Works for me

The composers initially (a nonsense string of letters)

Across

1A
The composers initially (a nonsense string of letters)
6A
Pre-recorded
11A
Serious oath
14A
Thackeray's "Vanity Fair: A Novel Without ___"
15A
Cole and Nana Oyl's daughter
16A
Conical buoy marker (so called because it resembles a wimple)
17A
Actress Ward, Vanuatu politician Molisa, and actress singer Guia
18A
Setting of "Madam Butterfly" (5)
19A
It could be on a Grecian urn (or to something quite relevant)
20A
Said a mouthful
22A
Busy mo. for a c.p.a.
24A
Inordinate
25A
Slurs over
28A
Satisfy
31A
One who spars if alone
33A
Whatever you think of her politics her initials sure are convenient for constructing crosswords
34A
Bonafide Lioness from "Born Free"
35A
More frequent than never
36A
Hair removal product with a portmanteau name
38A
Released
39A
Wild Asian goat
40A
A precarious place to live on
41A
Remote needs
42A
Not including the entries1A, 42A, and 66A, the number of clues required to solve the meta (although it'd be damned near impossible without 1A and 66A... It'd be doable without them but damned near impossible)
43A
Modify
45A
Car men
48A
---- Brody; winner of "The Pianist" Oscar
49A
"Illuminati Tinder"
50A
Ms. overseers
51A
Convenience when your vehicle needs extended repairs (it's kind of embarrassing when it is much better than your regular ride)
56A
Formicidae
58A
Fountain in Rome
60A
Fine-grained sedimentary rock
61A
1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 honoree
62A
Roof overhangs
63A
Stanley Yelnats really dug these
64A
Storm center
65A
River from which Albrecht steals the gold in "The Ring of the Nibelung" (2)
66A
The works initially (a nonsense string of characters)

Down

1D
Prefix pertaining to blood vessels
2D
At what time?
3D
With "out", what one can do with an aria
4D
Deity to whom Leila is a priestess in "The Pearl Fishers" (4)
5D
Pretend to be (someone)
6D
Dedication of the ode "An die Freude" (3)
7D
So sad
8D
Conduit
9D
Girl in an elevator (don't take this at face value)
10D
Formerly McKinley (but before that... this)
11D
Many
12D
Something inferior (sort of like the next two down clues... but I have my reasons)
13D
Number in a moon egg
21D
Funner direction
23D
Aviator
25D
Mild oath
26D
Artist known for his tessellations (which... might help you with this meta... or maybe not) [this is not one of the clues referred to in 42A]
27D
Backs of boats
28D
I hate this chain of eateries so I'm going to make up an entirely different clue-- The idyllic age represented by the Greek satyr god of nature-- yeah, that's what this entry means, and I'm sticking to it.
29D
Three sheets to the wind
30D
Vape
31D
Crease in clothing
32D
Takes advantage of
34D
Memorable times
37D
Started over (and completed)
38D
Satyr
44D
Occupation of the title character of "Rigoletto" (1)
45D
Bled in the wash
46D
Weekend Edition Host Roscoe
47D
We haven't seen one in a drive-in restaurant in over 50 years and yet we'll still often see on in a movie
49D
Elvate
51D
Name in jeans
52D
Baking appliance
53D
Baby cow
54D
Actor Baldwin (does a mean Trump impersonation)
55D
Remainder
56D
Plural existence
57D
That's a negative
59D
Cheer

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benchen71 10:49 · over 2 years ago

You were right: easy to guess but difficult to solve. I got the answer, but I have no idea what the intended mechanism was!

Pair O Ducks 13:05 · over 2 years ago

Fun to see a puzzle right in my wheelhouse like this! Still working on the backsolve — I'm confident I know the composers and works referenced in 1 and 66A, but now how to connect them to the answer...

woozy constructor · over 2 years ago

Okay.... So the solution/backsolve

There are five numbered clues featuring music. The musical pieces are:

1)"Rigoletto" by Verdi 2)"Ring of the Nibelung" by Wagner 3)"Ode to Joy" by Beethoven 4)"The Pearl Fishers" by Bizet 5)"Madame Butterfly" by Puccini

You can verify the composers by 1A whose answer is VWBBP. And you could try to verify the works by 66A but you will find they do not fit as 66A is APFCT.

So we need a work by Verdi begining with A, by Wagner beginning with P, by Beethoven beginning with F, by Bizet beginning with C, and by Puccini beginning with T.

They are AIDA, PARSIFAL, FIDELIO, CARMEN, and TOSCA.

You can find those names hidden in five clues.

sAID A mouthful = On the nose

one who sPARS IF ALone = Pugilist

boneFIDE LIoness in "Born Free" = Elsa

CAR MEN = Racers

---- brody; winner of "the PianisT" OSCAr = Adrein

The initial answers of which spell out OPERA (which literally means "works")

... now....

Finding words in clues is dang near impossible. I hoped the odd wording of some of the clues wording of the clues would help. You might not know you were looking for AIDA or TOSCA (Verdi and Puccini were proficient) and if somehow it wasn't obvious we were probably looking for Operas FIDELIO may not have been obvious (it was Beethoven's only opera). But Bizet work beginning with C screams for CARMEN and then the clue right there is "Car Men" so... c'mon. Then the weird "spars if only"? Why "if alone" and why is the lioness "bonafide"? The Aida and Tosca are a bit more nature but wording "winner of 'the pianist' oscar"; shouldn't that be "'the pianist' oscar winner"? I deliberately reworded it to make it awkward.

Any way. I tried to leave hints as to the mechanism with clues 21D, 9D, and 13D which were otherwise awful clues and a reference to tessalations in 26D.

This whole thing was inspired by the WSJ contest this weekend which had the clue ""It happened one night" Oscar winner".

benchen71 10:49 · over 2 years ago
I appreciate the detailed explanation. Definitely on the tricky side, with so much going on. I guessed the answer based on the musical pieces in the grid and clues. I definitely didn't stumble on the opera names hidden in the clues!
Julia 12:40 · over 2 years ago
Thanks for the explanation! I got the composers from the clues and then just googled works by them but the actual method is very cool.

My original idea, which would have worked better would been to have symmetrical across entries: phoTO SCAm, boneFIDE LIon, he sAID A mouthful, sPARS IF ALone, osCAR MENu, and then have five other clues referring to the composers work. (For Beethoven's 6th I was thinking of "Creature featured in the Fantasia sequence of Symphony no. 6" or "Common name for the 6th Symphony" for P. Hence the image)

But filling in a grid with that many fixed long across clues and requiring five more fixed clues that have to be there was to much for me.

And that's the weird thing about crossword constructions. You make little concessions and quick fixes and you get too involved in the process you are creating to notice something damned near impossible to see ("What do you mean you didn't see 'Tosca' in '"It Happened One Night" Oscar winner'? It's right there!")

Anyhow... I don't know if it's telling that it was faster and easier create a meta than to solve the WSJ meta that inspired it.

Works for me

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