MEOW #69 Central Casting UPDATED

[dudeski]

doneski

[Meg]

You know, Whimsy, @DrTom made a much more serious blunder in his puzzle last year. I don’t even remember what the error was. I just know it was much worse than your minor misspellings. I am in awe of anybody who can construct a meta crossword. I think you are very brave. Plus, we are a very forgiving folk. Simple and forgiving.

[whimsy]

You know, Whimsy, @DrTom made a much more serious blunder in his puzzle last year. I don’t even remember what the error was. I just know it was much worse than your minor misspellings. I am in awe of anybody who can construct a meta crossword. I think you are very brave. Plus, we are a very forgiving folk. Simple and forgiving.

Thanks, Meg. I know I'm among friends, and I 'm not really beating myself up that much -- just my lighthearted, self-deprecating way of getting the word out!
And see! I so much want to be like you, @DrTom that I've provided myself with my own ultra moment.

[Cap'n Rick]

... now that with the help and approval of test solvers Cap'n Rick ...

See CORRECTIONS below -- Post #s 3, 7 and 19! Many apologies!

(There goes my post-retirement career of being a meta tester...)

[HeadinHome]

Well that 67A clue could be interpreted a number of ways, and together with the puzzle title and certain other elements in the grid, this has me stumped. Will keep watching for nudges to be posted!

[Ergcat]

Cat escaped before I could solve!
I was out and about and I tried to solve on my phone. After finishing the grid I accidentally revealed the answer on Crosshare. I'm all thumbs.
So I figured out the mechanism after seeing the answer.
Thanks @whimsy !

I did the same thing ( accidentally hit “reveal” and saw the answer)…. but I still don’t see the mechanism ! I’m really dense, I guess!

[Schmeel]

Cat escaped before I could solve!
I was out and about and I tried to solve on my phone. After finishing the grid I accidentally revealed the answer on Crosshare. I'm all thumbs.
So I figured out the mechanism after seeing the answer.
Thanks @whimsy !

I did the same thing ( accidentally hit “reveal” and saw the answer)…. but I still don’t see the mechanism ! I’m really dense, I guess!

Why dense? It took me some time too. Keep looking - you'll get it!
I found that solving on the phone made it more difficult - I like being able to see the whole thing at the same time.
Good luck!

[BarbaraK]

For those solving with the PDF or PUZ and who thought a bit more direction would have been better, you were absolutely right.
I must have used older versions to make the links. I had updated Crosshare to emphasize a directional hint; this is how the
New Clue
for 67 Across should read --

67A ______ the moon, which you might be when you figure out the key for solving the meta

Ah, that helped! Kudos to those who figured it out without this.

[rjy]

Kudos to those who figured it out without this.

Kudos to those who figured it out with this.

// fixed it for you

[whimsy]

I owe you a NUDGE!

Here's this week's cat picture --

And a knock-knock joke courtesy of Mr. Lives -- (Didn't want to give away the answer to 26A! )

Knock-knock.
Who's there?
Sombrero.
Sombrero who?
Sombrerover the

[HeadinHome]

Yeah, but how do we get The _________ from the puzzle? ( : That's what I can't figure out.

[KayW]

Cat has been freed, with a LOT of patient assistance from @whimsy

Brilliant meta.

[DrTom]

Well I am embarrassed, solved - if I can actually say that with all the help I got, but oh my I was dense. Very clever puzzle if you are smart enough to follow the signs, and special kudos to those who got there without corrections or nudges. Now if you''ll excuse me I have quickly buy a sandwich before I get back on the train...

[woozy]

Very clever puzzle if you are smart enough to follow the signs, and special kudos to those who got there without corrections or nudges.

I got it without corrections or nudges. It doesn't take smarts to enter the names of movie characters until one of them is confirmed by crosshare.

Oh, I guess when it comes to solving it, knowing the answer ahead of time is about as big a nudge as one can get. Okay, I didn't get it without a nudge-- I gave myself the biggest possible nudge one can have.

[Laura M]

I thought I posted this earlier but it seems not to have shown up, so: I liked this a lot, and I didn't notice the clue errors at all :-) I would have had a much tougher time without the intended 67A clue, but fortunately I solved on Crosshare. Thanks, @whimsy!

[whimsy]

Stealing from MikeyG and producing a leader board (of 29D.)

Cap'n Rick
madhatter5
Hector
Meg
boharr
dplass
woozy
Laura M
oldjudge
Gutman
Schmeel
Bird Lives
ChrisKochmanski
Tyrpmom
Dave C
BarbaraK
Bbaack
dudeski
KayW
DrTom
CromsFury
HeadinHome
benchen71

No asterisks regarding nudges or not, fumble-fingers or not, unintentional "hard" version vs easier version, etc.
One big happy family!

[HeadinHome]

Finally solved between bouts of work this afternoon, thanks to encouragements from @Woozy. Everything the published nudges said, and most of what Woozy gave me, was stuff already on my radar, but focusing on just two of those things in combination did the trick.

Really impressed by those who got this with NO help!!

(Cat laid down and went to sleep in bag long ago… I’ll let her nap.)

[benchen71]

Cat's out of the bag. Thanks for a fun puzzle!

[whimsy]

In the glitchy way this puzzle's going, while I cross referenced posts and Crosshare to make the solvers list, I neglected PMs.

So let me begin the next grouping (which I'll edit and add to over the next day or two) with:

Cynthia
Carolyn
Cindy Heisler
Mark Woychick
Ergcat
Jack Sullivan
LindaPRmaven
Darth

A couple more nudges in an hour or so --

[whimsy]

NUDGES

Most probably have the movie and the, ahem, song at this point.
And are considering the significance of the 6 appropriate six-letter symmetrical entries.

Now for the nitty-gritty -- (a cascade of nudges so you can take them on one at a time if you like*)

Take into account where you want to be relative to that colorful thing in the sky.

One of the words in the title the first provides some direction.

Because the entries that serve as a base for the meta solution are even numbered in length, you'll necessarily be looking for more than one letter to pick out from a "central" location.

The answer is 12 letters long.

Two words --
Big Bert Lahr

*asterisk Or all at once with one paw tied behind your back even!