XWord Muggles Forum

I've done with cats whatever one does with cats in this sub-forum when you get the meta. With old man Griffin, below, to be precise. We are days away from his 15th Cativersary in our home, and he was likely 2-3 when we adopted him from a local shelter.

And if you want to support female crossword constructors, 2 good places to throw some cash are Inkubator crosswords - an all female-made subscription service (and for Android tablet users, their puzzles integrate seamlessly into the Alphacross app), and the USA Today daily crossword subscription. Erik Agard is dedicated to developing the next generation of puzzle makers, and is including a lot of younger female constructors in his rotation.

The cat is out of the bag. It was fun and for me, easier than last week.

I saw a MEOW response this morning about being "off the couch"... which made me smile because I'm right there, too.
So, here's to mixing metaphors: A cat "out of the bag" and "off the couch"... well, it's a cat, so as "off" as it gets!
And, now speaking of mixing, where's Isaac?

Kitten is out of the couch! Or something like that. Thanks Whimsy!

Out of the bag. Nice one, fun and educational!

It didn't take long for the kitten to get out of the bag. Fun clues and grid. Thank you whimsy.

Cat is out of the bag. I liked the parentheses for a change.

Cat has, I believe, left the bag and was laughing uncontrollably. Some funny stuff, a few of which I may even have missed. Thanks for a Wednesday chortle. I always thought it was "A woman's place is in the house, or perhaps the Senate" - and now the White House (or at least #1 Observatory Circle)

Hobbs is WRONG, that IS funny!!!

CONFIRMED, THE KITTY CHANTS A WITTY DITTY; HOT TIME RUNNER IN THE CITY (and for that REALLY bad joke I should end up in SING SING

Cat's out of the bag. Thanks for the meta!

Great fun again Whimsy
My cat’s out of the bag and into his favorite place
Always important for Louis to end each day with a 5 minute snuggle under the covers.
April 2016

Happy for the gentle purring. So are these guys...

I don't believe there's anyone out there waiting with bated breath for this but I'll keep the pattern going (after a reminder that it was Saturday from Josh! )

I'll go big (rather than go home.)
Gracie says: "Say goodnight, bug!"

The solution, which everyone got, is -
GRACE HOPPER - with the initial letters of the embedded ("hidden figures" -- thanks, Cindy N!) women's names spelling it out, top to bottom.

In my original pipe dream, I envisioned using mainly only "important" women -- Marie Curie, Mae Jemison. NK Jemisin , but the reality of making the grid set in and I was reduced to using such idols as Pinocchio's goldfish.

I couldn't resist having the prompt reference Bugs/Bunny.
Many know the story of Grace de-bugging the moth in the computer, and others liked Grace Hopper as grasshopper, which I had never even thought of so thanks for learning me that! Hopper too could connote rabbits -- (although kangaroos and others too.)

But to put more emphasis on the lagomorph connection, let me introduce you to my first "grandbaby" (and most likely the only species of "grand" I'll ever have! ) with this picture of the two of us from a few years back -- Her name? you ask.
Why it's Grace Hopper Totino! What can I say? - my son is another one of them thar nerdy EEs!

OK -- take it away, Kay! -- who has some fun "spoilerish" stuff to show and tell -----

Fantastic meta, @whimsy

I actually got to hear Grace Hopper speak at some computer conference, probably back in the mid-80s as near as I can pinpoint the memory. I still remember her talking about her work in the early days of programming - and of course the famous "bug" story. I also remember she passed out "nanoseconds" to the audience - a footlong piece of wire, the distance light travels in one nanosecond. A memorable gimmick to show the limits of computer processing speeds and how developing smaller components could enhance them.

I was very tempted to post a naval kitty with my "out of the bag" post but thought that might be a bit spoilerish pre-deadline
And clue 62A "What picky mothers select" brought to mind this cartoon:

Plus, as Al surely knows, Grace Hopper was the daughter of Edgar Allan Poe

madhatter5 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:29 pm Plus, as Al surely knows, Grace Hopper was the daughter of Edgar Allan Poe

Nonsense. Everyone knows she was the hard-drinking bike-riding partner of Jane Fonda in Easy Rider!

madhatter5 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:29 pm Plus, as Al surely knows, Grace Hopper was the daughter of Edgar Allan Poe

???????-- But then again, I didn't get most of your cryptic leaderboard either!

@whimsy Just a reference to the Ada Lovelace thing

KayW wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 11:39 am And clue 62A "What picky mothers select" brought to mind this cartoon:
BackInAJif.png

If only that file were in GIF format instead of PNG...