MEOW #173 Crowded

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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MEOW #173 Crowded

#1

Post by DrTom »

crowded banner2.jpg
I am going to go out on a limb and declare this one a Kitten (as opposed to going out on a limb to retrieve a kitten). My two testers got it right off the bat and both said it was a nice, calm trip to the end.

This puzzle was inspired by something I have tried to use to solve countless puzzles, and been wrong. So, figured I, why not finally use it...and I did.

The meta answer is something you might find yourself uncomfortable in.

Thanks to @Meg @Cinny who were my experimental group, to the technical support of @Joe Ross, and to the forum moderators (Kay, Mark Bob and Peter). What a wonderful group we have.

Kitten ■
Calico
Persian
Puma
Lion

There will be nudges Friday (if needed)

Crowded
crosshare
PUZ
PDF
spreadsheet

Image
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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#2

Post by benchen71 »

Cat's out! Nice one, DrTom!
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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woozy
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#3

Post by woozy »

Hah! That was fun. When you told me it was a kitten I was worried I'd need 30 nudges over seven days.
GUAVA is not an anagram of VAGUE
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schmidzy
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#4

Post by schmidzy »

Cat's free and demanding his breakfast!
Cat-Wakes-Me-Up-Meme.png
hoover
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#5

Post by hoover »

Cat's out! Can confirm kitten sighting.
I don't have anything clever to say, but if I did, it would go here.
Eli
MatthewL
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#6

Post by MatthewL »

Cat's free. Thanks for the puzzle, Tom!
Matthew
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ChrisKochmanski
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#7

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Bag is cat-less!
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rjy
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#8

Post by rjy »

Bag no longer crowded. Fun one, with a baker's handful of devilish clues!
Ray
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MarkWoychick
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#9

Post by MarkWoychick »

Cat's out of the bag - thank you, @DrTom
Ergcat
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#10

Post by Ergcat »

The kitty cat is free! Great fun! Thank you @DrTom
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HeadinHome
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#11

Post by HeadinHome »

Cat likes some easy escapes just to keep her confidence up. Thanks for obliging!
The other Wendy. :roll:
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whimsy
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#12

Post by whimsy »

Quick -- everybody out of the bag!

Untitledcatfam.png
Thanks DrTom!
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hcbirker
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#13

Post by hcbirker »

Debagged! Nice one Tom!
Heidi
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Jeremy Smith
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#14

Post by Jeremy Smith »

Kitten's out! Thanks, DrTom!
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ajk
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#15

Post by ajk »

Took a beat to find what I knew I was looking for, but once I stopped overcomplicating it came smoothly. 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
DelanQ
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#16

Post by DelanQ »

Fun one! Happy to have a cat free bag this afternoon!
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lbray53
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#17

Post by lbray53 »

Cat's out! Ew! That was close! I almost submitted the wrong answer.
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
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Darth
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#18

Post by Darth »

Kitty is out. Thanks, DrTom.
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DrTom
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#19

Post by DrTom »

whimsy wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2024 12:13 pm Quick -- everybody out of the bag!


Untitledcatfam.png

Thanks DrTom!
How did that one Scotsman get in there?
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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Location: Jacksonville, FL

#20

Post by DrTom »

lbray53 wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2024 2:38 pm Cat's out! Ew! That was close! I almost submitted the wrong answer.
Well that might have been irritating..... :D
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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