XWord Muggles Forum

This week's puzzle is called "Star Cluster" constructed by Sid Sivakumar. The solution to this puzzle is a four-word phrase familiar to "Fill Me In" viewers.

You can download it at http://bit.ly/fmi288con

The podcast and submission instructions are at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f ... 1364379980 )

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I'm quite confident I know the answer, but I'm not entirely clear on the derivation of one piece of it. If it is just something that you know because you know, those who don't listen to the podcast will have a hard time of it. They could get "a two word phrase" though, and it's a good puzzle so worth doing just for that.

But I want to quibble about 8D. I've seen many lenticular clouds, and I've certainly never mistaken one for an 8D. I don't think they look at all alike.... Although, to be fair, I've never seen an 8D. So maybe 8Ds do in fact look just like lenticular clouds.... Wait, what if I have seen 8Ds and just thought they were lenticular clouds???

If like me you're not a listener and so won't submit anyway, and if like me you get stuck after a solid first step, then I'd advise you, like me, to take the L on this one and confirm your partial solve with a previous solver (thanks, Barbara!). The latter steps very much depend on having listened to the podcast; they are not merely difficult.

I’m not a listener, but I got lucky on a google search and think I have the meta. I guess I’ll have to wait 2 weeks to find out if I’m right.

This one came to me in the middle of the night (while listening to this week’s pod). Clever Sid.

The solution to this puzzle is QUINITUPLE DECKER TURKEY CLUB.

I will be the first to admit that this puzzle was only really accessible by listeners to the podcast. But we couldn't say that up front without giving away the answer too easily ... and sadly, that meant that some solvers (perhaps people here who enjoy the crossword without enjoying the podcast) were unable to identify the solution.

There were five references in the puzzle to DECKS. There was an awkward clue about money from an unnamed country (Turkey). And the title of show refers to a collection of stars. The Quintuple Decker Turkey Club is the name we give (on the podcast) to the group of people who leave 5-star reviews for our show on Apple Podcasts. It's been a reference on our show for years, so listeners would likely have found it very familiar.

I promise that the next crossword will not be an inside reference, it will be completely solvable by anyone who enjoys meta puzzles who may or may not also enjoy goofy podcasts.

Hope you'll give the next contest a try!