XWord Muggles Forum

Welcome to...

benchen71's Metas on a Tuesday (MOAT)

Can you storm the castle by getting across the MOAT? As per usual, we're gradually ramping up the difficulty as the month progresses. I had fun with the cluing so hopefully that means you will have fun with the solving! And then, of course, there's the meta to solve. About that: the answer to the meta is something that would be of benefit in solving the meta. So you know: the usual sort of "meta" meta. Good luck!

The easiest way to submit is on Crosshare (and you get instant feedback and unlimited attempts!) But you can also PM me with your submission. Either way, I'll compile a list of those who successfully solve the meta.

Look After The Theme And The Meta Will Take Care Of Itself - Crosshare
Look After The Theme And The Meta Will Take Care Of Itself - PUZ
Look After The Theme And The Meta Will Take Care Of Itself - PDF
Look After The Theme And The Meta Will Take Care Of Itself - spreadsheet

Nudges are here.
The solution will be posted Monday.

DeMOATed. Fun one, Ben!

Started out feeling impossibly circular because of the prompt and title, then turned challenging and fun. Very good, Ben -- Thanks!
And regarding how I was able to Cross the Moat -- well I doubled down on the Center of Attention in the grid, however, I reassure you --

Hoping for early nudges on this one.

Crossed after going down a rabbit hole. Nice one!

Moat crossed. Nice one Ben!

benchen71 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:00 am
...
As per usual, we're gradually ramping up the difficulty as the month progresses.
...

I am deeply concerned for the rest of the month!

schmidzy wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 5:34 pm

benchen71 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:00 am
...
As per usual, we're gradually ramping up the difficulty as the month progresses.
...

I am deeply concerned for the rest of the month!

I may have misjudged the difficulty of this one! Next week should be fine.

With a big happy nudge from muggle Heidi, I’ve trotted across the drawbridge.

The meta is tough so far but the grid is fantastic. I lived in a condo in Chicago for a few years that didn’t have any outdoor space for a grill so I used to sous vide steaks… cook them to medium rare in the water bath then get my cast iron pan screaming hot in a 500F oven. Put the finished steaks in the pan for about a minute a side to sear. It’s also a very good way to test out your condo’s smoke alarm system.

I went to grammar school with 44A.

Well, I'm having the opposite of most. I thought this sounded straight forward. But a brick wall hit me

OK, so I definitely misjudged the difficulty with this one. Just 9 solvers made it to the solution!

Darth
whimsy
Hector
Jaclyn
LarsCaine
heidi
Meg
Cindy Weatherman
boharr

Early nudges, here we come!

Nudges, in order of increasing blatancy:

1. The central entry has a clue with a much less helpful meta hint in it than usual. I guess that means you'll need to rely on the puzzle title.

2. That said, there are a couple of clues whose answers are not exactly the most likely given the range of possible answers.

3. You need to put a word (the same one) after the four themers. The word is not "look" but it is a related word.

4. Two common meta techniques have been used in this meta: 1) alternate answers to other entries; and 2) once you have an answer repeat an earlier step!

boharr wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 8:44 pm I went to grammar school with 44A.

My dad was born in the same hospital as Bob Newhart a few years later, and my mom went to the competing school across the street as Coach K. Sadly I’ve met neither of them

Dragged kicking and screaming across the MOAT!

Submitted but....

Whew… thanks for those nudges; that was a wide, deep moat! In the mead hall partying like it’s 1024.

Tough Moat… drawbridge kept disappearing. Finally made it!

Crossed! Stormed!

Though not with Ben’s nudges. I didn’t see them, and instead pestered another Muggle. Well, maybe I should have been more patient, knowing that Ben had promised help. But sometimes PMing each other can be fun.

Good one, Ben! Thanks!