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.
This week's MEOW is a co-construction from Cap'n Rick and myself.
Backstory: I had an idea for a meta, made a grid, and sent it to Rick for testing all the while bemoaning its less than satisfactory qualities. Rick got back to me with the answer and thought perhaps he could whip it into some sort of symmetrical shape. So I jumped at his offer! The results, including some fun clue tweaks from DrTom, are what you see here.
The answer to the meta is a big announcement at the zoo. (Optional extra hint: Total of 18 letters )
A fun puzzle every time I have solved. People are going to chuckle when they get it. Thanks to the both of you!!! I'd say more but I want to keep this a short statement!
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!
Oh, gosh! The trouble with an 18-letter entry is that if you not 100% sure and you put in the right answer but make a slight typo you will assume you are wrong.
This was very clever and very fun and has whimsy signature all over it. Very enjoyable!
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 an assist - thanks for the puzzle, @whimsy
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
Got it after returning to my initial thought that I had forgotten by the time I finished the grid.
Fun stuff, thanks.
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
Big zoo announcement - cats escape!!
(My local zoo had a big announcement just over a year ago with the birth of three male lion cubs. This was their public debut last April.)
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!
Just brushed up on the "How to Make a Board" chapter --
DrTom(TS)
KayW(TS)
ChrisKochmanski
Cindy
Meg
LarsCaine
Boharr
Al Sisti
MarkWoychick
Woozy
Pair O Ducks
Hector
Hoover
Bird Lives
Dave C
Laura M
DIS
rjv
LB800
ajk
Darth
markhr
BarbaraK
Tyrpmom
SamKat9
HeadinHome
lbray53
Carolyn
I have absolutely no idea with this one. Eagerly awaiting the nudges.
Edit: @whimsy provided me with some nudges that helped me to release the cat from the bag!
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!
benchen71 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 18, 2024 11:15 pm
I have absolutely no idea with this one. Eagerly awaiting the nudges.
Edit: @whimsy provided me with some nudges that helped me to release the cat from the bag!
I can see why this might have been a bit harder for you our saucy Aussie, glad you found your way home.
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!
And I'm sorry if I inadvertently caused confusion with my post #5; rather than a hint it was just a silly response to Chris' post #3 and a fun reference to Ben's latest MOAT.
And as I apologetically told Ben last night, this current MEOW is actually very USA centered.
A few more nudges:
From Cap'n Rick: The entry at 46A could be considered an example of the metanism.
1. Concentrate on the first half of the title for the metanism, and the second half for confirmation.
2. Constructors often want you to extrapolate one letter from the start of a word, entry, etc. but in this case you'll need --18 letter answer divided by 9 themers = ?
3. How might you write a state on an envelope?
4. If you think you've come up with the right letters but it looks like gibberish, a word to the wise: parsing!
Big zoo announcement - cats escape!! 
