77. Easy As...

Puzzles! Puns! The occasional crosswordese! Solve a new meta at the end of each of month at https://punofakind.blogspot.com/
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MikeyG
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77. Easy As...

#1

Post by MikeyG »

PDF and PUZ

Crosshare

Image

Exactly the same with my cat. (Also, Liz Climo's comics are amazing if you haven't checked them out before.)

---

Hello hello! Hope you all are having a restful, restorative holiday season. Thankful for all of you!

I'm baking cookies and wrapping presents, so here is another present for all of you! I also want to spend some time this week going back and catching up on the couple weeks' worth of metas I missed! Conundrums are the perfect way to spend a break in my book!

No reveal yet for #76, since that's the one going out to my friends (who might even still be my friends after they find out I sent them a puzzle yet again). Don't worry, it'll come eventually (Gridmaster T already rocked it, as usual).

Hoping for a Level 2 on this one, which might pull a bit to Level 2.5 but hopefully no more.

---

77. Easy As...

The answer to the meta is 6 characters long.

Deadline is Saturday, December 30 at 1 pm ET.

Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful!

Mikey G
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 92. It's a Breeze
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KayW
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#2

Post by KayW »

:crossed_swords: :rabbit: :point_right: :cat:

Image
Done to perfection! What a fantabulous holiday meta. Thanks for all the fun and clever metas throughout the year. AND for moving your meta up one day to fill in this week's "Gaffney Gap".
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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benchen71
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#3

Post by benchen71 »

Tricky second step but nonetheless a very fine puzzle. Thanks, Mikey!
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! :shock:
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SamKat9
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#4

Post by SamKat9 »

Thanks for a great puzzle, Mikey. I think I made it harder than I needed to, but nice construction!
Shannon 🐱
PS: If you want help with a meta, PM what you have so I can help without spoiling too much. I've received lots of help in the beginning and I love to pay it forward!
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woozy
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#5

Post by woozy »

The first step was tricky enough. (Sometimes when things don't make sense you should pay *attention* to that). But the second step.... I can say some weird 37A like ideas but... Oh, wait I just remember something... oh never mind. I t was just another 37A like idea...

EDIT: Well, got it with a nudge with a two by four. I have a tendency not to listen to niggling doubts and for this one all I did was not listen to niggling doubts.
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.
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hoover
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#6

Post by hoover »

Well, I got the first step okay, and I thought I had the clever second step, but I think I was a bit too clever because my answer wasn't accepted. Back to look at what I've got again.
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MikeyG
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#7

Post by MikeyG »

hoover wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 12:37 pm I think I was a bit too clever because my answer wasn't accepted.
This is how I'll argue any of my incorrect answers from now on.
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 92. It's a Breeze
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boharr
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#8

Post by boharr »

Got it. Thanks and happy holidays!
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ChrisKochmanski
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#9

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Solved with a nudge from a kind Muggle.

Gneiss!
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MatthewL
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#10

Post by MatthewL »

Solved, with some serious handholding by a friendly elf. Tis the season! Thanks for the puzzle, Mikey!
Matthew
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MikeyG
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#11

Post by MikeyG »

We're at 14 so far, due to the festivities, a grueling MGWCC (I'm about 10 hours in, even with the hint, with very little progress, if any), and my slight overestimation of the difficulty, haha. So, it's probably a Level 3.

Back to baking I go...all these metas (and I have tons more to get to, even after the deadlines - fine by me!) have my brain baked as well!

Image

Current mood, haha. Merry Christmas Eve and continued happy holidays!
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 92. It's a Breeze
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HeadinHome
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#12

Post by HeadinHome »

Still staring to try to see step two!

Update: @boharr kindly gave me a little boost up and over. Clever one! (Boharr AND the puzzle!)
The other Wendy. :roll:
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whimsy
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#13

Post by whimsy »

Yup. Waiting for Santy Claws to leave me some nudges.
Untitledzzkittyclaus.png
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Darth
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#14

Post by Darth »

Mmmm...Easy enough...Just within reach...
a7955223522a5fda6ad37006e4050d95.jpg
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schmidzy
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#15

Post by schmidzy »

I'm a slowPOAK, but I got there! Thanks for the fun puzzle!
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MikeyG
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#16

Post by MikeyG »

Yeah, I probably underestimated this one as well, haha (hence the Week 1/2 rule coming for next year!).

Nudge time!

1. There are five "desserts" hiding in the grid...

2. ...and those desserts are of the pie variety!

3. If you don't already have all five, find them! When you do, look at the center entry, which I did say is relevant to the meta.

4. Hmmm, how would five words be multiplied together? Maybe it's not the words themselves...

5. ...but the...well, I'll leave that up to you! What do you think we need to times to get the final 6-character answer?

I was a little coy at the end, but hopefully, that'll be enough to get you where you need to go! Several had an interesting epiphany with this one or kind of "stumbled" upon the solution. It's fun when those moments happen!

Mikey G
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 92. It's a Breeze
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MikeyG
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#17

Post by MikeyG »

Darth wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2023 12:29 am Mmmm...Easy enough...Just within reach...
a7955223522a5fda6ad37006e4050d95.jpg
I'm the cat in the background, licking my chops! (Reminds me, need to have my daily dose of eggnog!)
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 92. It's a Breeze
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whimsy
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#18

Post by whimsy »

Visiting kids and I worked on the solve together. We absolutely loved 34A! Well, maybe it helped that we were sitting by the tree with the train circling underneath...
Untitledzzride.png
Thanks for this ultimately very satisfying puzzle, Mikey!
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CPJohnson
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#19

Post by CPJohnson »

Solved, with a push from @whimsy !
Cynthia
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MikeyG
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#20

Post by MikeyG »

My goal before 2024 is to catch-up on year-end metas, even those past the deadlines. (@benchen71, you might get a video of my solving three or four of yours in a row, haha).

We're at 27 so far with this one, and one final nudge, with apologies to Grease:

6. You've got skills, they're multiplying...

Mikey G
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 92. It's a Breeze
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