"Nominative Geography" 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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DrTom
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Location: Jacksonville, FL

#21

Post by DrTom »

Fun Tuesday exercise, thanks Ben.

MOAT QUOTE.jpg
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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Dave C
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Joined: Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:30 pm
Location: Round Rock, TX

#22

Post by Dave C »

Fun trip across the moat.
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ajk
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Location: Colorado

#23

Post by ajk »

Slightly late start, but speedy solve. Fun stuff, thanks.
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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benchen71
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#24

Post by benchen71 »

The end of the first 24 hours has elapsed, so it's time for the first solver update:

woozy
Tom Wilson
SamKat9
edestlin
Pair O Ducks
Darth
JHSeeman
lbray53
Adam Doctoroff
JM
Alex Sisti
MatthewL
Schmeel
DCBilly
boharr
KayW
I K Snamhcok
Meg
whimsy
HeadinHome
Tim
Hector
Ergcat
BarbaraK
imontoo
Cindy Weatherman
DIS
Jaclyn
kurtalert
SJ
Mr Tex
hoover
Quiara
DrTom
Cindy Heisler
DrButtBeard
heidi
DebbieC
Dave C
CPJohnson
Flora Wynn
Larry Edelstein
ajk
Sendhil Revuluri
Laura M
dannyvee
Berto
LindaPRmaven

That's 48 to get us started.
Last edited by benchen71 on Wed Jan 17, 2024 1:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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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#25

Post by benchen71 »

I went on a walk this afternoon along a circuit at Cape Woolamai on Phillip Island, which is a tourist destination not far from Melbourne. We saw 5 snakes, which is a personal record! Here are photos of 4 of them. (The third one slithered away before I could get a photo.)

1.jpg
2.jpg
3.jpg
4.jpg

I'm pretty sure these are Lowland Copperheads, which are (of course!) venomous. Ah, welcome to Australia! :D
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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SamKat9
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#26

Post by SamKat9 »

benchen71 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2024 1:16 am I'm pretty sure these are Lowland Copperheads, which are (of course!) venomous. Ah, welcome to Australia! :D
Great pictures! I love snakes, and there's plenty of them where I live! :D Aside from the rare Eastern copperhead and cottonmouth (both venomous), I usually see harmless racers, rat snakes, and goofy banded water snakes (they look google-eyed to me). Then of course there's those Burmese pythons in the Everglades that are feasting on everything they can find (including alligators), but thankfully Ive never seen one of those, and I hope I never get the opportunity.

Edit: Apparently we have rattlesnakes and coral snakes too (venomous), but I haven't seen any.
Shannon 🐱
PS: If you want help with a meta, PM what you have so I can help without spoiling too much. I've received lots of help in the beginning and I love to pay it forward!
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rjy
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#27

Post by rjy »

Fun puzzle, Ben! But perilous swim thru the moat, on account of these fellers:
Image
Look up the Collection of Unorthodox Taxidermy for more of the author's sculpture art that you might not have known of before - we got a few twenty-some years ago that hang above our fireplace... they're very cool
Ray
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woozy
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#28

Post by woozy »

rjy wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2024 8:27 am Fun puzzle, Ben! But perilous swim thru the moat, on account of these fellers:
Image
Look up the Collection of Unorthodox Taxidermy for more of the author's sculpture art that you might not have known of before - we got a few twenty-some years ago that hang above our fireplace... they're very cool
Is it just me or does the Powerless Puffer remind me of someone....

Image
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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#29

Post by benchen71 »

Some more solvers to add to the list:

rjy
Tyrpmom
Bbaack
Danny K Bernstein
jbird
Carolyn

We're up to 54 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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benchen71
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#30

Post by benchen71 »

Early nudges! In order of increasing blatancy:

1. A number of clues provide *slightly* more detail than you strictly need to get the grid entry. (That said, there are quite a lot of lengthy/chatty clues, so this nudge might not help very much!)

2. Given the puzzle title it would *have* to be significant that six across clues refer to a country (if you will allow me to pretend that Scotland is a country!)

3. Those six grid entries can be extended to generate a name with a geographical association.

4. Once you have generated a six-letter word, your knowledge of 69 across's books will be needed.
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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Qmark
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Location: Ottawa, Canada

#31

Post by Qmark »

Crossed the MOAT...no nudges needed...thanks for another fun meta, Ben!
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ky-mike
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Location: Near Louisville Ky

#32

Post by ky-mike »

Nudged across the Moat. Nice one, Ben!
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Jeremy Smith
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Location: Tampa Bay area

#33

Post by Jeremy Smith »

Busy week traveling so I sped up my solve with the first two nudges. Fun! Thanks, Ben!

No copperheads here but we have pygmy and diamondback rattlesnakes, cottonmouth water moccasins, and coral snakes. The resident black racers here on the property make sightings of the venomous ones rare, thank goodness.
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benchen71
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#34

Post by benchen71 »

We have more solvers!

Qmark
Sharkicicles
AxelPlays
Jeremy Smith
Golem
Dow Jones
Steve M

That's 61. Next (and last) update before the answer reveal, Monday morning Australia time!
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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MMe
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#35

Post by MMe »

Just saw the great image in the OP. Nice!
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benchen71
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#36

Post by benchen71 »

Just 3 more solvers, but that gets us to 64!

Gutman
Philip Chow
ReB

Onwards, to the reveal!
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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#37

Post by benchen71 »

Here's the solution to "Nominative Geography":

Nominative Geography (solution).png

You'll get two puzzles from Down Under this week, MOAT and MEOW. Enjoy! :D
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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SamKat9
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#38

Post by SamKat9 »

One of my med school classmates gave me this book when we graduated, and it was such a heartwarming gesture then. Now I read it to my daughter. Definitely my fav Dr. Seuss book.
Shannon 🐱
PS: If you want help with a meta, PM what you have so I can help without spoiling too much. I've received lots of help in the beginning and I love to pay it forward!
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