"Bottoms Up!"

[Laura M]

I'm stuck at about 70% off the couch and can't forward solve or backsolve my way up. This is very uncomfortable :-)

[TeamDoubleTow]

Sounds like we are in good company in the not quite there club. This is our first Muggle Monday first. What a treat!

[DrTom]

Couldn't see it, couldn't see it, couldn't see it....THUNDERBOLT! Very clever mechanism and even more clever way to the finish line. I of course made it much harder than I needed but with my mind at rest (brushing teeth) the AHA cam rushing in.

Fun start to the Muggle Meta Monday calendar. I am "Bottoms Off" the couch, thanks Al.

Secrets of a META constructor

[Al Sisti]

Tuesday AM leaderboard (please let me know if I missed you). As of 10 AM my time, we have 14 people who have solved it, and several others who have reached the finish line but haven't yet broken the tape. Lots of good wrong answers too...

1 Abide (TS)
2 KayW (TS)
3 Dannyvee
4 Tom Wilson
5 lbray53
6 Schmeel
7 boharr
8 Meg
9 Cindy
10 RPardoe
11 Cinny
12 runart
13 ChrisKochmanski
14 DrTom

[Cap'n Rick]

Very tricky one, but you can add me to the above leaderboard. Thanks Al!

[whimsy]

Finally off the couch with the intended answer --
(and a few off-the-wall spare ones.)

[minimuggle]

Oh this is very clever. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong but I'm not yet off the couch.....

[Abide]

Great puzzle! If you are still on the couch, expect some helpful nudges tomorrow. (I needed one)

[minimuggle]

Oh this is very clever. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong but I'm not yet off the couch.....

Edit: Came up with an answer that I like but haven't gotten confirmation. Have a feeling I will have to go back to the drawing board.

[hcbirker]

I'm almost there but the final step is eluding me.

[MamaE]

Clever one! Confirmed that I have taken my
Bottom Up off the sofa

[cbarbee002]

I'm in with the 70% crowd

[Al Sisti]

Should we start offering "Nudge Eve" at our Zoom meetings?

[minimuggle]

Oh this is very clever. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong but I'm not yet off the couch.....

Edit: Came up with an answer that I like but haven't gotten confirmation. Have a feeling I will have to go back to the drawing board.

OK, got confirmation that I am not off the couch....Back to the start

[Joe Ross]

Should we start offering "Nudge Eve" at our Zoom meetings?

And wonderfully done, tonight, Al!

For all muggles: Please look above the topics on your screens for the Muggle Zoom Room link & join us, for an hour, the occasional Tuesday at 7:30 PM ET. We're a small group (which can stand to be much larger) of friendly people discussing events of the week, most of which (not all!) are meta-related.

Tonight's discussions included Al's fun MMM, from The Master, himself. It's hard to press & promote a thing, without seeming unctuous or insincere, but I promise you a greater enjoyment of this crowd, if you can shake a few minutes loose, every month, or so. Good people. Intelligent. Friendly. Open.

We need you all here, when you can attend. Please, join us.

I mean, we usually are graced by the unassuming presence of Claudia (@whimsy )... She's the best of all possible worlds!

[Bird Lives]

My first two guesses were reasonable but wrong. My third was one I had considered but rejected . Turns out, that was the right answer. I had misinterpreted the prompt

This must be another one of those where Al sets a tough challenge for himself and then brings it off. So while Step One is fairly easy to solve, it must have been very hard to construct. Step Two, OTOH, was easy to construct but it gives solvers some difficulty.

[Al Sisti]

My first two guesses were reasonable but wrong. My third was one I had considered but rejected . Turns out, that was the right answer. I had misinterpreted the prompt

This must be another one of those where Al sets a tough challenge for himself and then brings it off. So while Step One is fairly easy to solve, it must have been very hard to construct. Step Two, OTOH, was easy to construct but it gives solvers some difficulty.

Pretty much sums it up...

[Al Sisti]

Happy Nudge Wednesday and... happy birthday, Ted Lange!

As expected/feared, this is playing out as a week 3, in that it's a multi-step solve. Step one was to find the anagrammed clue needed to get to step two. Step two was to use that clue to solve the meta. Some were able to successfully get past the finish line, but many have solved Step one, but got stuck at Step 2. So here are some nudges:

If you haven't solved Step 1: We're looking for seven entries that can become new words by applying a "bottoms up" mechanism; i.e., moving the bottom letter up to the top (it turns out that there are also two unintended entries (at 9D and 35D) that could be candidates, but we won't be using them because the new words aren't alternative answers to existing clues).

If you've solved Step 1 but were told your answer was incorrect: Per the prompt, your "new beginnings" anagram -- TEN DOWN -- is the *clue* for solving the meta; the *entry* at 10D -- STREAK -- is not the answer, and is not relevant to the solve. So Nudge 2 is "Look at the clue, not the entry."

For those who did get that far (from the Spoiler above) but submitted an incorrect answer (including some great/clever and even appropriate ones): Read the clue at 10D differently from the way you originally read it... say, as if it was written as "10D Long series?"

[Wendy Walker]

Sitting here in the freezing waiting room while my car is being inspected, but nonetheless warmed by solving Al's delightful MMM! And I second Joe Ross's invitation to join the Muggle Meet-up on Tuesdays. It's always lots of fun.

[Schmeel]

Happy Nudge Wednesday and... happy birthday, Ted Lange!

Such an honor - it's my birthday too!