XWord Muggles Forum

Welcome to Monday Muggles March Madness Meta. This final Monday Meta of the month is a team effort — the home team being Peter Abide and me — though the puzzle has nothing to do with basketball. Here’s the backstory:

A few weeks ago, Matt Gaffney’s puzzle for his weekly contest (MGWCC #715) was A City of Puzzles. Solving that puzzle gave me an idea for a totally different mechanism (and puzzle). When I mentioned this in the Muggles Zoom Room, Peter said that he’d had the same idea. He said this, even though I had not revealed what my idea was. And he was right. So we collaborated, and the result is today’s puzzle. It’s a bit more challenging than most Monday Metas (at least that what test solvers not named Al Sisti thought).

The answer is a title associated with Elvis.

PM me (or Peter, or both) with your answer or go to Crosshare for instant gratification.

Synonym City PUZ

Synonym City PDF

Synonym City spreadsheet

CROSSHARE LINK: https://crosshare.org/crosswords/YZPRKe ... nonym-city

🛋
Great meta gents!

Amazing!
I got there in the end.
Great puzzle!

I'm on the trail and hunting along... but lost the scent making me question it all. fun puzzle so far.

I’m off the couch!! (Confirmed on Crosshare)
Fun puzzle, gentlemen!

I see some of what I am supposed to but I know there must be more.

Line up the ducks and... hit a wall. Started okay. Maybe will end up okay but I'm not there.

I test-solved this, and by test-solved, I mean test-nudged, and by test-nudged, I mean test-carried-over-the-finish-line.

Major kudos for anyone who cracks this!

Fun grid, I've found a nice mechanism that I hope is not a rabbit hole.... Enjoying the search so far

Off the couch!

I got the answer, but needing nudging on the process.

Very cool!

My compliments to Jay and Peter!

MikeyG wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 1:25 pm I test-solved this, and by test-solved, I mean test-nudged, and by test-nudged, I mean test-carried-over-the-finish-line.

Major kudos for anyone who cracks this!

Couldn't say it any better as this was my experience as well.

I wrote down an answer before I started the grid and found enough "circumstantial" evidence to submit. I was right! Based on comments above I still have some work to do if I am going to "show my work". The old math teacher in me thinks that is important.

🛋Great puzzle by two of my favorite Monday muggles. Pretty quick solve after I did it on paper.

I feel sorry for the test solvers that had to solve the original version. A few “helpers” (including 26-Down) were added after hearing their anguished cries.

Abide wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 2:25 pm I feel sorry for the test solvers that had to solve the original version. A few “helpers” (including 26-Down) were added after hearing their anguished cries.

I wondered if that was important and if it was going to be a problem that I’m just a dabbler in cryptics. Don’t understand that clue at all.

I just printed out the grid and can hear Jay singing "Abides with me"

lbray53 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 2:04 pm I wrote down an answer before I started the grid and found enough "circumstantial" evidence to submit. I was right! Based on comments above I still have some work to do if I am going to "show my work". The old math teacher in me thinks that is important.

I have "fleshed" out my answer. I am feeling much better now.

OK, I'll ask......what is A City of Puzzles?

CPJohnson wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 3:40 pm OK, I'll ask......what is A City of Puzzles?

It was an MGWCC last month. Explanations at
https://crosswordfiend.com/2022/02/15/mgwcc-715/ and
https://xwordcontest.com/2022/02/mgwcc- ... stock.html

(But I suspect that the only connection to this MMM is that the title inspired the authors.)

Nice puzzle. Very clever