MEOW #152 Let My People Go

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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DrTom
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#41

Post by DrTom »

Whew, thank goodness for a relatively simple WSJ, it has given people time to do the MEOW

27 rjy
28 michaelm
29 Carolyn
30 DIS
31 andeux
32 Heidi
33 Laura M
34 KayW

Since the MGWCC looks to be a trial (I am playing with what seems to be about 7 different possible mechanisms, none giving me anything useful) I'd bet I won't see much more on the MEOW until Monday or Tuesday. That's OK, I'll be busy pulling my hair out (figuratively of course, the other statement is not unlike me saying I'll be spending my time making the Dead Sea salty...)
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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Jeremy Smith
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#42

Post by Jeremy Smith »

Cat's out thanks to the nudges. I had been exploring in a completely different direction. Fine puzzle. Thanks DrTom!
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DrTom
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#43

Post by DrTom »

Jeremy Smith wrote: Sat Oct 28, 2023 2:50 am Cat's out thanks to the nudges. I had been exploring in a completely different direction. Fine puzzle. Thanks DrTom!
Well glad you could bike back to the right path! Hard to ride in sand....

Thanks for solving
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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BarbaraK
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#44

Post by BarbaraK »

@DrTom I don't see myself on your leaderboards, but I PM'd you an answer I'm quite confident about (and a happy birthday:)
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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Cap'n Rick
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#45

Post by Cap'n Rick »

Busy week. Just getting around to doing the midweek metas.

Great job, @DrTom! And a happy belated birthday to you!
Ahoy! Check out my meta puzzles! Also check out "Smooth Sailing Sundays"!
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DrTom
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#46

Post by DrTom »

BarbaraK wrote: Sat Oct 28, 2023 8:56 am @DrTom I don't see myself on your leaderboards, but I PM'd you an answer I'm quite confident about (and a happy birthday:)
You did indeed, my oversight. Perhaps a bit too much Birthday cheer?

Thanks for taking away from beach time to solve!!!
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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DrTom
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#47

Post by DrTom »

Cap'n Rick wrote: Sat Oct 28, 2023 9:53 am Busy week. Just getting around to doing the midweek metas.

Great job, @DrTom! And a happy belated birthday to you!
Yeah metas can back up quicker than a nautical toilet with a bad pump! Thanks for solving Rick!
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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woozy
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#48

Post by woozy »

DrTom wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2023 10:44 pm Seems that my nudges need nudges!

What Nudge 3 is getting at is that Genesis is the beginning and Exodus is the ending...use that when evaluating the theme answers.
I guess I'm not up an biblical interpretation but exodus being the second book didn't strike me as an ending although It might be an end of the beginning in some way. Instead, had I not solved it already, the nudge would have convinced me that 59D was a relevant clue and that everything I had done so far was a rabbit hole. As 59 is completely different than any other of the exodus clues I would never have managed to make anything of it.
GUAVA is not an anagram of VAGUE and PEPPER is not a palindrome.
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Ergcat
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#49

Post by Ergcat »

woozy wrote: Sat Oct 28, 2023 12:44 pm
DrTom wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2023 10:44 pm Seems that my nudges need nudges!

What Nudge 3 is getting at is that Genesis is the beginning and Exodus is the ending...use that when evaluating the theme answers.
I guess I'm not up an biblical interpretation but exodus being the second book didn't strike me as an ending although It might be an end of the beginning in some way. Instead, had I not solved it already, the nudge would have convinced me that 59D was a relevant clue and that everything I had done so far was a rabbit hole. As 59 is completely different than any other of the exodus clues I would never have managed to make anything of it.
Thank you, DrTom! Nudge 3 Nudge got me back on the right path out of the desert! I had been wandering for 40 days ( so it seemed) after an Egyptian rabbit!
The cat is free at last!!
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Cap'n Rick
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#50

Post by Cap'n Rick »

DrTom wrote: Sat Oct 28, 2023 12:14 pm
Cap'n Rick wrote: Sat Oct 28, 2023 9:53 am Busy week. Just getting around to doing the midweek metas.

Great job, @DrTom! And a happy belated birthday to you!
Yeah metas can back up quicker than a nautical toilet with a bad pump! Thanks for solving Rick!
Um, you meant nautical "head", right? :D
Ahoy! Check out my meta puzzles! Also check out "Smooth Sailing Sundays"!
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DrTom
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#51

Post by DrTom »

Cap'n Rick wrote: Sat Oct 28, 2023 6:12 pm
DrTom wrote: Sat Oct 28, 2023 12:14 pm
Cap'n Rick wrote: Sat Oct 28, 2023 9:53 am Busy week. Just getting around to doing the midweek metas.

Great job, @DrTom! And a happy belated birthday to you!
Yeah metas can back up quicker than a nautical toilet with a bad pump! Thanks for solving Rick!
Um, you meant nautical "head", right? :D
I did, I did. And since it is probably the same proportion as a nautical mile, it goes 1.15 more! I tried to keep my Navy training out of it but sometimes you just have to go with the wave...
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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DrTom
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#52

Post by DrTom »

Good Morning! Sorry I did not update the solver board yesterday, we went out for dinner (the reason I missed the Gaffney Zoom) for my Birthday to a new restaurant. Had it not been an occasion I would have opted to eat out some other day, but there was no way to postpone it I am afraid. Anyway, some more solvers have come aboard (or left the desert or freed the cat as the case may be) and we are up to a total of 40!

35 Jeremy Smith
36 BarbaraK
37 Cap'n Rick
38 Bird Lives
39 Ergcat
40 SeamusOL
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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LarsCaine
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#53

Post by LarsCaine »

First time doing this one. Thanks and happy belated birthday!
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Dave C
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#54

Post by Dave C »

I just looked at the nudges and the second one was all that was needed.
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DrTom
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#55

Post by DrTom »

Some Sunday Solvers!

41 Hector
42 Dave C
43 LarsCaine
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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MikeyG
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#56

Post by MikeyG »

Finally! Okay, got it! Solved it earlier, couldn't grok it for a bit...picked it up again and got it after noticing something else. Thanks!

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DrTom
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#57

Post by DrTom »

MikeyG wrote: Mon Oct 30, 2023 1:42 am Finally! Okay, got it! Solved it earlier, couldn't grok it for a bit...picked it up again and got it after noticing something else. Thanks!

Image
Thanks for solving Mike. I could actually send almost your whole message back to you about yours...well except for the finally got it part darn it. To be truthful I'd have to say "picked it up again, and again, and again.....

T
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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DrTom
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#58

Post by DrTom »

OK, probably be busy getting ready for people begging for candy tomorrow (and for the Trick or Treaters as well :D) so I'll post it now:

Band On The Run Graphic Reveal.jpg
The idea with LET MY PEOPLE GO was that there were 6 theme answers which, by their very Biblical nature should have stood out. Now what to do with them? There were two “hints”, one a visual and the other in the clue/answers. The visual one was the graphic itself that showed the sea parted and two large waves, one on the right the other the left. It was subtle to be sure, but not as much if you take it with 73A which sits in a spot commonly reserved for “nudge answers” and says “The other half of start”. There are any number of better ways to clue END so why that way? Well because it gives you START and END, and if you take the start and end of the 6 theme answers you get “BAND ON THE RUN” which I contend is a well-known song by a very well-known group, and aptly describes the Israelites exit from Egypt.

As stated, I was originally going to call this GENESIS and EXODUS, but a tester quickly pointed out that, while that made sense for the mechanism, it was not Biblically correct since Genesis may be the 1st book, but Exodus definitely is not the last. I could also have done Alpha and Omega, but I already had that title a while back for a much different puzzle.

So, I thank the 40 or so of you who answered my Birthday wish and solved the puzzle. I’m afraid this coming week’s will be a good deal more difficult, and I apologize in advance but I do not have a better time to release it, so check in on Wednesday to see what kind of mischief I have planned for you.

T
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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ajk
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#59

Post by ajk »

Solved this after looking at the nudge 3 nudge but before looking at the reveal. Think it was the last thing I hadn't yet done to those entries. :lol:
Fun one, thanks.
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michaelm
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Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2020 3:21 pm

#60

Post by michaelm »

DrTom wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2023 12:25 am OK, probably be busy getting ready for people begging for candy tomorrow (and for the Trick or Treaters as well :D) so I'll post it now:


Band On The Run Graphic Reveal.jpg

The idea with LET MY PEOPLE GO was that there were 6 theme answers which, by their very Biblical nature should have stood out. Now what to do with them? There were two “hints”, one a visual and the other in the clue/answers. The visual one was the graphic itself that showed the sea parted and two large waves, one on the right the other the left. It was subtle to be sure, but not as much if you take it with 73A which sits in a spot commonly reserved for “nudge answers” and says “The other half of start”. There are any number of better ways to clue END so why that way? Well because it gives you START and END, and if you take the start and end of the 6 theme answers you get “BAND ON THE RUN” which I contend is a well-known song by a very well-known group, and aptly describes the Israelites exit from Egypt.

As stated, I was originally going to call this GENESIS and EXODUS, but a tester quickly pointed out that, while that made sense for the mechanism, it was not Biblically correct since Genesis may be the 1st book, but Exodus definitely is not the last. I could also have done Alpha and Omega, but I already had that title a while back for a much different puzzle.

So, I thank the 40 or so of you who answered my Birthday wish and solved the puzzle. I’m afraid this coming week’s will be a good deal more difficult, and I apologize in advance but I do not have a better time to release it, so check in on Wednesday to see what kind of mischief I have planned for you.

T
IF Exodus was the last of the first five books, puzzle could have been Torah! Torah! Torah?
Maybe not.
Thanks again, DrTom.
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