This was a tricky puzzle to construct. I had to utilise HTML color names (see here for a convenient lookup page) whose final letter contributed to the meta answer and would be able to fit into an across clue without sticking out too much. (Fortunately, the grid entries could be anything!) Some of the clues work well: 17, 24 and 27 across are great because the colors are being used as names; I quite like 65 across; but 52 across is a mess! Add to that the central hint, and an additional more subtle hint in 65 down, and it's a very tight grid. However, I also wanted the colors to form a pleasing spectrum. While the end result isn't a traditional rainbow, I think it looks pretty good!
"Rainbow" by benchen71
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benchen71
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Without further ado, here's the answer and explanation for "Rainbow":
This was a tricky puzzle to construct. I had to utilise HTML color names (see here for a convenient lookup page) whose final letter contributed to the meta answer and would be able to fit into an across clue without sticking out too much. (Fortunately, the grid entries could be anything!) Some of the clues work well: 17, 24 and 27 across are great because the colors are being used as names; I quite like 65 across; but 52 across is a mess! Add to that the central hint, and an additional more subtle hint in 65 down, and it's a very tight grid. However, I also wanted the colors to form a pleasing spectrum. While the end result isn't a traditional rainbow, I think it looks pretty good!
This was a tricky puzzle to construct. I had to utilise HTML color names (see here for a convenient lookup page) whose final letter contributed to the meta answer and would be able to fit into an across clue without sticking out too much. (Fortunately, the grid entries could be anything!) Some of the clues work well: 17, 24 and 27 across are great because the colors are being used as names; I quite like 65 across; but 52 across is a mess! Add to that the central hint, and an additional more subtle hint in 65 down, and it's a very tight grid. However, I also wanted the colors to form a pleasing spectrum. While the end result isn't a traditional rainbow, I think it looks pretty good!
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! 
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Dplass
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Fun fact, there are multiple sources for these colors and some of them don't have ANY letters. Hence my exasperation...
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benchen71
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You needed to use the official HTML color names and their values. These are fixed, as far as I'm aware.
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!
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CromsFury
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I am right there with you.
For example, googling “hexadecimal rgb code chocolate” returns #7b3f00.
Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo. - Virgil
Quand on lit trop vite où trop doucement, on n'entend rien. - Pascal
Quand on lit trop vite où trop doucement, on n'entend rien. - Pascal
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benchen71
- Posts: 2540
- Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:50 pm
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The clue for 42 across specifically refers to "HTML color values". If you Google "html color chocolate", you get the value #D2691E.
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!
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ReB
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- Location: East Tennessee
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ajk
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Originally having no clue that Peru was a color, I thought maybe that one was supposed to be Lima->Lime and the fact that it was the only one that worked that way would be significant. But eventually I just forgot that origin and so was saddled with Lime for a while. 
Also had some source issues early, though eventually caught on to the need for HTML codes. Even then managed to miss the 'light' in 'light sky blue' (I think again due a first-pass mistake where I wasn't appreciating how subtle the color distinctions would be).
In the end I got close enough to backsolve and then fix the two that were wrong. But both were my fault, not the puzzle's.
Also had some source issues early, though eventually caught on to the need for HTML codes. Even then managed to miss the 'light' in 'light sky blue' (I think again due a first-pass mistake where I wasn't appreciating how subtle the color distinctions would be).
In the end I got close enough to backsolve and then fix the two that were wrong. But both were my fault, not the puzzle's.
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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boharr
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Yes, but I found this uncessarily confusing because the GIRD entry for 42A is Hexadecimal RGBS. Googling the latter led to a gazillion confusing links. Had to realizes to use the CLUE with HTML color values.