MEOW #186 Home Bound

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 #186 Home Bound

#1

Post by DrTom »

Homebound Banner.jpg
This may prove to be a little more challenging than my Pop Culture but definitely less so than Colorful words. I am going to say that it is at best a Persian and for most will be a Calico.

The idea came from another puzzle, I think it may have been a Cap'n Rick, where I thought the mechanism was what mine is and was wrong. Never to let failure stand in my way I thought, "OK, well that will be my mechanism"...ta da a meta is born!

Kitten

CALICO?

PERSIAN?

Puma

Lion


My testers, and those who improved this several-fold, were @MarkWoychick, @Cap'n Rick and a meta aficionado but non-muggle, David Schrager. They managed to move me in the right direction to make this more solvable or at least clearer.

Home Bound - Crosshare

Home Bound - Puz

Home Bound - PDF

Home Bound - Excel

Home Bound.png

There will be nudges on Friday and of course a solvers board.

I hope you all enjoy and release those poor cats quickly so they can leave for home!

Please forgive me, a long car trip and late night made me forget something important. I want to wish HAPPY JUNETEENTH to all of my African American friends and colleagues!
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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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hoover
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#2

Post by hoover »

Cat is out of the bag!
I don't have anything clever to say, but if I did, it would go here.
Eli
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Berto
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#3

Post by Berto »

Cat has found its way home.
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DrTom
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#4

Post by DrTom »

A very astute Muggle @Berto pointed out what is rather a large problem with the puzzle. I am working to amend it, but if you are struggling with it on Crosshare, give it an hour and try it again, I made some changes that I hope will fix it. (Note to self - do NOT post things in a hurry, late at night, after a long trip, that you have not thoroughly reviewed again!!!)
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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Meg
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#5

Post by Meg »

The cat's gone. Probably under the sofa.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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MarkWoychick
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#6

Post by MarkWoychick »

Cat is out of the bag - enjoyable the second time around, Dr. Tom!
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boharr
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#7

Post by boharr »

The cat appears to be free. Thanks.
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HeadinHome
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Location: Charlotte, NC

#8

Post by HeadinHome »

Puzzled. I see some obvious things, but nothing that makes an answer. Will be watching here for nudges.

ALSO - it is especially irritation and/or ironic that someone with my screen name can't solve this one!! :oops:
Last edited by HeadinHome on Thu Jun 20, 2024 12:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
The other Wendy. :roll:
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Dave C
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Location: Round Rock, TX

#9

Post by Dave C »

The cat is out of the bag and left for home.
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Darth
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#10

Post by Darth »

That darn cat snuck out of the bag... I'm not sure exactly how, but he DID! :P
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lbray53
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#11

Post by lbray53 »

The cat is out of the bag and headed home. Loved this one.
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
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MikeyG
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#12

Post by MikeyG »

The cat is MEOWing on the MOAT, which means I've solved neither. (Don't worry, I have treats in the meantime!)
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 133. Don't Think Twice
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rjy
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Location: Gaithersburg, MD

#13

Post by rjy »

Just like Ben’s from yesterday, I’m sitting on something… just can’t push it over the finish line
Ray
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DrTom
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#14

Post by DrTom »

Solvers:
1 DIS 
2 Meg 
3 Cindy Weatherman
4 Mwoychick 
5 woozy 
6 boharr o
7 Dave C 
8 Darth 
9 lbray53 

Relatively few solvers but I think that may be my fault. There were/are some sticky spots in the puzzle and I have changed two clues to hopefully make it easier to solve. We will see.

If you are one of those who thought they saw it but it did not hold together, that is no doubt my doing and I apologize.

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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HeadinHome
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Location: Charlotte, NC

#15

Post by HeadinHome »

OOOF - glad to be out of that bag! Dr. Tom gave me a little coaching, enough to get to a good guess that works. Will have to watch and see what the missing bit might be.
The other Wendy. :roll:
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sharkicicles
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Location: Chicago, Walter the Shih-Tzu's home town

#16

Post by sharkicicles »

I think I know what I have to do... in any case just filling the grid there's some amazing Tomisms.
If you like Rows Gardens check out my mini ones here: viewforum.php?f=41. Nudges are free on the off chance I’ve solved the meta.
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rjy
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#17

Post by rjy »

Ahh…. a fresh look in the morning did the trick! Fun one to wrestle with, DrTom, and always appreciate your approach to cluing!
Ray
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DrTom
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#18

Post by DrTom »

Oof! Seems I cannot even use Excel correctly anymore...when it rains it pours. Here is the COMPLETE solvers list as of last evening:

1 hoover
2 berto
3 DIS 
4 Meg 
5 Cindy Weatherman
6 Mwoychick 
7 woozy 
8 boharr o
9 Dave C 
10 Darth 
11 lbray53 
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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ChrisKochmanski
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Location: Saline, Michigan

#19

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Bag sans cat!
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DrTom
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Location: Jacksonville, FL

#20

Post by DrTom »

Day Two:

12 HeadinHome 
13 rjy 
14 I K Snamhcok 
15 Hector
16 Carolyn 

Gosh 16 solvers total (though I see a lot more submissions have been made), this must be a lot harder than I thought. Nudges next
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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