MEOW #149 Benchen71 Cryptic #1

[hoover]

I am actually astonished that anyone is able to solve a meta from this. As it is a sparesly british style cryptic and all clues have cryptic cluing there isn't any valid reason to recognize any entries over others as "themers" and one certainly can't ask "did you see anything odd or notice any irregular occurance". So what the heck is there to "jump out at you"?

I'll take any nudge. (There's actually three dead ends that maybe could be toe-holds but I didn't want to comment on them in the off chance they were the key... but they certainly are not rabbit holes--- unless "rabbit hole" means "even densely packed soil uniform for all distances in all directions")

I was having the same problem, but I just now pushed my laptop across the desk to arms' length, and something jumped out at me.

[hoover]

Cat is out of the bag!

[whimsy]

Cat has finally jumped out of the box, and what do you know, he does have ears after all.

Thanks for the puzzle, Ben, and a nifty different challenge.

[MikeyG]

It’s amazing how long you can stare at something!

The meta solver's motto!

Need to get to this (and a bunch of others). Way behind this week, but I'll see if I can crush a cryptic (or if that cat will stay in the bag for a while on the moat).

[woozy]

It’s amazing how long you can stare at something!

The meta solver's motto!

Except it *NEVER* and I mean *never* works for me.

EDIT: Ah, but with a whimsical nudge it leapt out. But I needed that nudge to start. Good puzzle but could have used some sort of trigger. Like a very subtle pun in the title.

[benchen71]

I have a solver update for you:

Berto
rjy
nnnnnng
hoover
whimsy
woozy

We're now up to 28. I think I'll get the nudges out of the way now and get back to puzzling over the WSJ...

[benchen71]

Nudges, in order of increasing blatancy:

1. The title is of no help and there are no hints in the grid. So the meta path is going to have to be relatively obvious.

2. Note that cryptic crossword grids are not like US crosswords: not every square has an across and down entry.

3. Look in the uncrossed squares for a message. But the answer probably isn't the first thing you might notice.

4. There are three rows with regular spacings between white squares. These are the rows to focus on.

[BarbaraK]

Nudged the cat free. I’d already figured out the first three but needed that fourth one. I’m not great at cryptics but figured out many of the clues.

[MatthewL]

Cat is free, but only with nudges, both those above and from other friendly Muggles. Thanks Ben!

[KayW]

Very clever and fun to solve - even tho the cat needed to be nudged out of the bag. Thanks, Ben!

[ReB]

Cat is out of the bag, with nudging.

[benchen71]

Another update for you:

SeamusOL
alex
BarbaraK
DCBilly
lbray53
MatthewL
KayW
DIS
badgey
ReB
Katiedid

That's got us up to 39. Next (and last) update before the answer reveal Tuesday morning (Aussie time).

[benchen71]

Three more, bringing us to 42 solvers in total:

MrTheHan
Jaclyn
jbird

Answer reveal is imminent!

[benchen71]

Here's the solution to "Benchen71 Cryptic #1":

Doing something for Columbus Day was not my initial intention. (As you can probably guess, Aussies do not celebrate this one!) Instead, the seed for this meta was simply wanting to have the answer be NINA, since that's what words/messages hidden in crosswords are called. But what message to encode? Initially, I thought I would hide surnames of famous Ninas in the grid: SIMONE was obvious. But others? Not so much. Then I hit on the trio of ships and we were off to the races! Only after completing the puzzle did I google when Columbus Day was. Imagine my surprise when I saw it was only a couple of weeks away! My thanks to DrTom for adjusting the MEOW schedule to allow me to squeeze this one in.

The concept of a NINA comes from Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003), an American caricaturist who famously hid his daughter's name "Nina" in his drawings. See here for more information and some examples. And if you want to try and spot some "Nina"s in some Hirschfeld drawings, this is a good site to get you started.

[benchen71]

Here's the explanation for all of the cryptic clues: (cf. Stella Zawistowski's explanation names as listed here).

1A. Gem surface that's within [hidden words]
3A. That baby bear I see is rather box-like = CUB+IC [charades]
5A. Explosive starts to nasty times [beginnings and endings]
7A. Cleverly inventive, but debts follow broken engine missing an end = anagram ENGIN+IOUS [drop it + anagrams + charades]
10A. She made lemons in batches of 19, 21, 25 and 30 [hidden words]
11A. The Spanish sun is going backwards! = SOL->LOS [reversals; note "Spanish" is being used twice here]
12A. Luxurious fur is able to contain it [hidden words]
13A. Tune that results when the show drops falsehood = FAIR->AIR [drop it + the cryptic alphabet]
14A. Destroy the mad age [anagrams]
17A. Family elders sound a lot like nooks' accompaniments = CRANNIES->GRANNIES [homophones]
20A. Eric Braeden will fly around his disreputable past = SOAR around anagramed PAST [containers + anagrams]
22A. Tomorrow, in Tijuana, take the top off a banana and replace it with what F equals in physics = BANANA->NANA->MANANA [beheadings et al + charades]
25A. Peak political group Down Under [ALP = A.L.P. (Australian Labor Party)] [double definitions]
27A. Give in to gravity: oh! in the middle of an unexpected album release = O in DROP [containers]
29A. Miss Abraham's birthplace, so it's said = UR->ERR [homophones]
30A. Fourth letter of Greece ends a river [double definitions]
31A. It's a long way to randomised peripatry [anagrams]
32A. Records of disemvoweled moral failing = LAPSE->LPS [drop it]
33A. Your excuse is part of a libidinous pattern of behaviour [hidden words]
34A. Cry "uncle!" and reap the benefits [double definitions]
1D. Swooned while fencing! [double definitions/homophones]
2D. Model tree-people are found in campsites = T+ENTS [charades]
3D. This puzzle rendered speechless makes me angry = CROSSWORD->CROSS [drop it]
4D. Wading bird got the drug cop back with ecstasy = NARC->CRAN+E [reversals + charades]
5D. Trig. character is the tips of the angle = THE+TA [beginnings and endings]
6D. Aesthete's love symbol found in back street = HEART in TS [containers + reversals; note "love" is being used twice here]
8D. Has this Jewish legend heard of Smeagol? [homophones]
9D. This weapon confuses bears [anagrams]
15D. Band aid cuts off wheelchair access = RAMP->AMP [beheadings et al]
16D. Stir tea, consume [anagrams]
17D. Actress Teri is missing a hostile dog, I hear = GARR->GRR [drop it + homophones]
18D. Your goal is to decapitate, maim [beheadings et al]
19D. Bobbsey twin takes a chunk out of Indian bread = NAAN->NAN [drop it]
20D. South Carolina and Alabama are embroiled in a public outrage = SC+AND+AL [charades]
21D. Choose, after commercial, a new pet from the shelter = AD+OPT [charades]
23D. Sounds like they oughta do something about that artery [homophones]
24D. Dressed up as the aural equivalent of a nighttime visit to the fridge [homophones]
26D. Old Navy products can be made from a broken one-master = SLOOP->POLOS [anagrams]
27D. Medic and her org. tell a story = DR+AMA [charades]
28D. Longstocking or short Schwartz musical = PIPPIN->PIPPI [double definitions + beheadings et al]
29D. N.M.E. is no mate of mine! [homophones]

So what was your favourite clue? For me, it's a toss-up between 17A and 28D.

[woozy]

I liked how 29D was I timely reference to the MOAT of the day before.

[KayW]

Hard to pick a favorite, lots of good ones... I liked 5D and 6D and...

[SamKat9]

I liked 6D and 22A a lot, but the grid was overall pretty fun to complete.