"Part Company" 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 »

Dplass wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2023 1:38 pm
Cinny wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2023 11:04 am
lbray53 wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2023 8:19 am
It made YOU feel old. Eight-track didn’t fit!
I wanted it to be Sleeve for the old LPs -- now that is old!!

Moat crossed. Thanks, Ben!
Same (sleeve).
yep - or JACKET.

I am stuck! i see what’s going on (except one that seems a tad off to me) - but what to do next I know not. Will take a nudge if anyone has a second.

UPDATE : receiving help tnx. GOT IT! thanks to @BarbaraK and @rjy

I like storming castles with comrades. Especially if they have the keys.
The other Wendy. :roll:
Dplass
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#22

Post by Dplass »

Got it. Kind of a facepalm, why didn't I see this sooner...
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whimsy
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#23

Post by whimsy »

More of A CLAW for me - :P - Arrival at Castle Late Afternoon Wednesday!
Untitledtiger.png
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benchen71
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#24

Post by benchen71 »

Solver update!

ReB
DebbieC
shalmanezer
dplass
DrTom
rickybillingsgate
whimsy
jbird
Abide

We're up to 43 now.
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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DCBilly
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#25

Post by DCBilly »

Got it after playing around with my Google-enhanced marginal notes for a few minutes.
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benchen71
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#26

Post by benchen71 »

Adding one solver, bringing us to 44:

DCBilly

Let's see if nudges shake anyone loose!
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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#27

Post by benchen71 »

Nudges, in order of increasing blatancy:

1. There is one hint in the grid, 67 across, the clue for which is "Wall St. institution that lists (or, just to make things more interesting, used to list) the companies found in this puzzle". We are, of course, talking about the New York Stock Exchange.

2. 7 clues for grid entries that are suspiciously symmetrically located contain a company name.

3. Unless you're a stock trader, you will need Google to ascertain something called a ticker for each company.

4. At this point the puzzle title should be considered.
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:
Dow Jones
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#28

Post by Dow Jones »

Nudged across the moat. Thanks, Ben !!
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Cap'n Rick
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#29

Post by Cap'n Rick »

Across the MOAT! Nice job, Ben!
Ahoy! Check out my meta puzzles here! Check out "Smooth Sailing Sundays" here!
hoover
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#30

Post by hoover »

Oof! I knew everything that was in the nudges already, but I wasn't using the pieces correctly. Dragged across the moat!
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benchen71
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#31

Post by benchen71 »

A penultimate solver update for you:

JayThePuzzler
Schmeel
Golem
Spid4567
Dow Jones
Capn Rick
Darrell
Johnny Luau
hoover

That brings us up to 53. One final solver update 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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benchen71
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#32

Post by benchen71 »

No further solvers, so here's the solution to "Part Company":

Part Company (solution).png

There were a couple of things that made this harder than it should have been.

1. Konami is not currently listed on NYSE. When they were listed, KNM was their ticker. This was tricky to search for, although the information was available (for example).

2. The entries involving MON and HOG were ambiguous with that pesky repeating O! I guess I could have found words to which the mechanism could have been applied unambiguously. But I constructed this puzzle so long ago now, and I don't recall how long I spent finding these entries!

Not to worry: this week's MOAT will be back in "week 1" territory... :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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