The answer to the meta is a 2024 folk/Americana album suggested by what the four themers need
What do you do when you're too sick to go to work, but not sick enough to be in bed all day? If you're anything like me you decide to construct a meta crossword. The answer to the meta is the title of a 2024 folk/Americana album suggested by what the four themers need. Answer, explanation, and music video: https://www.xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?p=175522#p175522
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!
Lovely tribute, Ben. At first the MMMM made me think of Crash Test Dummies. Once I saw PETE, the rest clicked into place.
Meg 3s · 2024-08-07T16:08:05.491Z
While solving the grid I kept muttering to myself that with all these random music clues it felt just like the M4. Some sleuthing involved for sure, but a lovely aha moment.
I had no idea that 1) Pete Muller was a musician and 2) that Pete Muller's first name was Pete. I did think 43A was MMMM but it could also be MMM. I searched I saw the MMMM in the diagonal so I google American and MMMM and found that Michael Martin Murphy (who?) goes by MMM but i) I didn't like it was only 3 Ms not four (after all there had to be a reason the grid was 16x 16) and ii) his last album was in 2023 and iii) It's title was relevent.
When I was told the name wasn't MMMM I found PETE but didn't connect PETE with anything (after all, there are many Pete's in the world and most of them are people I don't know). I googled "2024 Americana Album "PETE"" and saw a hit for Pete Muller's "More Time" and thought "well, that's a coincidence he has the same name as the puzzle constructor and the title fitting the theme makes it 100%er".
hoover 5s · 2024-08-08T16:17:57.229Z
I saw Pete and MMMM shortly after seeing the four themers, but I also had no clue that Pete was anyone other than just another Muggle creating metas.
HeadinHome 🤓3:18 · 2024-08-08T00:18:08.060Z
Shoved here by Meg… I was completely unaware of Pete Muller other than that he does a meta series (which I don’t do because I don’t know music & artists at all, so…. Next puzzle will be more my thing I’m sure! ( :
ELSavage 🤓12:52 · 2024-08-08T02:11:02.204Z
Definitely not my wheelhouse, but persistence, and re-focusing on the central clue got me to the right Google search.
Tyrpmom 4s · 2024-08-08T03:42:48.488Z
Nice tribute. I’m glad I solve the MMMM or I don’t think I would have gotten the meta.
boharr 3s · 2024-08-08T14:25:24.991Z
The grid was impossible so I cheated and revealed it. Then it took just one Google search to get to Pete.
DCBilly 3s · 2024-08-08T17:00:51.233Z
This was like the magician who draws my attention so much to one tricky, apparently important thing that I don't pay attention to two other actually important things (which I did see, but just forgot about, duh). I knew enough about the hidden features that it was easy to find the album name once I had found the features.
KayW 🤓8:20 · 2024-08-08T17:20:49.301Z
What a great meta - and tribute, and plug for his album! I hope you let Pete know about this one!
Item dropped after you've made your point (not a meta hint)
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Orizzontali
1A
Item dropped after you've made your point (not a meta hint)
4A
Brain scan, for short
7A
Ecol. watchdog
10A
"The ___ That Bind" (Bruce Springsteen song)
14A
Chilean desert
16A
Mitchell's husband on "Modern Family", for short
17A
Fencer's blade
18A
Lots of them end in "ly"
19A
Moment involving a lamb's tail
21A
The "C" of USMC
23A
"Hands off my bone!" sound
24A
Have a break
27A
___ Baroni, opera singer in "A Night at the Opera"
31A
"Selma" director DuVernay
32A
Apple ad line spoken by actor Justin Long
34A
Opposite of "ja"
35A
"You'd better stand back / The flames are high / Better ___ / Can't stop the fire" (Rolling Stones lyric)
38A
Key of the song referenced in 35 across
40A
Full collection
41A
Crossword series that featured the puzzle you are currently solving despite the fact that it could be part of another crossword series... and I don't mean MOAT (and that is a meta hint)
42A
Uni. term
44A
16 across, 27 across, 31 across, 46 across, 52 across, 54 across, 59 across, 67 across, 78 across, and one hidden in the centre of this grid, for example
46A
Singer Mark with a debut album entitled "Three Dimensions Deep"
48A
Channel that ironically opened with the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star"
50A
Denial heard repeatedly by the Little Red 83 across
51A
With 51 across, a song by The Fureys from 1993
52A
Malek of "Bohemian Rhapsody"
54A
Carmen with a self-titled debut album produced by Prince
57A
"Everything else" category (abbr.)
59A
"Downtown" singer Clark
61A
Minstrel's song
62A
Desperately in need of 6 down
64A
Fame's span, in minutes
67A
Tori of "Little Earthquakes"
68A
Jazz ensemble with eight players
69A
Length of a nap
73A
Out of the elements
77A
Out of the wind
78A
Carides of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
79A
"Uh huh, that's hot steamin' like ___" (lyric from Lady Gaga's "Heiress")
80A
Like a sloth
81A
What a mess!
82A
They're made of mos.
83A
See 50 across (definitely not a meta hint)
Verticali
1D
Goat's comment
2D
"___ be my pleasure!"
3D
King Charles spaniel, familiarly
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"Have the ___ someone important" (be in a position of influence)
5D
Involve, as in an argument
6D
They give you fuel in the US
7D
Author Umberto
8D
What this crossword would be if Q, X and Z were in the grid (also not a meta hint)
9D
"___ Pie" (song by Don McLean)
10D
City in which the Persian-American power metal group Angband was formed in 2004
11D
Brewpub letters
12D
"A mouse!"
13D
Comprehend
15D
Gospel singer Winans
20D
Student Representative Council, for short
22D
Spanish Mrs.
24D
Kids' game called "chasey" in Australia
25D
Alternate title for Schubert's "Ellens dritter Gesang"
26D
She played tambourine on the Oasis album "Be Here Now"
28D
Move
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Requiem Mass hymn
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Toronto's prov.
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People in charge (abbr.)
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Food-warming area on a hearth
37D
Pretty as a pitcher?
39D
Addiction sufferer, according to a Los Angeles band
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Give off
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Soft shoe, for short
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Lauren Hill's "Lost Ones" and Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" for two
49D
What v stands for in a physics formula
51D
2010 song by Usher / 2017 song by Camila Cabello / 2019 song by Gryffin and Carly Rae Jepsen / etc...
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GI field gear
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Taylor in the music video for "I Can See You (Taylor's Version)"
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Part of Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum's pen-name
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Attacked like a cat
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Sneaky Sound System single about seeing something shining in the sky
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Early Beatles label
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How an Aussie might describe a beet
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Battle rapper from Fuquay-Varina, NC
69D
Bit of body art
70D
Jeff Lynne's band, for short
71D
Song by the Japanese girl group Perfume that means "Hey"
72D
With 72 down and 72 down, a song by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson from 1983