Ahoy, Muggles!
It's great to be back on SSS with what I believe will be a relatively "smooth sailing" puzzle. To hedge my bet, I'm going to try something different today and concurrently deploy the nudges ("InSSStant Nudges?"
). If you're a veteran solver you can simply ignore them, but if you're a newbie you won't have to wait to check back in a few hours. Anyway, let's see how it goes today and then go with the flow. I'd like to thank
@Wendy Walker,
@Bird Lives,
@whimsy,
@boharr,
@MarkWoychick,
@cbarbee002, and
@Joe Ross for pretesting and technical help.
The meta answer is some extra things you may find today.
EXTRA! EXTRA!
Crosshare
PUZ
PDF
Spreadsheet
Difficulty (updated)
InSSStant Nudges
► Show Spoiler
Did you notice that the completed grid kinda resembles a compass?
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Did you also notice that the grid includes three 47D entries? (Note: If you are unfamiliar with entering 47Ds, you can simply enter the first letter.)
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Did you also notice that those three REBUSes all appear on the right edge of the grid? Hmm, what direction is that?
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Given today's holiday, there are a few examples of these familiar puzzle "extras" on the Western side of the grid.
► Show Spoiler
Don't overthink it. I'm only looking for the general term for "extras" that can be found in puzzles and possibly around your house today.
Please feel free to PM me if you're still stuck! (Solution is
here.)
Good luck!
Cap'n Rick