Title: “Nothing Will Change”
Prompt: This week’s six-letter contest answer describes what you must often do to solve a meta.
Answer: ZERO IN
Correct entries: 269 overall, of which 200 were solo solves
Wide-open grid with but one overt hint nestled in at 68-Down: [Factor by which six clue numbers must increase] = TEN.
OK, so now what? Just a handful of single-digit numbers would form a number low enough to be a clue number in the grid when increased tenfold (1-Across, 5-Across, and 1- through 7-Down), so that doesn’t appear to lead anywhere. So what next?
The key was to realize that certain clue numbers, when multiplied by 10, take on a meaning beyond simply being a number. They are:
4-D: [Malt liquor container designed to resemble ice] = ZIMA BOTTLE. Multiply the 4 in the clue number to get 40, and a “40” is a slang term for a 40-oz. bottle of malt liquor. And here we see a second aspect of each theme entry: the first word or words of each clue also define the new number, as “Malt liquor container” does here.
18-A: [“Reversal of Fortune” role played by Stephen Mailer] = ELON, and a 180 is a reversal
30-D: [Perfect game for a geography teacher] = RISK, and 300 is a perfect game in bowling
36-A: [Full spin maker in the water] = OTTER, and a 360 is a full spin
42-D: [“Grass is always greener” feeling] = IMPARITY, and 420 is a slang term for marijuana, as is “grass”
50-A: [Card game named for an emperor] = NAPOLEON, and 500 is a card game
Take the first letter of those six in top-to-bottom grid order to get contest answer ZERO IN, doubly-fitting since you both “zero in” on a meta’s answer as you get closer to it, and you had to put a “zero in” to get each of these six.
AdamSimonLevine writes:
4-Down was the last of the meta entries that I figured out, which meant that I briefly had _EROIN as the answer to “what you must often do to solve a meta.”
Z there, not an H. Of course.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
IMPORTANT NOTE: TODAY’S META IS NOT A TENTH MONTH PUZZLE. Tenth Month ended last week; I had planned on doing five puzzles for it but was overtaken by events when, as you may have heard, Facebook renamed its parent company “Meta” earlier this week.
This week’s contest answer, which is eight letters long, is something that’s often useful in solving metas.
NOTE: Due to the delayed post, the deadline for this puzzle is NOON ET on Wednesday, November 3rd.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.