudge from a friendly muggle. Thanks and thanks.
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DrTom
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#25

Post by DrTom »

Made the crossing with just a bit of help on the uneven boards.

Thanks Ben, and stay dry this weekend!
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
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benchen71
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#26

Post by benchen71 »

I'm back, and I survived my trip down the Murray River! Actually, it wasn't too bad, since the group of students I was responsible for was really good. Anyway, here's the first batch of solvers (before I release the nudges!)

BarbaraK
Hector
SporcleMirror
Laura M
kieranjboyd
Cindy Weatherman
boharr
Ergcat
Alex Sisti
DCBilly
lbray53
Adam Doctoroff
edestlin
Meg
rjy
Darth
Tyrpmom
DIS
JHSeeman
woozy
ChrisCross
I K Snamhcok
heidi
Mikey G
ajk
Qmark
KayW
whimsy
markhr
MatthewL
Pair O Ducks
ReB
Bird Lives
Darrell
Jaclyn
dannyvee
jbird
Jeremy Smith
Bbaack
Charles Montpetit
Deb W
rvkal
Mr Tex
Carolyn
Cindy Heisler
Jeff G
CPJohnson
oldjudge
dplass
DrTom
Abide

That's 51, which is excellent. Thanks for all the encouraging comments on Crosshare. It seems that many of you enjoyed this one! :D
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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benchen71
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#27

Post by benchen71 »

Nudges, in order of increasing blatancy:

1. The puzzle title, in combination with 42 across, should be hint enough.

2. If you can't "even" then hopefully you can "odd".

3. Those 4 long entries look suspiciously odd.

4. Take the odd numbered letters of the long entries and see what you get. Familiarity with the rest of the grid might help with the next step...
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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Dow Jones
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#28

Post by Dow Jones »

Nudged across the moat. Excellent idea and construction, Ben.
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hoover
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#29

Post by hoover »

benchen71 wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 3:56 am
Hmm... the four nudges take me to step 1 and hint at step 2, which I already have, but that doesn't give me enough pieces for a 10LW, and the 10LW that might be hinted at by those pieces wasn't accepted by Crosshare so isn't the answer. I'll keep staring.
I don't have anything clever to say, but if I did, it would go here.
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BarbaraK
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#30

Post by BarbaraK »

hoover wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2023 2:08 pm
benchen71 wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 3:56 am
Hmm... the four nudges take me to step 1 and hint at step 2, which I already have, but that doesn't give me enough pieces for a 10LW, and the 10LW that might be hinted at by those pieces wasn't accepted by Crosshare so isn't the answer. I'll keep staring.
If you’ve been doing something and it’s getting you somewhere, keep doing the same thing
If you want help with a meta, feel free to PM me. The more specific you are about what you have and what you want, the more likely I can help without spoiling.

(And if I help you win a mug, I’ll be especially delighted.)
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woozy
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#31

Post by woozy »

BarbaraK wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2023 5:48 pm
hoover wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2023 2:08 pm
benchen71 wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 3:56 am
Hmm... the four nudges take me to step 1 and hint at step 2, which I already have, but that doesn't give me enough pieces for a 10LW, and the 10LW that might be hinted at by those pieces wasn't accepted by Crosshare so isn't the answer. I'll keep staring.
If you’ve been doing something and it’s getting you somewhere, keep doing the same thing
Or I would add a nudge 5: Lather, rinse, and ....repeat
GUAVA is not an anagram of VAGUE
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benchen71
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#32

Post by benchen71 »

I was going to add a couple more "official" nudges, but the one's above might do the trick. If not,

5. I really should have said "familiarity with the clues".

6. CARVE is not an alternate answer to "Chop finely".
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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benchen71
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#33

Post by benchen71 »

Solver update:

PuzNewbie
Dow Jones
SeamusOL
THC
Gutman
Sharkicicles

57 in total.
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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benchen71
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#34

Post by benchen71 »

Here's the solution to "I Can't Even!":

I Can't Even (solution).png
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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hoover
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#35

Post by hoover »

Somehow I was doing what I needed to do, including trying the odd letters of the alternate answers, and still wasn't able to come up with anything. Maybe I need a nap.
I don't have anything clever to say, but if I did, it would go here.
Eli
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ajk
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#36

Post by ajk »

Burned so much time looking for the AxCx word, before I realized it's SPEECH not SPEACH :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
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