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.
I have had this meta waiting for this time period for quite a while. Problem is that it is, I have been told, rather challenging. I did not want to post it on a week 4 MG and WSJ (though WSJ was pretty straightforward) so I held it and did "Let My People Go" instead. But since I do not want to keep it another year here you are.
It is a probably at least a Puma, though obviously if you catch the idea and internal nudges it will be much easier. I will be posting the nudges Friday but, more likely than not, sooner. Give it a try though, it is not as scary as it seems....but please don't hesitate to ask for help, I don't want it to turn you into a screaming maniac.
Kitten
Calico
Persian
*PUMA
Lion
The 8 letter answer is something known for its storied ability to change people.
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!
So, it appears I finally got a difficulty rating correct! Four hours out and 4 solvers (two here, two posted here, two more on Crosshare). I'll give it some time for additional digestion (or indigestion as the case may be) and perhaps consider an early release program (for nudges that is)
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!
I was breezing along, enjoying the clues, thinking, "Well this is not so hard and it's really fun." And then the grid was complete and I was immediately stuck. I have noticed some interesting things. Hopefully they will mean something.
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
lbray53 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2023 3:20 pm
I was breezing along, enjoying the clues, thinking, "Well this is not so hard and it's really fun." And then the grid was complete and I was immediately stuck. I have noticed some interesting things. Hopefully they will mean something.
Oh, I'll jut bet they do. If you are unsure you are always welcome to reach out!
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!
boharr wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2023 1:28 pm
The cat needed help to escape. The cluing in this one is superb. You've outdone yourself. Thanks, DrTom.
Thanks, I appreciate the positive words. This one was fun, but it did take several sessions to get the fill reasonable and amusing and still get my nudges and Easter Eggs in.
Thanks for solving
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!
rjy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2023 12:22 pm
Debagged the feline! Tricky one, DrTom, with a nice thematic aha... no forgiveness needed!
Well thankfully it is being solved. I was so afriad that all there would be was crickets.
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!
OK, 8 hours and 10 solvers (as well as 4 Testers) so far, phew. I was so afraid this would be too "out there" and nobody would be able to discern the scary working of my mind. It is no walk in the park, and apparently I have gotten the difficulty level correct. But that means I'll hold off on the nudges for another day and post them Friday as planned. We have a Week 1 MG so maybe people will appreciate the MEOW challenge?
1 Joe Ross (T)
2 Tamara (T)
3 MikeyG (T)
4 Al Sisti (T)
5 Hector
6 Madhatter5
7 MatthewL
8 rjy
9 boharr
10 Cindy Heisler
11 JM
12 andeaux
13 Laura M
14 DebbieC
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!
The cat's out before even finishing the grid! Now to complete the grid and backsolve the meta.
Edit: Egad, I don't think I would have solved this without having first correctly guessed the answer. This one is devious!
Last edited by benchen71 on Wed Nov 01, 2023 8:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta!
lbray53 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2023 4:56 pm
Solved with help and kind of a back solve. The black cat is out of the bag with an arched back and hissing.
Just don't let him get too familiar...
Thank you for solving
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!
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!
Well there has actually been a pretty good response to this one:
15 lbray53
16 Meg
17 Cindy Weatherman
18 benchen71
19 Darth
20 Gutman
21 merlinimmue
22 Chris Kochmanski
I know I am posting early, and there may be more this evening, but I was up late giving out candy. Then I made supper and did the rest of the things that need to be done so it was late when I went to bed. So. I'll post the leaderboard now and then tomorrow arise refreshed. Thanks to all the solvers who struggled through sans nudges. Those will be out on Friday if still needed, but for now, good night.
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!
Cat's out (doesn't look that vicious to me)