MEOW #72: Alien Abduction

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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#21

Post by DrTom »

Well I finally have the first part - darn I thought I was close to freeing that unfortunate feline, but nooooooooooo,

Yay - I'm the first poster (well the 1st on the 2nd that is!)
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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rjy
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#22

Post by rjy »

DrTom wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 1:20 am Well I finally have the first part - darn I thought I was close to freeing that unfortunate feline, but nooooooooooo,

Yay - I'm the first poster (well the 1st on the 2nd that is!)
Same, though second poster here ;)

Uncovered a mechanism while still struggling past the diabolical clueing, but with the grid complete, there’s seemingly more going on that meets the eye…
Ray
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MarkWoychick
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#23

Post by MarkWoychick »

I think I finally got the cat out of the bag - will update when I know for sure, but I feel good about the answer

Edit: cat is out!
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
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Ergcat
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#24

Post by Ergcat »

Cat safely still in bag but My meta mojo has been abducted as I’m Not seeing anything! I think I’m going to wait for help…
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madhatter5
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Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:48 pm

#25

Post by madhatter5 »

Nudge Saturday!

For the first step, think Steven Spielberg. Also think about what it might mean for a theme entry to "abduct" an alien.

Step two is just the boring same-old find corresponding entries in the grid thing.

For step three, you need to extract two letters per entry for a final answer comprising ten letters.
https://pandorasblocks.org/crosswords-for-cancer
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rjy
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Location: Gaithersburg, MD

#26

Post by rjy »

Ahhh, finally got it. No nudges required, just another look this morning. Very cool puzzle all around with a rock-solid aha! Thanks!
Ray
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Ergcat
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Location: Seneca SC

#27

Post by Ergcat »

Got it! The hints helped. Clever puzzle!
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MamaE
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#28

Post by MamaE »

Down to that final step. May need a 2nd cup of coffee!
- Just puzzling it out here in Delmarva :D
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DrTom
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#29

Post by DrTom »

Funny - the answer is what I thought of days ago but abandoned. Novel mechanism of course, I actually tried ot make it one degree more difficult. I am so mad that it took me a nudge to get all the way home because I noticed the path, I just ignored it.

Thanks for a fun day or so Josh!
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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littlepigeon
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Aug 08, 2021 7:14 pm

#30

Post by littlepigeon »

DrTom wrote: ↑Sat Apr 16, 2022 4:32 pm Funny - the answer is what I thought of days ago but abandoned. Novel mechanism of course, I actually tried ot make it one degree more difficult. I am so mad that it took me a nudge to get all the way home because I noticed the path, I just ignored it.

Thanks for a fun day or so Josh!

I tried PMing you yesterday, but I don't think the message went through. It's been stuck in "Outbox" instead of "Sent" for over 12 hours at this point, which I've never had happen before and which isn't addressed in the FAQs except in a remark noting that large attachments are the main cause of this hang-up. My PM didn't have any attachments, though, so I'm not sure what to do from here, but please let me know if the message did in fact make it to you, if you don't mind!
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BarbaraK
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#31

Post by BarbaraK »

littlepigeon wrote: ↑Sun Apr 17, 2022 8:09 am
DrTom wrote: ↑Sat Apr 16, 2022 4:32 pm Funny - the answer is what I thought of days ago but abandoned. Novel mechanism of course, I actually tried ot make it one degree more difficult. I am so mad that it took me a nudge to get all the way home because I noticed the path, I just ignored it.

Thanks for a fun day or so Josh!

I tried PMing you yesterday, but I don't think the message went through. It's been stuck in "Outbox" instead of "Sent" for over 12 hours at this point, which I've never had happen before and which isn't addressed in the FAQs except in a remark noting that large attachments are the main cause of this hang-up. My PM didn't have any attachments, though, so I'm not sure what to do from here, but please let me know if the message did in fact make it to you, if you don't mind!
PMs stay in your Outbox until the recipient actually reads them. (Which is confusing since it’s unlike email)
If you want help with a meta, feel free to PM me. The more specific you are about what you have and what you want, the more likely I can help without spoiling.

(And if I help you win a mug, I’ll be especially delighted.)
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littlepigeon
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Joined: Sun Aug 08, 2021 7:14 pm

#32

Post by littlepigeon »

BarbaraK wrote: ↑Sun Apr 17, 2022 8:20 am
littlepigeon wrote: ↑Sun Apr 17, 2022 8:09 am
DrTom wrote: ↑Sat Apr 16, 2022 4:32 pm Funny - the answer is what I thought of days ago but abandoned. Novel mechanism of course, I actually tried ot make it one degree more difficult. I am so mad that it took me a nudge to get all the way home because I noticed the path, I just ignored it.

Thanks for a fun day or so Josh!

I tried PMing you yesterday, but I don't think the message went through. It's been stuck in "Outbox" instead of "Sent" for over 12 hours at this point, which I've never had happen before and which isn't addressed in the FAQs except in a remark noting that large attachments are the main cause of this hang-up. My PM didn't have any attachments, though, so I'm not sure what to do from here, but please let me know if the message did in fact make it to you, if you don't mind!
PMs stay in your Outbox until the recipient actually reads them. (Which is confusing since it’s unlike email)


Thank you for confirming that! I'd begun to suspect as much, but then became uncertain when such a straightforward and kind of important to know piece of information wasn't even included in the FAQs. Guess I would've figured it out eventually, but I appreciate you speeding up the process for me. 🙂
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madhatter5
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Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:48 pm

#33

Post by madhatter5 »

Solution

Step 1: "Abduct" an ET into the themers:

INTERN(ET) HOOKUP
ROCK(ET) STAR
MARK(ET)ING TIME
M(ET)ALWARE
MUSK(ET) HOLDINGS

Step 2: Find corresponding entries:


INTERN(ET) HOOKUP -> ROUTER
ROCK(ET) STAR -> VON BRAUN
MARK(ET)ING TIME -> ADS
M(ET)ALWARE -> TIN POTS
MUSK(ET) HOLDINGS -> BULLETS


Step 3: Take the initial letters in the clues to spell out the answer, GREEN CARDS
https://pandorasblocks.org/crosswords-for-cancer
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