XWord Muggles Forum

Hi All --

This week's MEOW is a co-construction from Cap'n Rick and myself.
Backstory: I had an idea for a meta, made a grid, and sent it to Rick for testing all the while bemoaning its less than satisfactory qualities. Rick got back to me with the answer and thought perhaps he could whip it into some sort of symmetrical shape. So I jumped at his offer! The results, including some fun clue tweaks from DrTom, are what you see here.

The answer to the meta is a big announcement at the zoo. (Optional extra hint: Total of 18 letters )
Short Statement; Beastly Large Charge
crosshare
PUZ
PDF
spreadsheet




A CALICO cat perhaps?
Nudges beginning on Friday unless I've really misjudged.

Enjoy!

A fun puzzle every time I have solved. People are going to chuckle when they get it. Thanks to the both of you!!! I'd say more but I want to keep this a short statement!

Big cat’s out. Be careful!

What zoo is that? I’m there!

Ha ha ha! The cat is hanging out with the zookeeper in charge of food. Put some popcorn in this empty bag, please.

I think it's Ben's zoo -- you'll have to go to Australia!

The cat is now liberated. Thanks for a fun one!

Oh, gosh! The trouble with an 18-letter entry is that if you not 100% sure and you put in the right answer but make a slight typo you will assume you are wrong.

This was very clever and very fun and has whimsy signature all over it. Very enjoyable!

woozy wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2024 12:01 pm ......

This... has whimsy signature all over it.

Except for all the sane parts which have Cap'n Rick's!

Cat is free!

Cat's out of the bag, with an assist - thanks for the puzzle, @whimsy

Cat’s freed - thanks whimsy et al, fun challenge!

Got it after returning to my initial thought that I had forgotten by the time I finished the grid.
Fun stuff, thanks.

Big zoo announcement - cats escape!!

(My local zoo had a big announcement just over a year ago with the birth of three male lion cubs. This was their public debut last April.)

Thanks for a delightful meta!

This cat's out of a bag.... Fun one, and great teamwork! Thanks, all.

Cat's out of the bag, nicely done team puzzle!

Cat has escaped, but it’s a tiny little domestic one, so not to worry.

Thoroughly enjoyed! Some great blocks of letters in there, and good clues!

Just brushed up on the "How to Make a Board" chapter --

DrTom(TS)
KayW(TS)
ChrisKochmanski
Cindy
Meg
LarsCaine
Boharr
Al Sisti
MarkWoychick
Woozy
Pair O Ducks
Hector
Hoover
Bird Lives
Dave C
Laura M
DIS
rjv
LB800
ajk
Darth
markhr
BarbaraK
Tyrpmom
SamKat9
HeadinHome
lbray53
Carolyn

Thanks all for playing!

I have absolutely no idea with this one. Eagerly awaiting the nudges.

Edit: @whimsy provided me with some nudges that helped me to release the cat from the bag!

benchen71 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 18, 2024 11:15 pm I have absolutely no idea with this one. Eagerly awaiting the nudges.

Edit: @whimsy provided me with some nudges that helped me to release the cat from the bag!

I can see why this might have been a bit harder for you our saucy Aussie, glad you found your way home.

And I'm sorry if I inadvertently caused confusion with my post #5; rather than a hint it was just a silly response to Chris' post #3 and a fun reference to Ben's latest MOAT.

And as I apologetically told Ben last night, this current MEOW is actually very USA centered.

A few more nudges:

From Cap'n Rick:
The entry at 46A could be considered an example of the metanism.

1. Concentrate on the first half of the title for the metanism, and the second half for confirmation.
2. Constructors often want you to extrapolate one letter from the start of a word, entry, etc. but in this case you'll need --18 letter answer divided by 9 themers = ?
3. How might you write a state on an envelope?
4. If you think you've come up with the right letters but it looks like gibberish, a word to the wise: parsing!

Hope these help!