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.
A person we all admire, the optimist manages to take everything life gives them and derive maximum enjoyment. Here is hoping you can find the good and enjoyable in this puzzle even if it is a bit late. Some glitches in Josh's schedule and the fact that I was out of town delayed this, but I hope you find time to give it a try before the WSJ and MGWCC hit (or after you breeze through those!)
The answer is a classic summer treat
Fair warning that this is not a puzzle that will spell out an answer, you will have to use some deduction to solve the meta. As such it may be a 2 or 2.5, but once you see it you will know if you have the correct answer. Obviously if you need help PM me, and there will be nudges on Friday (or before if needed)
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!
markhr wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 10:08 pm
The cat is free.
A Dr. Tom classic. Clever and funny.
Thank you for solving! I was afraid it was too esoteric to be of general appeal. It appears, thankfully, that I was wrong.
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!
Thanks Tom as always! And sorry everyone. I think I will be needing to take another interregnum from the MEOW for a while due to PhD work. But we will have guest constructors whenever there is something available
madhatter5 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 2:52 am
Thanks Tom as always! And sorry everyone. I think I will be needing to take another interregnum from the MEOW for a while due to PhD work. But we will have guest constructors whenever there is something available
madhatter5 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 2:52 am
Thanks Tom as always! And sorry everyone. I think I will be needing to take another interregnum from the MEOW for a while due to PhD work. But we will have guest constructors whenever there is something available
There is never any apology needed from the Madhatter since you have given us hours of delight for many months with puzzles that always delight. Everyone understands that pursuit of your career is of many magnitudes of importance greater than your pursuit of the well disguised meta answer. You take care of cherchez la diplôme, not cherchez la AHA!
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!
MMe wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:11 am
The cat is out of the half-full glass; thanks!
Well, dang... that was about the only metanism I could think of.
Now I continue to have utterly no idea.
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
Hmmm..of COURSE this is playing a lot more difficult than I thought, it wouldn't be one of mine if it wasn't. Having seen a lot of the Crosshare submissions I am detecting that people are seeing "some" of what I wanted them to but not making the connection. So, time for early nudges:
The title is always important of course, but the intro to this one is also important because it was meant to put a phrase in your mind that would help you solve
A lot of you have noted the 8 similar items in the GRID but are thinking about them in a different manner. What do all of those have in common, or rather are infamous for
Intuitive metas...there outta be a law!
When life, or DrTom, gives you something and you are the eternal optimist, what are you going to do?
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!
Okay... I'm going to just entirely reedit this post to a comment that sometimes its amazing what you just don't see. Don't know why I didn't see those things that nudge 2 thought didn't even needed to be pointed out. But dang I was blind to them. Have no idea why.
I'd like to think if I had seen them I'd have known what to do with them. But maybe not.
=====
Only heard of 4 of the 8 things though. I'm beginning to see how people who don't like Tarot cards felt last week.
Last edited by woozy on Thu Jun 01, 2023 8:14 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
madhatter5 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 2:52 am
Thanks Tom as always! And sorry everyone. I think I will be needing to take another interregnum from the MEOW for a while due to PhD work. But we will have guest constructors whenever there is something available
If you had chosen to study crossword puzzle construction, constructors, solvers, or online forums/fora, then you wouldn't have to take an interregnum. Is it too late to change your field of study?
