MEOW #208 Sounds Greek To Me

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 #208 Sounds Greek To Me

#1

Post by DrTom »

Sounds Greek to me banner2.jpg

No it is not déjà vu nor is it the Oresteia, but it is a Greek Trilogy! This is the third puzzle, the first being @Wendy Walker on 4/29/24 “It’s All Greek to Me” , 10/9/24 “Greek To Me” by @Joe Ross (with some help from me) and this one which Wendy’s puzzle inspired because I thought this would be her Mx but it was not. I am hoping this will be an epic tale and not a tragedy. I am going to put it in Persian/Puma territory because I was pretty sneaky AND I had an immense amount of help from @Al Sisti who came up with the PERFECT prompt and meta answer, which is also a little sneaky. Besides Al I had a lot of people test run this and give me VERY valuable input: @Cap'n Rick , @Bird Lives and @Meg . I hope that I have followed all of their advice on cleaning this up so that it is both solvable and enjoyable. Al’s input should provide a very special AHA moment, I’m looking forward to comments on this one. If I have forgotten any testers, please forgive me and remind me so I can award praise where it is due. These are often so far from their creation date that I lose track.

Kitten
Calico
≽^•⩊•^≼ Persian
≽^•⩊•^≼ Puma
Lion

Friday Nudges and probably an early reveal (since I am leaving Tuesday AM to go to relative’s for Thanksgiving). Solve well and keep an eye out for Trojan horses.

Crosshare - Sounds Greek To Me

Puz file - Sounds Greek To Me

PDF file - Sounds Greek To Me

Sounds Greek To Me.png
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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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Joe Ross
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#2

Post by Joe Ross »

Two things:

- "(with some help from me)" Yeah. SHAH! Right. My contribution was a half-baked idea without the chops to pull it off. You did 99 and 64/100ths of the creativity and work.

- "Mx" Have I been blind and ignored this? I know you're a pro pill-pusher and witty beyond belief, but this is next-level beautiful stuff, Doc! Best meta xword shorthand ever!
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woozy
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#3

Post by woozy »

Cats out and looking for greek food (I have weird cats....)
GUAVA is not an anagram of VAGUE
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Dave C
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#4

Post by Dave C »

Cats out.
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Darth
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#5

Post by Darth »

Mew!... Good one, DrT!...... It's just a pic, but if the shoe fits wear it, I guess!
cat in shoe.jpg
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DrTom
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#6

Post by DrTom »

Joe Ross wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2024 2:06 am Two things:

- "(with some help from me)" Yeah. SHAH! Right. My contribution was a half-baked idea without the chops to pull it off. You did 99 and 64/100ths of the creativity and work

- "Mx" Have I been blind and ignored this? I know you're a pro pill-pusher and witty beyond belief, but this is next-level beautiful stuff, Doc! Best meta xword shorthand ever!
Thanks Joe, that is high praise coming from someone who really was my mentor in the meta world. Had you not given me all those initial toeholds and encouragement I'd probably still be puzzling over Monday crosswords and word searches.

Don't sell yourself short though, "Greek To Me" was a cute and clever as anything I've ever done, and yes I created the grid, but does the praise for the Parthenon go to the guys who pushed the stone into place or the guy who came up with the plans?

Finally, a LOT of the credit for clever, particularly the answer, goes to Al. He, and several people kept me from making a "pretty good" meta and pushed and prodded me towards one to be proud of. Must be that village they mention that it takes.
Takes a village.jpg
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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#7

Post by DrTom »

woozy wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2024 4:07 am Cats out and looking for greek food (I have weird cats....)
Just tell that cat don't get "OPA!" on the counter!
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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#8

Post by DrTom »

Darth wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2024 8:57 am Mew!... Good one, DrT!...... It's the last place he'll look, but I feel like a heel
cat in shoe.jpg
Awww, puss in boot.
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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#9

Post by hoover »

Ohhhhh another punnishment from Dr. Tom! Cat is out of the bag!

I like the abbreviation Mx in this sense. I have also seen Mx. used as a title when none of Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms. seems to fit.
Last edited by hoover on Wed Nov 20, 2024 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
I don't have anything clever to say, but if I did, it would go here.
Eli
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boharr
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#10

Post by boharr »

Scat cat. Thanks, DrTom.
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rjy
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#11

Post by rjy »

Debagged the feline... and ha! Fun puzzle in so many ways. Thanks DrTom and the Villagers!
Ray
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CPJohnson
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#12

Post by CPJohnson »

Got it! Thanks, DrTom!
Cynthia
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LarsCaine
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#13

Post by LarsCaine »

Loved this one!
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ky-mike
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#14

Post by ky-mike »

Filled the grid earlier today. Took a second look just now and saw what I needed to see.

One of Dr Tom's best!
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DrTom
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#15

Post by DrTom »

rjy wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2024 10:10 am Debagged the feline... and ha! Fun puzzle in so many ways. Thanks DrTom and the Villagers!
It's fun to play at metas all day, to play at metas all day...
VillagePeople.jpg
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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#16

Post by DrTom »

LarsCaine wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2024 11:27 am Loved this one!
Goodness, I have never seen a pure white Agean cat!
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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MatthewL
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#17

Post by MatthewL »

Cat has been de-bagged, and is looking for some spanakopita (what can I say -- he's weird like that). Thanks for the puzzle, Dr. Tom!
Matthew
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DrTom
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#18

Post by DrTom »

hoover wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2024 9:39 am Ohhhhh another punnishment from Dr. Tom! Cat is out of the bag!

I like the abbreviation Mx in this sense. I have also seen Mx. used as a title when none of Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms. seems to fit.
It seems this is another case of somehting I am quite familiar with being new to some folks. In Pharmacy and Medicine, MX, is a frequent abbreviation for mechanism. The relatively long Mechanism of action in many papers and articles becomes Mx. of Ax.

I truly wish I were clever enough to invent a word or usage, I am not.
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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Berto
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#19

Post by Berto »

OPA!!! Cat is out and unscathed by the flames. Took inspiration from @ky-mike - took another look and there it was, right in front of me. Clever twist Dr Tom!
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Cap'n Rick
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#20

Post by Cap'n Rick »

Cat is re-debagged! Just as much fun the second time around, @DrTom. :D
Ahoy! Check out my meta puzzles! Also check out "Smooth Sailing Sundays"!
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