XWord Muggles Forum

Just got to this one - No clue - No idea even where to begin.

Dino me! Another fun one Will!
Thanks

Thanks so much for the kind words and support! I'm really happy with how this meta turned out (although a bit less so about the fill). I'll stop by again on Wednesday to explain the reasoning behind the meta answer for those that aren't quite sure! Thank you all for participating!

20210214 Pandora's Blocks — Out of the Spotlight — Excel form

20210214 Pandora's Blocks — Out of the Spotlight — PDF from PUZ

I got it, thanks to nudges from Will.

Same here. Had to get a little help from Will on the last step, but I'm dino-ed.

Waiting to hear but pretty sure --
Just to mix it up a little --

I got it finally with a Will prod, clever finish and one I got right without even knowing I had it. Great puzzle as usual (I'm good as long as I don't have to "walk" anywhere!).

"Life is like a box of metas, you never know what you are gonna get, solve Forrest, solve..

I was on the right track, but couldn't put it all together without help from Will. It was clever.

Answer explanation in the spoiler box below!


The answer I was looking for was ZIP YOUR LIP.

Start by looking for BROKEN BONES as hinted at by the clue for 57-Down. There are 5 entries in the grid that contain the letters of BONE - with some other letters interspersed between. Taking the letters between the "bone fragments" yields the phrase ON THE DL, which makes sense since the DL is the "disabled list" which is where an injured baseball player might be listed while he's temporarily "Out of the Spotlight".

However, the phrase ON THE DL can also be used in reference to a piece of information, as in "Keep it on the DL" meaning "Don't tell anyone else about this" with the DL in this case standing for "down low". If you look for all of the instances in the grid of the letters DL together, the letters directly above those pairs ( or "on" those DLs) spell out the answer ZIP YOUR LIP.

So the puzzle mechanism took a little pivot in theme playing on both meanings of the phrase ON THE DL. Phew, that was a mouthful! Hope this helps better explain my choice of answer for those who were unsure!


Thanks everyone for solving! Got some really positive feedback on this one (even more so than usual!) Going to try to do some more two-step puzzles in the future.

I come with hat in hat -- I was wrong -- well, half wrong.
I did not Follow Directions! Rap on the knuckles with the ruler!
Rather than appreciating both metaphor themes, I got stuck on the baseball one and translated DL to Day to Day.

I got part one, but couldn't find anything in the grid that would lead to the answer. That's probably because I misinterpreted the prompt and was trying to come up with a three-word phrase where all three words rhymed. Then, Chick Corea died, and Iwhat go stuck in my head was his "Tones for Joan's Bones." Three rhyming words but there's a fourth non-rhymer, plus I strongly doubted that Will would have heard of it. Gret tune though.

More complex than I was expecting. I got as far as noticing the three words starting with BO and assuming that was significant (because of BONE), but didn't take notice that they all also contained an N and and E as well. I don't think I would have ever figured out step two in any case. Very clever.

I got this one with a LOT of help. After reading Will's summary I realize that I had the wrong answer in the grid for 57D. Somehow I had PINE instead of BONE. I thought it was a double meaning with broken bat and broken SPINE and spent tons of time looking for other words that I could add an S to. 20A, 21A and 23A convinced me that I was on the right path. I hung on to broken spine even after nudges helped me see broken bones as the key to solving. This meta is much cleaner with the correct grid entry!

I seem to continue to cling too hard and long to ideas that keep me from solving! At least I am starting to recognize that I am doing so. Maybe that observation is the path to enlightenment?

After seeing the answer yesterday - this was a never for me. I think I have learned my lesson with the PB - If it is higher than a 3-4 difficulty I shouldn't even bother with it