Take One for the Team
- ajk
- Posts: 1033
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:22 pm
- Location: Colorado
Take One for the Team
Happy Memorial Day
Many meta ideas come from frustrating dead-ends encountered while solving other puzzles. This one was instead inspired by the title of another puzzle, namely this one by @Bird Lives. The similarities between the two end at the titles, so having solved that one won't spoil this.
Thanks to @Wendy Walker for test solving, and to @Abide both for test solving and wordsmithing a particularly significant clue. Thanks as always to @Joe Ross for tech support.
The meta answer is a professional team.
Take One for the Team
Crosshare
PUZ
PDF
Spreadsheet
I'm terrible at guessing difficulty, but I think this one is maybe middle-ish. Nudges Wednesday, solution on Sunday.
Hope you enjoy!
cheers,
Alan
Many meta ideas come from frustrating dead-ends encountered while solving other puzzles. This one was instead inspired by the title of another puzzle, namely this one by @Bird Lives. The similarities between the two end at the titles, so having solved that one won't spoil this.
Thanks to @Wendy Walker for test solving, and to @Abide both for test solving and wordsmithing a particularly significant clue. Thanks as always to @Joe Ross for tech support.
The meta answer is a professional team.
Take One for the Team
Crosshare
PUZ
Spreadsheet
I'm terrible at guessing difficulty, but I think this one is maybe middle-ish. Nudges Wednesday, solution on Sunday.
Hope you enjoy!
cheers,
Alan
- Attachments
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
- benchen71
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Off the couch... I think! Nice one, Alan.
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!
- boharr
- Moderator
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- MarkWoychick
- Site Admin
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Off the couch - thanks, @ajk. Loved the clue for 44A!
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 contest-style (meta) crosswords that we've created to help raise money for cancer-related organizations - get the bundle at http://crosswordsforcancer.com
- Darth
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- ImOnToo
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- CPJohnson
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- schmidzy
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Oh wow, this one is so cleanly constructed! I skipped a step in my solve and went back to find it after reading some Crosshare comments, and then I had to scrape my jaw back up off the floor. Great work, @ajk!
- ajk
- Posts: 1033
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:22 pm
- Location: Colorado
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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- Meg
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I missed the elegance my first time around. Very nice, Alan.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
- CPJohnson
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- ajk
- Posts: 1033
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- Location: Colorado
Folks -- it seems like more than a few people have come to a certain point and thought that's all the puzzle had to give. I blame myself, because I worried about that and obviously did a not-so-great job of trying to address it. So here's a clarifying nudge (doesn't tell you anything about how to solve, just intended to get you past the fake endpoint):
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
- Jeremy Smith
- Posts: 1031
- Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:45 pm
- Location: Tampa Bay area
Off the couch. I didn't read the clarification prior to submitting an incorrect answer. Google steered me in the right direction. I had totally missed the elegance of the meta. Very WSJ-worthy IMHO. Thank you, Alan!
- lbray53
- Posts: 1268
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Brilliant puzzle. I missed the answer but realize I could have gotten it if I were not lazy about the hints in the puzzle.
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
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- ajk
- Posts: 1033
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:22 pm
- Location: Colorado
Day one solvers in alphabetical order (after the test solvers). Please let me know if I forgot anyone:
Abide [TS]
Wendy Walker [TS}
andeux
benchen71
Berto
boharr
Cindy Weatherman
CPJohnson
Danny K Bernstein
dannyvee
Darth
Dave C
DCBilly
DIS
Dow Jones
ELSavage
Eric Porter
FrankieHeck
Gutman
HeadinHome
Hector
hoover
ImOnToo
Jaclyn
Jeremy Smith
JM
Kulea
kurtalert
LarsCaine
Laura M
LB800
lbray53
markhr
MarkWoychick
MatthewL
Meg
schmidzy
Tim
whimsy
woozy
Abide [TS]
Wendy Walker [TS}
andeux
benchen71
Berto
boharr
Cindy Weatherman
CPJohnson
Danny K Bernstein
dannyvee
Darth
Dave C
DCBilly
DIS
Dow Jones
ELSavage
Eric Porter
FrankieHeck
Gutman
HeadinHome
Hector
hoover
ImOnToo
Jaclyn
Jeremy Smith
JM
Kulea
kurtalert
LarsCaine
Laura M
LB800
lbray53
markhr
MarkWoychick
MatthewL
Meg
schmidzy
Tim
whimsy
woozy
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
- Anita
- Posts: 452
- Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 1:55 am