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.
I’m back after being derailed by the band(s). This puzzle is a lot easier than it looks but because of that (since those that are easier than they look are often S.A.D. puzzles) I am going to give this a slightly higher difficulty rating than I think it should have. Don’t be led astray by things meant to distract, but even if you do it will probably turn out OK.
This was tested EXTENSIVELY (and rewritten MANY times). My long-suffering testers were Cinny and rjy and they really earned their pay because they kept nudging and suggesting until I think a MUCH better product emerged. However, I will let you be the judge of that.
Nudges will be Friday, unless of course too many people are struggling, and then they will be sooner. I will do the reveal on Sunday most likely because I seldom get solvers after Saturday. Therefore, put on your thinking caps and settle the score!
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.
ImOnToo wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 10:18 am
Cat is out!
All the work that went into this was WELL worth it!
Excellent!
Thank You, and thank my testers who helped me hammer this into a fun puzzle.
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.
ky-mike wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 10:59 am
The cat is free! Very impressive construction.
Thank you sir, you are a true Kentucky gentleman.
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.
Dave C wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 10:38 am
The cat's out and is amazed by the construction.
Thank you!
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.
Wagged a few fun ideas but no luck yet. Interesting grid… something’s going on but I can’t quite see what. I do see some things, though; just haven’t figured out what they are up to.
HeadinHome wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 1:30 pm
Wagged a few fun ideas but no luck yet. Interesting grid… something’s going on but I can’t quite see what. I do see some things, though; just haven’t figured out what they are up to.
I have faith that you will see it soon, particularly if you have already started to notice things, but of course if you don't I am never farther than a PM away!
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.
So I figure what to do... well, no-one could ever do that but I might as well look because I've nothing else.
And holy heck! You *did* do that!
And nobody was more surprised than me!!!! It took several attempts though. You can read about it on Crosshare after you solve.
Thanks for trying the unconventional!
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.
StunGun wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 3:21 pm
How did you do it???
Incredible.
Well it was expertise, inherent knowledge of...Oh, heck who am I fooling, it was a LOT of trial and error! But it seems to have brought people some joy so it is more than worth it.
Thanks for freeing the kitty!
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.
MatthewL wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 5:20 pm
Cat is finally free, but I don't think we'll ever be even after that experience. Thanks for the puzzle, Tom!
So glad you enjoyed it!!
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.
