PCC#30 "None Shall Sleep"
◆ · By Philip Chow · Published 2024-04-08T12:00:44.245Z
Meta Prompt
[Level 2.5] Meta Prompt: The answer to the meta is 7-letters long
This puzzle is published under Muggle Meta Mondays (MMM) at the XWord Muggles forum, see link here: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?t=2806
Many thanks to FrankieHeck and Abide for test-solving and suggestions for improvement. Special shout-out to Joe Ross for technical support. I hope you enjoy!
Hint #1) There is an unusually high frequency of a certain letter in the grid. This letter is mentioned in the clue for 12-Down + 62-Down
Hint #2) "None shall sleep"... what happens if you ban all those Zs?
Hint #3) The 7 grid entries with double Z's in them become new words with the "ZZ" removed
Hint #4) You can find entries in the grid whose clues satisfy the 7 new words. For example, MUZZLES --> MULES and "Beasts of burden" is the clue for CAMELS that can also clue MULES
Hint #5) Extract the first letter of the 7 grid entries whose clues satisfy the 7 new words and read them in grid order (top to bottom)
Hint #6) The meta answer is the name of a composer
Checking for previous play data...
1A
Shade of black
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Across
- 1AShade of black
- 4A"Gimme All Your Lovin'" band
- 9AQuick and skillful
- 13AFatty liver delicacy
- 14AFictional tech company on "Silicon Valley" (or a troublemaker when combined with -gan)
- 15A"Turandot" highlight
- 16A"The Flash" actor Miller
- 17AWord with dog or rated
- 18AJason's assumed persona who took a vow of silence in "The Good Place," for one
- 19ALanguage in which "děkuji" means "thank you"
- 21ASupreme Court justice Elena
- 23A"Hawaii Five-0" actor Daniel ___ Kim
- 24A"___-daisy!"
- 26ABeasts of burden
- 28AGreatly impress
- 31ACombustible heap
- 32A"Love the skin you're in" brand
- 33AAssign stars to
- 36AOne of a "Rescue Rangers" cartoon duo
- 39APart of TGIF
- 40ASilences, in a way
- 42AGroundbreaking
- 44AWinter solstice month in Australia
- 46A"The Clan of the Cave Bear" author Jean (her surname sounds like "owl")
- 47AGive up
- 48APossible reply to "Sprechen Sie Englisch?"
- 50AMuppet bear who says "Wocka wocka!"
- 52ABlack ___ cake (chocolate and cherry dessert)
- 55ABuckwheat porridge
- 57ABaseball stat
- 58AAlleviating agent
- 60AMr. Garrison's hand puppet on "South Park"
- 64ASidekick in "Aladdin"
- 66AWinter warmer
- 68AThe Gaels of the NCAA
- 69AAdrian who portrayed Officer Vince Romano on "T.J. Hooker"
- 70AVessel that's paddled
- 71A"___, far, wherever you are / I believe that the heart does go on" (lyrics belted out by Celine Dion in "Titanic")
- 72AJewelry entrepreneur Morris
- 73AFull of excitement
- 74ACleopatra's snake
Down
- 1DMusic genre that originated in New Orleans
- 2DRaison d'___ (reason for being)
- 3DKnit item at an afternoon social popular during the Victorian era
- 4DElectronic music DJ with the songs "In the Morning" and "Faded"
- 5DCrashes, with "out"
- 6DWhen you're doing this crossword
- 7DDesigner Cassini with the memoir "In My Own Fashion"
- 8DDownloading and distributing copyrighted works without permission
- 9DBeaver's construction
- 10DWear away
- 11DLike answers on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"
- 12DCatches some Z's, with 62-Down
- 13DChest muscle, for short
- 20DAugust does not have a federally observed one: Abbr.
- 22DDrug agents, for short
- 25DMachu Picchu's land
- 27D"Not impressed"
- 28D"___ dare to eat a peach?" (line from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock")
- 29D"An Awesome Wave" indie rock band whose name is a keyboard shortcut
- 30DHollywood Walk of Fame actress Pitts whose last role was in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"
- 31DOne-named soccer legend
- 34DMuslim call to prayer
- 35DShih ___ (dog breed)
- 37DLittle ___ (Seaweed's sister in "Hairspray")
- 38DSpa treatment, for short
- 40DAttorney General under Reagan and jocular plural form of "moose"
- 41D"___ Lament" (Barenaked Ladies song in which the repetitive and mundane nature of toy-making stifles the creativity of one of Santa's helpers, leading him to feel trapped and unfulfilled")
- 43DItsy-bitsy
- 45DSydney-to-Brisbane dir.
- 47DCatherine the Great, for example
- 49DGlacial lake that's the source of the Mississippi River
- 51DElectrical resistance unit that sounds like a meditation word
- 52DBad hair day feature, perhaps
- 53DFirst Lady Michelle who wrote "The Light We Carry"
- 54DBrightest star in Orion (and anagram of a big cat hybrid that is Napoleon Dynamite's favorite animal)
- 55DActor Reeves of "The Matrix"
- 56D___ con pollo (chicken-and-rice dish)
- 59DHealing wound's cover
- 61DGroundbreaking garden tools
- 62DSee 12-Down
- 63DPaving material
- 65DPoem of praise
- 67DTasseled headwear
betterless bad at solving metas!