Boxing Day - 2022 Mega Meta

[hcbirker]

The final MMMM of the year.

https://pmxwords.com/

Not sure how to post other links. Feel free to add!

[BethA]

It felt a little anticlimactic for me, as expected, since I was able to get the mega-meta with the hint provided by the December puzzle. Still wanted to do this puzzle, of course. I found the grid challenging in some spots, and googled a few things just to be sure.

Thx for starting the new topic, @hcbirker !

[Cinny]

I completed the grid and solved the Mega Meta. I'm happy about that, but looking back, I'm disappointed that I didn't get it with the December puzzle and Pete's hint.
This was my first year doing the MMMMs - in fact I didn't start until May. So, I am pleased to have gotten both the Red Herring and the Mega Meta. Looking forward to the next year's puzzles. Thanks, Pete!

[hcbirker]

It felt a little anticlimactic for me, as expected, since I was able to get the mega-meta with the hint provided by the December puzzle. Still wanted to do this puzzle, of course. I found the grid challenging in some spots, and googled a few things just to be sure.

Thx for starting the new topic, @hcbirker !

I had the exact same experience. But it was nice to do another puzzle!

[MamaE]

Got the mega…..wish I had seen all the clues in Dec puzzle. But, first full year of MMMM and first mega meta solved!

[Laura M]

That was an excellent mega mechanism, and I really wish I had caught onto it before the last puzzle! Thanks, Pete, for another stellar year of MMMM!

[boharr]

Got it. Thank you and Merry Christmas, Pete

[mattythewsjpuzzler]

What am I missing? I clearly see the answer but can't justify the first part. Danged Peter Mueller!

Update: Once again I am a moron. Twice today (once in WSJ once here) I had a wrong letter in the grid. Check your work dummy! Anyway solved and fun as always with Pete.

[BarbaraK]

I'm another of those who'd already got the mega meta and didn't have to solve this puzzle. But of course I did it anyway. Because... it's a crossword! A meta crossword! How could I possibly not solve it?! And besides, I wanted to see how Pete could get all that theme material into one puzzle. Very cleverly, as it turns out - not really a surprise.

It looks like no new solvers since the 23rd and not as many as I'd expect overall. Maybe Pete is just taking the holiday off from website updates.

[stmv]

I'm another of those who'd already got the mega meta and didn't have to solve this puzzle. But of course I did it anyway. Because... it's a crossword! A meta crossword! How could I possibly not solve it?! And besides, I wanted to see how Pete could get all that theme material into one puzzle. Very cleverly, as it turns out - not really a surprise.

Agreed, but I also agree with a previous comment that the grid was harder than usual. I had to sweat a bit to get through it.

It looks like no new solvers since the 23rd and not as many as I'd expect overall. Maybe Pete is just taking the holiday off from website updates.

Now there are lots of post-23rd mega solvers. To humblebrag a bit, I was a fairly early mega solver, but that undercut the thrill of figuring out the mega from just this last puzzle. Since I already knew the "trick" it was easy to see, but it would have been interesting if I could "wipe my memory" and try to figure out the meta in this last puzzle on its own.

[BarbaraK]

I saw the red herring mechanism early on but wasn't sure if it was the actual mega or the red herring. There's no bonus for getting the red herring early, so no reason not to wait til I'm sure to submit that one, but a big bonus for getting the mega early and only a one point penalty for a wrong guess. So after March, when I had SEN, I submitted "Sentimental Journey" as a guess for the mega. Wrong:( After April, when I had SEND, I tried to convince myself that "Send in the Clowns" was an old pop standard but that was too much a stretch and I couldn't think of anything else that started with Send.

So I waited until the animal anagrams ended and I was sure that was the red herring. Looking at a list of Alessia Cara songs, Wild Things seemed the only obvious connection, but I never realized that Sendak was a name; it looked like gibberish to me and I didn't think to google.

I didn't get the mega until the October puzzle. I was totally lost on that one, looking at everything I could think of, and when I noticed the top/bottom/left/right set, that was obviously not coincidence, and I was sure that was going to tell me "Where Is It?" When there were no other sets like that in the grid, I knew it couldn't be the answer but thought to go look for similar sets in the previous puzzles and aha!

[joequavis]

I'm really bummed... For some reason the email for this puzzle went straight to my Spam folder and with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays it didn't occur to me to look for it. I was able to easily solve this and get the Mega but a week too late to submit.

Throughout the year, I spent an hour here and there looking through past puzzles and never caught on to the mechanism. I'm in awe at those who were able to get this early in the year! I'm looking forward to doing better this year, or at least trying.

Thanks, @Petemuller , for sharing your talent(s) with us!