A Fool and His Money

A weekly meta crossword created by members of the forum. Difficulty levels will vary. Hints are usually available starting Wednesday, and solutions are posted on Sunday.
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Clark E. Tripe
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Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2023 10:14 am
Location: Linux Habitation, CA

A Fool and His Money

#1

Post by Clark E. Tripe »

Hello again, Muggle friends; Clark here! (And since all my old friends apparently changed their phone numbers (and addresses, emails and physical appearance), you’re all I’ve got... so thanks! And thanks especially to @Wendy Walker for her recent birthday tribute puzzle to me! I’m touched... and my therapist agrees.

So much has happened to me since we last talked... well, okay; maybe not so much “so much” as “a couple things.” Truth is, I’m still in Mom’s basement, but according to Mom, “Not for much longer, kiddo.” First floor, here I come!

I’m still trying to supplement my salary as a freelance APL coder with some odd jobs, including a brief stint as a spellchecker for Snellen eye charts, a half-day working quality control at the local Mars candy plant (I thought they wanted me to alphabetize the M&Ms...apparently, I was mistaken), and sadly, my calls to venture capitalists to back my idea for “Books on VHS” have gone unanswered. I’ve also listed my unbroken collection of BYTE and Compute! magazines and my old Infocom interactive games on Usenet, and it’s only a matter of time until my ship comes in (even though Linux Habitation is famously land-locked). But hope springs eternal... XYZZY, am I right?

Sadly, I still don’t have that special girlfriend in my life. Oh sure, I’ve had some dates... well, *a* date... okay, one “almost’ date. The night we were supposed to meet up at ComiCon, she called and said she had to clean the chimney that night and every night for the foreseeable future. She promised to let me know if anything changed, and although she hasn’t called yet, I do keep the TELEX humming 24/7 just in case.

And it’s also basebat season again! I never followed the sport all that much, but I thought “What the heck,” and I’m now the Uniform Resource Locator (read: Laundry Attendant) for our minor league team, the Linux Habitation Error Handlers. It’s a great opportunity, and I’m looking forward to actually meeting the team one of these days (They’ve played ten games already, but for some reason, the schedule they sent me had all the home and away games reversed, so I’ve been going to empty stadiums from the beginning. Oh, those crazy kooks and their rookie hazing
pranks, LOL!).

But wait, where was I? Oh yeah, Mom’s basement. No; I mean “where was I going?” Okay, according to Mom and my yearbook, “Nowhere.” But no really, what was I meaning to tell you? Oh right: I wrote another meta! They say “Write what you know,” so this one is called “A Fool and His Money.” Happy solving!

The meta answer is a 6-letter word.

A Fool and His Money
Crosshare
PUZ
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Spreadsheet

20240415-MMM-AFoolandHisMoney.png

Nudges on Wednesday.
Solution on Sunday.

Best of luck!
Clark
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"I'm a paper tape guy in a punch card world"
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benchen71
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#2

Post by benchen71 »

Off the couch and searching for coins under the couch cushions!

Nice aha moment! :D
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! :shock:
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Cinny
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#3

Post by Cinny »

Off the couch. So far, a good start to my meta week -- but it is still early!
Cindy Heisler
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ky-mike
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Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 4:22 pm
Location: Near Louisville Ky

#4

Post by ky-mike »

Off the couch. Nice way to start the week.
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rjy
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Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:52 pm
Location: Gaithersburg, MD

#5

Post by rjy »

Off the couch, thanks Clark! And nice timing with your theme of fools and money on tax day… hits a little close to home 🤣
Ray
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KayW
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Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 12:10 am
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#6

Post by KayW »

:crossed_swords: :rabbit: :couch_and_lamp: OTC - thanks for a fun meta and great start to the week!
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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Meg
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:41 pm
Location: St. Petersburg, FL

#7

Post by Meg »

OTC. Thanks Clark. I had a delightful time reading about your life.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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boharr
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Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:57 am
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#8

Post by boharr »

OTC. Good to hear from you Clark and to learn that you have been spending your time so productively. For awhile I was worried you might be just wasting time on Discord.
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Darth
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Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:51 pm
Location: Champaign, IL

#9

Post by Darth »

OTC. Nice one, Clark! Good luck on your "first floor" promotion and your budding romance with Cinderella. For that last bit, you might try something I do to win the attention of the ladies -- wear a mask. If nothing else, at least it would help to reduce terrorism in your corner of the world. jk ;)
Last edited by Darth on Mon Apr 15, 2024 10:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bird Lives
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#10

Post by Bird Lives »

Off the couch. I think it took me longer to read the intro than to do the puzzle. Both were much fun. Looking forward to more such Tripe.
Jay
MatthewL
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Location: Atlanta, GA

#11

Post by MatthewL »

Off the couch. Very clever -- but I would expect nothing less from you. Thanks for the puzzle, Clark!
Matthew
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ChrisKochmanski
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:51 pm
Location: Saline, Michigan

#12

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

OTC!

Please. Tell us the whole story. “The (So-Called) Life and (Inglorious) Times of Clark E. Tripe”. Something to that effect. Surely a best seller. A few here on the forum might pass it around.

But seriously, I’m in stitches. (That would be an oxymoron, right?)
Ergcat
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Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2020 8:12 pm
Location: Seneca SC

#13

Post by Ergcat »

Off the couch! Thanks, Clark! Happy to see you back!
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lbray53
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Location: Elkhorn, WI

#14

Post by lbray53 »

Off the Couch!
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
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Clark E. Tripe
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2023 10:14 am
Location: Linux Habitation, CA

#15

Post by Clark E. Tripe »

ChrisKochmanski wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2024 10:25 am OTC!

Please. Tell us the whole story. “The (So-Called) Life and (Inglorious) Times of Clark E. Tripe”. Something to that effect. Surely a best seller. A few here on the forum might pass it around.

But seriously, I’m in stitches. (That would be an oxymoron, right?)
I'm thinking why not go right to Broadway? I'm working out a musical on my VTech electric piano as we speak; kind of an autobiographical reprise of "Fiddler on the Roof." Mom suggests I call it "Idler in the Basement." Haha! I don't know how she can keep such a straight face when she says something so funny!
"I'm a paper tape guy in a punch card world"
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ajk
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#16

Post by ajk »

Very spiffy work as usual. 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
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sharkicicles
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Location: Chicago

#17

Post by sharkicicles »

Clark, I really have to take exception to the way the Error Handlers are treating you.
Schmeel
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#18

Post by Schmeel »

Off the couch - thanks for the puzzle!
Clark - does getting everyone off the couch just mean there's more room for you?
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HeadinHome
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Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:06 am
Location: Charlotte, NC

#19

Post by HeadinHome »

On top of your many, many talents, you crank out a good meta. Can’t imagine what Mom and those yearbook people were talking about… you are going places, man! Maybe not good places, but places.
The other Wendy. :roll:
markhr
Posts: 351
Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2019 7:56 pm

#20

Post by markhr »

Nice job, Clark. I may have to save this one to my floppy disk.
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