XWord Muggles Forum

It is always important to make a good first impression. That initial encounter can leave people with a lasting opinion of you (or of a perfectly delightful puzzle!).

Hopefully, that is exactly what this little MEOW does. I am going to go out on a limb and ascribe KITTEN/CALICO status to it because my tester (@whimsy) had no trouble with it and even had me toughen it up a bit.

There will Friday nudges of course and the reveal will be posted on the 16th.


First Impressions
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Cat's out! Thanks for a fun puzzle, @DrTom!

Cat jumped right out of the bag this morning. Thanks for a fun one, Dr Tom!

Cat's out and looking for a sunbeam to bask in on this cold, grey day. Stay warm, everyone!

Whoops - correction to one clue.

4A should be "present participle" not past, this is why I chose health care over English Lit and always had an editor for any article I wrote. This tense bit of information was presently passed onto me by @Meg and @hoover both of whom (God I hope I got that right) I thank heartily. It has no effect on the meta except to make one clue hard to answer.

The cat was baffled for a bit but was shown the light. Thanks, DrTom.

Cat is hiding in a bag in the corner of the room and trying to distract me by three lumpy green lumpy cushions and pointing out that it's odd there is such a common pattern. I point out that the pattern isn't consistent or evenly applied. The cat says tries to point out there are three spots on two rugs and a bookcase where the dog has peed-- that's something isn't it. I tell the cat he is not being helpful.

Cat's out! Thanks Dr. Tom!

Cat is out of the bag! Fun. The first thing I tried worked. Possibly for the first time ever!

lbray53 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 1:03 pm Cat is out of the bag! Fun. The first thing I tried worked. Possibly for the first time ever!

No doubt because it was your first impression!!!

Thanks for the solve and for the many times you have helped me discard MY first impression for the correct one.

Cat's out of the bag - thanks, Dr. Tom!

Thanks, @DrTom! Cat escaped after I studied the grid for a while.

Cat's been debagged. Thanks for the puzzle, Tom!

Cat's out. Thanks for a fun one!

The cat is out of the bag. Thanks, Dr. T!

Cat out!

With a nudge.

Thanks, Doc!

Meg wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 4:48 pm The cat is out of the bag. Thanks, Dr. T!

and now is seeking refreshment:

CPJohnson wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 3:57 pm Thanks, @DrTom! Cat escaped after I studied the grid for a while.

Looks like you might have had help? We will still count it as a solo solve though.

ChrisKochmanski wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 5:16 pm Cat out!

With a nudge.

Thanks, Doc!

Did you use an expert?

Well, three people I talked to over the weekend all agreed with something I wrote about this weekend. And this meta turns out to be a big counter-example. Meanwhile my cat left the bag after a person came in and let it out while I wasn't looking. The cat and I both agree we like seeing cute patterns and are really shocked when we find them unplanned for. The cat and I were talking about it when the rabbit popped out of a hole and said "Um,... you know, that's my department you are talking about, don't you?"

On a completely unrelated note the cat said "You really should get rid of that dog, you know" and I said "Let's just agree to talk about crosswords".