"Bread Boxes"

[cbarbee002]

OTC. Was applying the correct metanism incorrectly, as is my habit.

[Cinny]

Off the couch!

[MarkWoychick]

Got it with the help of the second hint - thanks, Emma!

[JeanneC]

[checks spreadsheets]
[runs metric calculations]

Looks like a 3.14

Does that make it easy as pi?

[Berto]

Needed the nudges.
Thought we had to find - well, I’ll save that for later. Nice puzzle, I’d say it was a bit more than a 2.5 on my scale lol

[JeanneC]

Public apology to Barbara K. Didn’t see your comment, Barbara. Shame on me.

[BarbaraK]

Public apology to Barbara K. Didn’t see your comment, Barbara. Shame on me.

Great minds think alike:)

[damefox]

Thursday evening leaderboard update (two days worth of solvers, since I forgot to post an update last night):

33. lbray53
34. BarbaraK
35. Bird Lives
36. imontoo
37. heidi
38. BrennerTJ
39. Tyrpmom
40. HeadinHome
41. DCBilly
42. rjy
43. TMart
44. Carolyn
45. BethA
46. Steve M
47. bhamren
48. Johnny Luau
49. cbarbee002 (via PM)
50. CPJohnson
51. KayW
52. THC
53. Cindy Heisler
54. Mwoychick
55. Berto
56. Andrew Bradburn (via PM)
57. Darrell
58. Wendy Walker
59. Mr Tex
60. Tom Wilson
61. Jaclyn
62. DebbieC
63. DrButtBeard
64. frostyjhammer
65. K7
66. OGuyDave
67. DIS
68. Jerry Miccolis

[crosswordluver]

Hi! My friend and I finished the crossword, but we don't understand the off the couch answer everyone is getting. This is our first meta crossword. Help!

[whimsy]

Hi! My friend and I finished the crossword, but we don't understand the off the couch answer everyone is getting. This is our first meta crossword. Help!

Hi crosswordluver and friend & welcome to the forum --

Somehow, each puzzle has acquired its own little buzz expression that means you've solved and gotten the meta answer. It does not mean that "Off the Couch" is the answer, because posting answers isn't allowed.

Poke around the forum and you'll discover that there's a puzzle for just about every day of the week, each with its own "Solved!" declaration.
This is a great place with wonderful folks, who will also help you as you start to solve metas by giving you a "nudge" (hint) if requested via the PM feature of the forum. There are also tips on solving under "Come Aboard!" -- and there are regularly scheduled zooms to discuss puzzles -- there's definitely a learning curve so don't be discouraged!

Wasn't sure from your post whether you're still stuck on the meta and just have the grid so far. If that's the case and you'd like another nudge besides the ones damefox provided at post #35 and on Crosshare, PM me and tell me what things you've discovered so far and I'll try to point you in the right direction!

Cheers!

[mkmf]

Fun puzzle and clever cluing.

We submitted and feel fairly sure that we are off the couch (and wandering aimlessly around the room).

[damefox]

Final solver tally:

69. Dow Jones
70. Naptown Kid
71. SJ
72. mkmf (via PM)

Solution:
I don't have a nice graphic to post, but I think I can explain in words well enough:
The answer is CRUMBS. There are six symmetrically placed entries that could follow the word BREAD: FRUIT, LINE, WINNER, BASKET, MOLD, and BOARD. The clues for those six entries are all the same: [Word after bread (or ?)]. So the next step is to find the word that could replace the ? for each of the themers. There are six clues (not symmetric) in the puzzle that start with words that fit the bill:
6A [Key...] CTRL (KeyBOARD)
20A [Prize...] RIBBON (Prize WINNER)
28A [Border...] USA (BorderLINE)
32D [Picnic...] MEADOW (Picnic BASKET)
35D [Forbidden] BANNED (Forbidden FRUIT)
53A [Slime] SLUDGE (Slime MOLD)
The first letters of the entries corresponding to those clues, in grid order, spell CRUMBS.

Thanks to everyone who solved! And if you're wandering aimlessly around the room looking for something to do, @AnswerPfinder and I have a new podcast episode out today!

[KayW]

Fun meta - thanks @damefox !

[KayW]

At first, I had one rabbit hole that I just couldn't let go of... I misapplied the "(or ?)" in the theme clues, and looked for alternate definitions of the theme entries. I found two hidden in the first words of certain clues. FRUIT could be a 52A (s)LIME. BASKET could be a 65A (c)HOPPER. I really thought I might be onto something there, but the trail ran cold after that. The nudges soon put me onto the correct path.