Over My Head
◆ · By Wendy Walker · Published 2024-10-13T04:01:20.426Z
Meta Prompt
The meta answer is a novel.
Secretive upstairs neighbors! Mysterious upheavals in the wee hours, waking up the entire household! And an overwhelming sense that something's being hushed up. This classic novel, which shows up on many required reading lists, is chock-full of strange goings-on. My sister (now a college English professor) introduced me to this book when I was a teenager, and for my 50th birthday she bought me a copy of the first American edition, which I treasure. The image above shows the beautiful marbled cover of that volume.
Thank you, Cap'n Rick and Damefox, for your invaluable assistance with this one.
Mid-day nudges:
Did you notice that eight clues are unnecessarily lengthy? Why might that be?
Right! They are all characters in the book. [At this point you can Google -- or you can solve this in the intended way.]
Pretend Mike Shenk wrote this puzzle. (Yeah, right, Wendy; as if!) How might you interpret the title, literally?
Another clue is the preponderance of a two-letter word, or part of a word, in all of the parenthetical descriptions. What is it?
That's right: UP. Now how could you apply it to the HEAD of the themers?
Checking for previous play data...
1A
Actress Pinkett Smith
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Across
- 1AActress Pinkett Smith
- 5ADefrost
- 9AUnforgettable Texas site
- 14AWetlands plant (or a cruel aunt who's unreasonably fed up with her niece but spoils her own brats)
- 15ABamako is its capital
- 16AAmelia Earhart, for one (or a canine companion who has no trouble keeping up with his master, even at a gallop on a rough lane)
- 17AExxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon, for two
- 19ALike lava lamps and tie-dye shirts
- 20AHead-___ (top to bottom)
- 21AWorkplace regs. agency
- 23A"Ready, ___, go!"
- 24AWhen: Sp.
- 26AMusic genre that combines gloom and fast-paced vocals
- 29APoise and dignity (or a caregiver who, alas, isn't always up to the task of watching her patient)
- 32AFlowing bodies of water (or a missionary who wants to up and go to India, preferably with a wife)
- 33A"Oh, and yet another thing ..."
- 36ATex. neighbor
- 37AUnder the ___ of (sponsored by)
- 38AIs in arrears
- 40AAyes
- 43ADirector Howard and actor Silver
- 44ANamesakes of Saarinen
- 46AStartled cry
- 48A"___ Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
- 49AHouse of worship (or a compassionate teacher who has to put up with a truly awful boss)
- 51A"Skyfall" singer (or a little girl uprooted from Paris and brought to England)
- 53ATown that's home to the University of Connecticut
- 54ATrolley sounds in "The Trolley Song"
- 58AGenetic material
- 59ASmall lake
- 63AHas emerged from the closet
- 64AMarie Antoinette, par exemple
- 66AMalaria vector
- 68ABrick or stone worker (or a wedding guest who not only shows up late but also fails to hold his peace)
- 69A"This being the case ..."
- 70A"The ___ Jar" (or the surname of the meta answer's author, printed upon the title page)
- 71A"These Jimmy Choos are amazing, but I was looking for ___ expensive pair"
- 72ATravel through water
- 73A"___ can" (self-affirmation)
Down
- 1DMil. program for teens
- 2D"___ and sometimes Y"
- 3D___ House (archetype of a rowdy fraternity)
- 4DTune used in a commercial, like "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing"
- 5D"Enough already!" in text-speak
- 6DSaint's headgear
- 7D"___ Well That Ends Well"
- 8DDesire
- 9DMo. after March
- 10D"My bonnie ___ the ocean"
- 11DSecond selves
- 12DSecuring bricks
- 13DPrefix seen at an ENT's office
- 18DFilm director Almodóvar
- 22D___ Lingus
- 25DTasting of wood, as some wines
- 27DInitials on many POW flags
- 28DSound made by a pest trying to get your attention
- 30DBrowns, on a scoreboard
- 31DClass that won't be a challenge
- 33DEmily Dickinson and Phillis Wheatley, for two
- 34DHappy outcome of negotiations
- 35DSpeak from the pulpit, like the Archbishop of Canterbury does
- 39DTony, Carmela, Meadow, and A.J.
- 41DMuslim holiday
- 42DBuilt on ___ (without a buyer)
- 45D35mm camera type
- 47DImmigration island
- 50DTelepathy
- 52DScoot past, perhaps by turning sideways
- 55DWithout a service charge
- 56DSnack snatchers at the shore
- 57DPens used for writing on tablets
- 60D"Miss ___ Regrets" (Cole Porter song)
- 61DInappropriate for the office
- 62DLucy's hubby
- 64DSandhurst; Britain's equivalent of West Pt.
- 65DDashes shorter than ems
- 67DMale cat