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.
A puzzle that, like several before, came to me on a "road trip". It was considerably harder to construct that I thought it might be and therefore may have some crunchy fill. It might also require a little Mr. G depending on your familiarity with the subject, but everything should fall into place.
I had some expert help from three testers; @Al Sisti, @whimsy and @rjy; without these individuals who suffer through the early editions of sometimes REALLY flawed puzzles this whole thing would not be possible.
If forced to rate it I would say:
Kitten
Calico
*PERSIAN
Puma
Lion
Nudges be Saturday or of course earlier by PM if needed.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
Meg wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2024 11:05 amVery nice, Dr. Tom!
Thanks Meg! Glad you enjoyed it...tell your friends, don't forget to tip the waiters, we'll be here all week! Ba dum bum.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
Test solver here - for me, this was a ||: put-it-down, pick-it-up :|| puzzle. Had to keep noodling, but a really great aha! when inspiration hit. Good one, DrT!
woozy wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2024 1:26 pm
That was fun. My first that was it. But I still needed a little twist.
Nicely executed.
Often times the subconscious sees what we don't. The number of solves that come to me when I am NOT thinking about the solve is ever growing.
Thanks for sticking to it.
T
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
Very fun! I can see how the theme might've made construction tricky. As someone (nearly) totally unfamiliar with the subject material, one trip to Mr. G got things to click pretty fast. Impressive puzzle!
Thanks to all the solvers and I hope all your ear worms are temporary!
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
HeadinHome wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2024 1:27 am
This is a winner!! Great puzzle. Thanks Dr. Tom!!
So glad you enjoyed it.
T
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
lbray53 wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2024 7:52 am
Cat is out. Ear worm is not.
Supposedly the "cure" is to give it to someone else, so sing each tune out loud in a crowded room. Oh, and when you do, record it and please post it on the Muggles forum!
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
I can't say I'm not a little disappointed, I really had fun creating this meta and thought it tied together really well, maybe if the WSJ one is not too hard I'll get some more takers.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
Cat got out (with some help) and is taking requests.
