.
This did not start out as a Christmas puzzle. It was just another meta, and the metanism has nothing to do with the holiday. But the alert MMM editorial staff (i.e., @Clark E. Tripe, to whom much thanks) saw that if we dressed it in a Santa suit, asked the redoubtable @Joe Ross to put a wreath in the grid, and hung a few ornaments on the clues, it might serve a seasonal purpose.
The metanism is not complicated, but its interpretation may be a slight challenge, and some solvers may be temporarily distracted by unintentional red herrings.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Nudges the day after Boxing Day.
The answer (five letters) is something found under many Christmas trees.
SJMcK wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2023 7:30 pm
I don’t know what to do with the themer commonality
Don't overthink it
... Too late!
Re: Ah Holy Night
Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2023 9:01 pm
by benchen71
Off the couch! Merry Christmas everyone!
Re: Ah Holy Night
Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2023 9:20 pm
by KayW
Fun one - and excellent job weaving in a holiday theme! Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Re: Ah Holy Night
Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2023 12:09 am
by Berto
OTC!
Re: Ah Holy Night
Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2023 8:30 am
by Bird Lives
On the first day of the meta, my true love gave to me
Twenty-seven solvers solving. .
.
Presumably, others were too busy drinking eggnog, unwrapping presents, singing carols, roasting the goose, reading Dickens, etc to spend much time at the MMM hearth. And since today is Boxing Day, here is a box with a special surprise in it.
You may have noticed the multiple occurrences of letters that spell out a SantaClausical expression. That’s the unintended red herring.
But there are ways of thinking about letters other than the words they spell.
Fun one - and excellent job weaving in a holiday theme! Thanks and Happy Holidays!