Originator of the role of Belle in the Broadway musical adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast" Susan ___
17A
Operatic solo
18A
"David Copperfield" clerk
19A
Act boldly
20A
Legendary Thessalian people who accompanied their king Achilles in the Trojan War giving rise to a term for subordinates who execute orders unquestioningly or unscrupulously
22A
Airplane walkway
23A
Work with a needle and thread
24A
Get away
26A
Buoyant woods that make good model planes
30A
33 down layer
31A
"Pygmalion" character
32A
Art ___ (architectural style)
35A
Grassy clump
38A
Fictional fiction writer in a series of hidden object puzzle adventure games whose ability to see ghosts guides her in searching for clues and solving puzzles (oh, just google "Death at Fairing Point")
42A
Use a chair
43A
Frozen waffle brand
44A
Approximately, in dates
45A
Sauna site
47A
Leaning
48A
More than one eight-armed sea creature
51A
Org. with a panda logo
52A
Contemptuous sound
53A
Cow's-milk cheese made in the regions of Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais in northern France which is sold in individual rectangular blocks with a moist orange-red washed rind
59A
Purple berry
60A
Word on the back of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
61A
British nobleman
62A
Transitional point
63A
"___ Kick Out of You"
64A
"Sleepless in Seattle" director ___ Ephron
65A
Full collections
66A
Authority that can come with passion
67A
Subordinate (abbr.)
Down
1D
"Hunger Games" Hemsworth (as opposed to the "Thor" Hemsworth)
2D
"Grand Ole" place
3D
Two of a kind
4D
Red-coated cheese
5D
Piano practice pieces
6D
It points the way
7D
Archaeologist's site
8D
Make fun of
9D
Charles III, for short
10D
With 45 down: An alternative title for this meta puzzle
11D
Audibly shocked
12D
"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" author Eric ___
13D
Patella's place
21D
"Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing" singer Chris ___
22D
Expert fighter pilot
25D
Worn out
26D
Sleeping places that are definitely better when not on fire
27D
Jai ___
28D
Dryer residue
29D
"SOS" R&B singer
32D
Use a shovel
33D
See 30 across
34D
Stand-up comic Margaret ___
35D
Alphabetise
36D
Fairy tale beginning
37D
The ___ Heart (central part of Australia) [this clue can also serve as a hint if you still need one]
39D
Tide descriptor
40D
"Star Wars" genre
41D
Up to, briefly
45D
See 10 down
46D
Gumbo cooker
47D
Like many garages
48D
When prompted
49D
"The ___ is clear!"
50D
"___ Dei" (image of God)
51D
Work on your novel
52D
Biological pouches
54D
All over again
55D
German singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with her song "Satellite"
56D
Mekong River land
57D
Makes a mistake
58D
Venetian-blind part
60D
Philip Pirrip's nickname
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The answer to the meta is a well-known Australian band
We're back into "week 1" territory here. I could have made this harder, but I've tried to put lots of hints in to dial down the difficulty. The answer to the meta is a well-known Australian band; but don't be put off by "Australian" - you will have heard of them (at least, you should have heard of them!) Answer, explanation, and music videos: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=187675#p187675
Check out "The MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands" here: https://www.ephesusscroll.com/about/interest4.html. US$5 gets you 7 Marching Bands which, hard enough on their own, now contain metas too. And once again there's a mega-meta!
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This is a contest/meta puzzle. To submit your answer, first finish solving the grid (or reveal it if you get stuck or solved offline).
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Comments
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Carolyn 3s · 6 months ago
I guess I'm burning the midnight oil, but it's still early out on the West Coast. Nice puzzle!
Check out "Beds are burning". I think that was their biggest international hit.
boharr 3s · 6 months ago
You are correct. I never heard of this band.
Cindy Heisler 4s · 6 months ago
I was surprised that I could actually solve one about a musical band and not have to use Google. Fun! Thanks, Ben!
Qmark 3s · 6 months ago
Definitely an "Oiler!"...have always loved this band and definitely exposed my (now adult) children to their tunes as they were growing up! (Knew the answer from your clever title and description, but loved the solve even knowing where you were going). Also loved the shout outs to just some of the many important songs of theirs in your clues and the center of the edges of your grid. It gave me a reason to revisit their videos on YouTube and some interviews with PG. Thanks so much, Ben!
Dave C 4s · 6 months ago
I have not heard of them, but Mr. Google confirmed.
One of my favorite Australian bands, Ben! Nice job!
hoover 5s · 6 months ago
Didn't see anything, Googled famous Australian bands, was about to submit AC/DC for no reason whatsoever, saw Midnight Oil and thought, hey, that is something that gets burned, like in the title, went back to the grid and backsolved the MID NIGHT OIL from the themers. Then remembered the song about beds are burning... I think.
I have not heard of this band. But, I would not call myself a music aficionado.
The middle of the three long answers jumped out at me and Google confirmed. Thanks, Ben.
MatthewL 🤓8:15 · 6 months ago
Was so sure it was going to be Men at Work (puzzle title works for that too). But that was probably too obvious. Thanks for the puzzle, Ben!
No the fist Aussie band I thought of, but a clean mechanism amidst a very "educational" fill. I am adding MYRIMIDONS to my vocabulary. LOTS of Easter Eggs with the group's hit songs. Was ARIA also an EE because they have won numerous ARIA awards. I was looking for PETER or BALD in the grid too, guess there is a limit to how many you can provide. Fun Tuesday; now I have to follow that with something good.
HeadinHome 🤓1:19 · 6 months ago
Not unlike the TUR DUC KEN ruse. ( :
Well done - thanks for the fun!
KayW 🤓6:21 · 6 months ago
Wow! I have heard of them! Tho I wasn't aware they're Australian. The "alternate title" hint helped aLOT. But I love the current title and the way it applies to both the band and the metanism. Fun one. Thanks, Ben!
Continuing my trek back in time. Needed a couple squares revealed, but the meta came semi-quickly. I was just about to look at the nudges when I remembered the extra hint at 10D/49D, which convinced me to shave a bit more off the sides that I had been doing to that point. Nice touch with the candle/oil connection. Fun one, thanks.