XWord Muggles Forum

Finally getting around to posting my old puzzles here on this forum.

Please see below for PCC#11 - "Doughboy Contraband" originally posted on Crosshare 10/08/23

[Level 2] Meta: The answer to the meta is the name of an event in artistic gymnastics that would make a good sixth theme entry…

[Revised prompt (credit to @damefoxwords): the meta solution may also describe a standard to which an editor establishes for crossword puzzle submissions]

Note: the level is the intended difficulty I had in mind when I designed the puzzle, but may play differently since every solver has their own area of expertise... what one person may find easy, another may find difficult.

Have fun and keep in mind if you're ever lost at sea, google is your best friend (actually, I don't know if you'd get internet service in the middle of the ocean)
-Phil

Doughboy Contraband
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Nudges below:

Hint #1: The answers to the starred clues are all concealing something

Hint #2: Contraband, 69-Across, 27-Down are all related

Hint #3: Fran(co Ke)lly is smuggling coke... Nut(crack)er is smuggling crack

Hint #4: The sixth illicit drug being smuggled is 3 letters long - the titular "Doughboy" happens to be smuggling it

Hint #5: The gymnastics event is a men only event and can go by an alternate name... the reigning Olympics champion for this event is Daiki Hashimoto

Solution below - SPOILER ALERT:

Answer explanation: The theme answers are all smuggling drugs: FRAN[CO KE]LLY, GA[ME TH]EORY, ANTI[HEROIN]E, NUT[CRACK]ER, and E[LSD]ORF... the meta answer is HI[GH B]AR which is smuggling GHB (note that DOU[GHB]OY is also hiding this as well)... "high bar" is also known as "horizontal bar" (hence the note in hint 5) but I can only accept "high bar" as the meta solution... finally, in the words of Mr. Mackey "Drugs are bad, m'kay?"

cute comic here (by Mark Parisi)