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Works for me

◆◆ · By woozy · Published 2023-01-15T00:04:34.698Z

Meta Prompt
The answer is a form of music
This is probably really easy to guess but very difficult to solve. However I dropped several meta-META hints so even if you guess try to back-solve the meta-nism. And, yes, you'll probably want to google.
There is utterly nothing significant about this image, but in my memory I could have sworn these were Pegasuses (which would make more sense as unicorns aren't part of Greek mythology). That has nothing to do with the puzzle but in an earlier conception I thought I'd have "pegasus" as an entry and I like the Pastoral Symphony. But it has nothing to do with the puzzle.
Checking for previous play data...

Leaderboard (updated hourly)

  • Mr Tex solved 2023-01-15T01:25:58.719Z
  • benchen71 solved 2023-01-15T10:21:50.952Z
  • Pair O Ducks solved 2023-01-15T14:59:23.558Z
  • whimsy solved 2023-01-17T20:55:20.876Z
  • Julia solved 2023-01-19T03:49:17.101Z
  • sledge solved 2023-02-03T21:55:32.010Z

Comments

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  • benchen71 10:49 · 2023-01-15T10:22:41.724Z
    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 · 2023-01-15T15:20:11.016Z
      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 · 2023-01-15T19:53:50.823Z
        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 · 2023-01-17T07:49:10.662Z
          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 · 2023-01-19T03:53:03.540Z
            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.
          • woozy constructor · 2023-01-15T20:12:28.110Z
            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.
            Play today's daily mini crossword
            1A
            The composers initially (a nonsense string of letters)
            1
            2
            3
            4
            5
            6
            7
            8
            9
            10
            11
            12
            13
            14
            15
            16
            17
            18
            19
            20
            21
            22
            23
            24
            25
            26
            27
            28
            29
            30
            31
            32
            33
            34
            35
            36
            37
            38
            39
            40
            41
            42
            43
            44
            45
            46
            47
            48
            49
            50
            51
            52
            53
            54
            55
            56
            57
            58
            59
            60
            61
            62
            63
            64
            65
            66
            Across
            1. 1A
              The composers initially (a nonsense string of letters)
            2. 6A
              Pre-recorded
            3. 11A
              Serious oath
            4. 14A
              Thackeray's "Vanity Fair: A Novel Without ___"
            5. 15A
              Cole and Nana Oyl's daughter
            6. 16A
              Conical buoy marker (so called because it resembles a wimple)
            7. 17A
              Actress Ward, Vanuatu politician Molisa, and actress singer Guia
            8. 18A
              Setting of "Madam Butterfly" (5)
            9. 19A
              It could be on a Grecian urn (or to something quite relevant)
            10. 20A
              Said a mouthful
            11. 22A
              Busy mo. for a c.p.a.
            12. 24A
              Inordinate
            13. 25A
              Slurs over
            14. 28A
              Satisfy
            15. 31A
              One who spars if alone
            16. 33A
              Whatever you think of her politics her initials sure are convenient for constructing crosswords
            17. 34A
              Bonafide Lioness from "Born Free"
            18. 35A
              More frequent than never
            19. 36A
              Hair removal product with a portmanteau name
            20. 38A
              Released
            21. 39A
              Wild Asian goat
            22. 40A
              A precarious place to live on
            23. 41A
              Remote needs
            24. 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)
            25. 43A
              Modify
            26. 45A
              Car men
            27. 48A
              ---- Brody; winner of "The Pianist" Oscar
            28. 49A
              "Illuminati Tinder"
            29. 50A
              Ms. overseers
            30. 51A
              Convenience when your vehicle needs extended repairs (it's kind of embarrassing when it is much better than your regular ride)
            31. 56A
              Formicidae
            32. 58A
              Fountain in Rome
            33. 60A
              Fine-grained sedimentary rock
            34. 61A
              1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 honoree
            35. 62A
              Roof overhangs
            36. 63A
              Stanley Yelnats really dug these
            37. 64A
              Storm center
            38. 65A
              River from which Albrecht steals the gold in "The Ring of the Nibelung" (2)
            39. 66A
              The works initially (a nonsense string of characters)
            Down
            1. 1D
              Prefix pertaining to blood vessels
            2. 2D
              At what time?
            3. 3D
              With "out", what one can do with an aria
            4. 4D
              Deity to whom Leila is a priestess in "The Pearl Fishers" (4)
            5. 5D
              Pretend to be (someone)
            6. 6D
              Dedication of the ode "An die Freude" (3)
            7. 7D
              So sad
            8. 8D
              Conduit
            9. 9D
              Girl in an elevator (don't take this at face value)
            10. 10D
              Formerly McKinley (but before that... this)
            11. 11D
              Many
            12. 12D
              Something inferior (sort of like the next two down clues... but I have my reasons)
            13. 13D
              Number in a moon egg
            14. 21D
              Funner direction
            15. 23D
              Aviator
            16. 25D
              Mild oath
            17. 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]
            18. 27D
              Backs of boats
            19. 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.
            20. 29D
              Three sheets to the wind
            21. 30D
              Vape
            22. 31D
              Crease in clothing
            23. 32D
              Takes advantage of
            24. 34D
              Memorable times
            25. 37D
              Started over (and completed)
            26. 38D
              Satyr
            27. 44D
              Occupation of the title character of "Rigoletto" (1)
            28. 45D
              Bled in the wash
            29. 46D
              Weekend Edition Host Roscoe
            30. 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
            31. 49D
              Elvate
            32. 51D
              Name in jeans
            33. 52D
              Baking appliance
            34. 53D
              Baby cow
            35. 54D
              Actor Baldwin (does a mean Trump impersonation)
            36. 55D
              Remainder
            37. 56D
              Plural existence
            38. 57D
              That's a negative
            39. 59D
              Cheer
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