Watching the Detectives
◆ · By Alex Sisti · Published 2024-07-15T13:00:33.451Z
Meta Prompt
The answer is a 7-letter actor.
Good morning Muggles, and welcome to Muggle Meta Monday!
This puzzle – titled “Watching the Detectives” – is part 3 of my four-puzzle Detective Suite (the first being “Elementary, My Dear Watson,” and the second being “A Figure in Hiding”). The topic of the suite is one of my favorites, fictional detectives. No intimate or complete knowledge is needed on any of these sleuths, but a visit with Mr. E… I mean Mr. G… might be required for corroboration.
This one actually grew from the title of one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite singer/songwriters: Elvis Costello (and though it’s not meta-related, you should really check the song out on YouTube. I got to hear him perform it live in a little club in Utica, a few days before his infamous debut on Saturday Night Live in 1977).
Anyway, as much as I enjoyed reading detective stories, I enjoyed watching film and TV adaptations of those stories and their detectives just as much. While some of the actors were way off from the images I conjured up from the books’ descriptions, many – even most -- were pretty spot on. How about you? Do you have any examples of where the actor was just wrong for the part (let’s not even talk about Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher)? Any that were dead-on perfect (to that list, I’d include Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes)? A great topic for a campfire roundtable, for sure.
Oh… and did I mention that this suite also has a mega-meta answer? Well, it does, so keep track of the puzzles as you solve them. And now, adjust the aluminum foil on the rabbit ears, fire up the Jiffy Pop and sit back… the game is afoot!
Checking for previous play data...
1A
Tonsil neighbor
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Across
- 1ATonsil neighbor
- 8ALetters associated with 2 on a telephone keypad
- 11APolitical support group
- 14AHe played DCI Daniel Hegarty on the "Criminal Record" TV series (3)
- 15ALittle in Lille
- 16AStir
- 17AOne of the grounds for divorce
- 19AProject ender?
- 20ASass
- 21AHe played Mr. Moto in eight movies (2)
- 23AEjects with force
- 28AHome of Senators and Kings
- 30AAmeliorates
- 31AHe played Sherlock Holmes in the 1959 version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (5)
- 33ATable scraps
- 35AKeen
- 36AReagan's "Star Wars" vision (abbr.)
- 37ARank held by Vic Morrow's character in "Combat"
- 40A1964 British film starring Peter Finch
- 44APart of IOS
- 45AFrench affirmative
- 46ACalm
- 47AType of pear I've only ever seen in crosswords
- 49AHe played Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series (6)
- 50AOrchard pest
- 53AMauna ___ (Hawaiian volcano)
- 55AActress P.J. with a memorable (to me) kitchen scene in "Stripes"
- 56AHe played Detective Ryan in "Turk 182" (2)
- 57AGreek vowel
- 59AMSN, e.g.
- 60AAssembly point
- 68ATwisted Sister's Snider
- 69ADetective Spade or owner of a warehouse club
- 70AHe played Lt. Mitch Kellaway in "The Mask" (7)
- 71AShow to be human
- 72AAt all
- 73AShape of Stewie's head on "Family Guy"
Down
- 1DOfficial designation of Obamacare (abbr.)
- 2DAdvertised dosage of Brylcreem
- 3DAntagonistic org. in "The Simpsons Movie"
- 4DOne of the Bobbsey twins
- 5D"The Secret of the ___ Mill" (Hardy Boys) or "The Adventure of Shoscombe ___ Place" (Sherlock Holmes)
- 6DTV singing competition, for short (which I stopped watching in 2006 when Katherine McPhee lost to Taylor Hicks. I mean, seriously!?)
- 7DChowing down, but with some formality
- 8DDesmond Morris book, "The Naked ___"
- 9DRodent-themed Oscar-nominated song (I stopped watching in 1973 when it lost to Maureen McGovern's "The Morning After." I mean, seriously!?)
- 10DVeal ___
- 11DSkating competition category
- 12DLove, love, love
- 13DRods' companions
- 18DDashboard reading (abbr.)
- 22DWestern hemisphere grp.
- 23DEmulates Ella Fitzgerald
- 24DOverly bossy
- 25DAdlai's 1956 running mate
- 26DSeriously trounce, colloquially
- 27DIn ___; undisturbed
- 29DWhere Credence Clearwater Revival got stuck
- 32DNautilus captain and the clownfish he might have been searching for
- 34DHelp with the dishes
- 36DGo downhill in a hurry
- 37DStainless ___
- 38DStyle; e.g., detective story
- 39DHead lock?
- 41DHated "Real World" star or "A Midsummer Night's Dream" character
- 42DSnaky swimmers
- 43DGuthrie of the long-form monologue song "Alice's Restaurant Massacree"
- 47DCartoonist Keane behind "Family Circus," the unfunniest strip ever (no one thinks your kids are cute, and Barfy is a stupid name for a dog)
- 48DTexas oil city
- 49DLiterary device used by Jonathan Swift in "A Modest Proposal" and Taylor Swift in "Blank Space"
- 50DPut up with
- 51DEnigma
- 52DActivity starter?
- 54DBrain scan, for short
- 58DIndigo dye source
- 61DSee 62-Down
- 62DWith 61-Down, author of "The Joy Luck Club"
- 63DCome together
- 64DFigure reported on IRS Form 1040, line 11
- 65DWeightlifting unit
- 66DSounds of hesitation
- 67DConsumed