"Heart Of Gold" by benchen71

Can you storm the castle by getting across the MOAT? A weekly meta crossword constructed by forum member Ben (aka benchen71). These metas range from relatively easy to more challenging, depending on how many Australianisms he puts in them! Puzzles are posted in a new thread every Tuesday, with nudges appearing on Saturdays, and the solution coming out on Mondays. (At least, that's the plan. Given he lives in Australia, and they are so far ahead of the US time-zone-wise, things may get posted early!)
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HeadinHome
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#21

Post by HeadinHome »

Oh for Pete’s sake. Yes, I had it all along. Had everything through nudge 5 and I am actually a bit familiar with the answer, but … well, better stop blabbing. GREAT puzzle!
The other Wendy. :roll:
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Ergcat
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#22

Post by Ergcat »

Moat crossed!
Had an AHA and DUH moment at same time!!
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woozy
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#23

Post by woozy »

MikeyG wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 9:48 pm Yeah, definitely intrigued by this - have yet to figure out how all these pieces come together. See some things on my break from work but not everything just yet!

Image
In morning eyes, I have to wonder if this post was meant to be serious or was a deliberate joke circling around but intentionally missing the final solution.
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
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MikeyG
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#24

Post by MikeyG »

woozy wrote: ↑Wed Apr 24, 2024 10:56 am In morning eyes, I have to wonder if this post was meant to be serious or was a deliberate joke circling around but intentionally missing the final solution.
Probably both, haha. I see a couple things (or at least one thing) but not all the things!
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 92. It's a Breeze
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ajk
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#25

Post by ajk »

lol of course had everything through nudge 5. Tried to follow nudge 6 but googling 'nothing' didn't work :lol: :lol:
Last edited by ajk on Wed Apr 24, 2024 12:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
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lbray53
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#26

Post by lbray53 »

Across the MOAT! I finally realized that I had already solved when I noticed the answer written in my notes. I was in the same situation as ajk above.
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
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Cinny
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#27

Post by Cinny »

Moat crossed. Clever mechanism and I learned a new word! Thanks, Ben
Cindy Heisler
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whimsy
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#28

Post by whimsy »

Crossed the drawbridge of this beauty onto the grounds.
Untitledzzhearts.png
Boldt Castle on Heart Island in the Saint Lawrence River.
I guess you could say this is some spectacular 1,000 Islands dressing.

Thanks, Ben -- a spectacular puzzle too!
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Berto
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Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2022 4:10 pm

#29

Post by Berto »

…and there it was. Right in front of us. I’d sprinted across the moat and run face-first into the port-cullis, stumbled dizzily about until I finally came to. Gah.
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MikeyG
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#30

Post by MikeyG »

I was 75% of the way there, and a quick search showed I was actually doing something right! Imagine that! (And I think I have heard of this before back in the recesses of my brain.) Thanks for the puzzle - this cat is demoated!

Image

Ginger Cat (an indoor cat to the core) approves!
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 92. It's a Breeze
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ajk
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#31

Post by ajk »

OK, dragged across by a kind muggle. Could have sworn I tried it before, but I guess I messed something up. :)
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
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benchen71
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#32

Post by benchen71 »

A solver update for you!

potemkinish
Dow Jones
JM
Ergcat
Spid4567
lbray53
HeadinHome
Cindy Heisler
whimsy
Gutman
Johnny Luau
Golem
CPJohnson
Berto
Danny K Bernstein
Mikey G
frostyjhammer
Elana
Jerry Miccolis

That's 47. Final solver update Monday morning Australia time, right before the answer reveal!
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
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ELSavage
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#33

Post by ELSavage »

Crossed my first MOAT today!
I needed a different take on [nudge #6] (thanks DrTom) to see that I was going the right way the first time.
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benchen71
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#34

Post by benchen71 »

Final solver update time!

Mozeytown
Steve M
Amarus
Sanna
BarbaraK
ELSavage

That's a total of 53!

Welcome to MOAT, @ELSavage - may this be the first of many more MOAT-crossings to come!
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
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benchen71
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#35

Post by benchen71 »

Here's the solution to "Heart Of Gold":

Heart Of Gold (solution).png

Lots of you reported never having heard of this word before. Fortunately, you managed to get the answer despite this!

That said, I had one wrong answer on Crosshare as follows: "Why do you do weird s**t like this. Just leave out the dumb s**t and it would have been fine." I am assuming they were referring to the stuff in brackets. But without that, the puzzle would have been just a regular crossword! The more I do crosswords, the more I'm finding regular crosswords (even themed crosswords) are just not that interesting. So MOATs will always have lots of that "weird s**t"! :D
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
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KayW
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#36

Post by KayW »

I happened to come across Kintsugi about a year ago at this exhibit at a local museum:
https://imss.org/kintsugi-healing-through-japanese-art/
I wouldn't have been able to pull the word out of thin air but when I extracted those letters from the grid, I thought "oh yeah, THAT stuff!"

This meta is a perfect example of Kintsugi in crossword form. Well done, Ben!
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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