Sudden Impact

[michaelm]

Hasta la Vista, couch.
You're the Cap'n now, Rick!

[Dannyvee]

Needed the first nudge as I was firmly stuck in another rabbit hole. Nice meta, Cap'n!

[mkmf]

Needed the third nudge to refocus the binoculars. Then managed to get off the couch with a good laugh. Fun! And elegant too.

[TeamDoubleTow]

Loved this! Enjoyed the grid and very thankful for the nudges. We needed the first 2. Thanks so much for the puzzle @Cap'n Rick

[Cap'n Rick]

Day 3 - What a difference a day (or a nudge) (or a nudge about a day) makes! 23 more Muggles said "sayonara" to their sofas today:

Cinny
Magistra
cbarbee002
edestlin
lbray53
CPJohnson
Bird Lives
KayW
Hidden in 3D
jhseeman
MikeyG
BarbaraK
david
bhamren
JeanneC
Sharkicicles
michaelm
Dannyvee
mkmf
Richard
TeamDoubleTow
jbird
LadyBird

This brings our solver total to 61! Great job, everyone!

[LadyBird]

Thanks to nudge #1, I am off the couch. Thanks! Gotta love 43A.

[rjy]

Ahh... needed the nudges but got it. Thanks Cap'n!

Now to try and apply that metanism to the MEOW

[kurtalert]

Solved. Great puzzle!

[Cap'n Rick]

Day 4 - Another 5 Muggles have de-couched:

rjy
Johnny Luau
JM
kurtalert
DebbieC

This brings our solver total to 66!

[Qmark]

Needed Nudge #1 to see the light...off the couch! Super puzzle Cap'n Rick!

[minimuggle]

Off the couch thanks to the great nudges. One of those 5 letters took me awhile. Thanks for the great puzzle

[Cap'n Rick]

Day 5 - Another 3 Muggles bring us to 69 solvers:

Snood
Qmark
minimuggle

[ReB]

Off the couch once nudge #3 roused me sufficiently.

[Cap'n Rick]

The meta answer is "SPLAT". To solve, puzzlers first needed to make the connection between the movie "Sudden Impact" and the Dirty Harry catchphrase from that movie at 61-Down. The second step was to "go ahead" and make other words/phrases using "DAY" and five symmetrically-placed grid entries. The next step involved finding other clues that fit the five "DAY" words/phrases. The initial letters of those entries, in grid order, spell 'SPLAT' - a sound which may indeed be heard upon 'Sudden Impact'.

I hope everyone enjoyed solving this meta. In fact, I hope it "made your day".

Until next time!
Cap'n Rick

P.S. @ReB brought our overall solver total to an even 70. Thanks everyone for solving!

[DavyGravy]

Great puzzle! I am now hooked on the MMM. I love the one at a time nudges feature.

[benchen71]

Great puzzle! I am now hooked on the MMM. I love the one at a time nudges feature.

There's also MOAT. I do a similar thing each week.

[whimsy]

Great puzzle! I am now hooked on the MMM. I love the one at a time nudges feature.

There's also MOAT. I do a similar thing each week.

And @madhatter5's MEOW -- often "guest" constructors, and sometimes off the wall/out of the box. (Not to be confused with Pandora's Blocks which will probably be starting up again on Sundays sometime this fall.)
If you're gonna get hooked you might as well go all the way!

[Joe Ross]

Great puzzle! I am now hooked on the MMM. I love the one at a time nudges feature.

There's also MOAT. I do a similar thing each week.

And @madhatter5's MEOW -- often "guest" constructors, and sometimes off the wall/out of the box.

(Not to be confused with @AnswerPfinder's Pandora's Blocks which will probably be starting up again on Sundays sometime this fall.)
If you're gonna get hooked you might as well go all the way!

• @MikeyG's Pun of a Kind metas

• @ricky's Lexicon Devil

• @bcimmet's Fill Me In Podcast

[whimsy]

Thanks, Joe!
Just came back to correct my forgetfulness!
And to mention, all fellow muggles who caught the bug!

And under "Other Meta Puzzles" you might find a random gem.
This forum is full of rabbit holes to explore and enjoy, in and of itself!