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.
Although snow is not a "thing" in Florida I know it is in many places where Muggles reside and solve. Therefore this puzzle seemed very timely. I am not going to venture a guess on the difficulty. I, of course, think it is patently obvious what I want, but then I wrote it.
So, solve carefully, remember who wrote this and watch out for things purposely designed to confuse.
Difficulty: ? (no more than Persian)
Nudges Friday, reveal Tuesday
Thanks to my Testers: @BarbaraK, @whimsy and (completely by accident, but adding a nice touch) @Hector
Last edited by DrTom on Wed Jan 03, 2024 9:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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!
Meg wrote: ↑Wed Jan 03, 2024 10:11 am
The cat is still on the floor laughing, after stumbling out of the bag. Nice one, Dr. T!
Is this him?
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, I have a perfect streak for all the metas I've tried this year.
2024--- The year I woke up stupid.
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.
Cat's out of the bag, with some assistance! Thanks for the puzzle, Dr. Tom
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 contest-style (meta) crosswords that we've created to help raise money for cancer-related organizations - get the bundle at http://crosswordsforcancer.com
I have steps one and two, and a connection, and I see a bunch of Easter eggs to boot, but the "fabled rock group" prompt gives it a MMMM aspect that makes me think I'm going to have to spend a lot of time searching online.
Goodness gracious, I never meant this to be a challenge! I'll just bet a lot of you had the answer as soon as you saw it and are just trying to find out how to verify. This is a "grok" mechanism, nothing is spelled out (intentionally) so it just has to be an "AHA, I see what he is doing now, and there is the confirmation".
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!
hoover wrote: ↑Wed Jan 03, 2024 2:45 pm
I have steps one and two, and a connection, and I see a bunch of Easter eggs to boot, but the "fabled rock group" prompt gives it a MMMM aspect that makes me think I'm going to have to spend a lot of time searching online.
You don’t need a lot of online searching, you just need to remember that this is DrTom
If you want help with a meta, feel free to PM me. The more specific you are about what you have and what you want, the more likely I can help without spoiling.
(And if I help you win a mug, I’ll be especially delighted.)
OK, so after sharing with Tom my rabbit holes, I have been guided to the answer. Cat's out, licking its fur, slightly ashamed of itself...
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!
hoover wrote: ↑Wed Jan 03, 2024 2:45 pm
I have steps one and two, and a connection, and I see a bunch of Easter eggs to boot, but the "fabled rock group" prompt gives it a MMMM aspect that makes me think I'm going to have to spend a lot of time searching online.
You don’t need a lot of online searching, you just need to remember that this is DrTom
EXACTLY! I try to make puzzles that even I could solve! I seldom get really obtuse and if I do I let you know from the start that it will be hard.
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!
DrTom wrote: ↑Wed Jan 03, 2024 11:02 pm
Day one of a busy week and I still managed to entice 25 people to release that captured kitty. Thanks to all the solvers.
... and me, just not on Crosshare!
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!
hoover wrote: ↑Wed Jan 03, 2024 2:45 pm
I have steps one and two, and a connection, and I see a bunch of Easter eggs to boot, but the "fabled rock group" prompt gives it a MMMM aspect that makes me think I'm going to have to spend a lot of time searching online.
You don’t need a lot of online searching, you just need to remember that this is DrTom
EXACTLY! I try to make puzzles that even I could solve! I seldom get really obtuse and if I do I let you know from the start that it will be hard.
I haven't got this one yet, but I know DrTom is always fair, and if it's a hardon e he'll let you know.
