ACROSS LITE PUZZLE:
[ THEMELESS WEDNESDAY]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PROGRAM: [Java]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ THEMELESS WEDNESDAY]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
I haven’t done a behind the puzzle for a while, so why not today? Needless to say there will be a slight spoiler, but I will do my best to avoid saying actual entries. You have been warned.
I tried in vain to get an honest-to-God theme here. Settled instead for a mini-theme. One of my test solvers wondered why a certain two entries weren’t clued together. Well that’s because they’re part of the mini-theme! I couldn’t find any suitable phrases beginning with 46-Across that didn’t already have to do with the band, so I decided to go for the full band name (hence 40-Across). So consider those two the side dish to the proper mini-theme of 20- and 55-Across. And since you know I’m a music nerd, you know I’m not going to at least point to one music video. An old band of mine liberally ripped off this song for one of ours. Seriously. It was a glam band too, decidedly not metal. The video is hysterically corny.
Oh the things you stumble upon on the Internet: There was an obscure NES game called “Holy Diver.” That had to be a reference to our subject of today’s puzzle, right? Needless to say, it looks like a terrible game. Watch this YouTube clip and draw your own conclusion.
Back to the puzzle. Even if I had come up with a phrase beginning with 40-Across, I knew the theme was going to be over some heads, so I was prepared to do a grid with a themeless word count. Call it a themeless, and if you caught the theme, great. The two 14 letter entries make for a hairy looking grid, then when you throw in the two others I had to include, it set itself up to be a Dana Motley-esque pattern. Wanted to make sure I had some fun stuff in the remaining long entries: 31- and 43-Across and 8- and 26-Down. The rest is just normal grid filling. Not really much for me to say in the cluing; I aimed for a Medium-ish level. Possibly slightly harder. Favorite clue: 56-Down.
Share the puzzle. New one on Friday.
what, no KEEBLER ELF? R.I.P., RDJ.
Nice fake-out on 65A; my fingers slammed ORCA right in there!
Hand up for ORCA. Second DJINN in a few days, but didn’t get due to complete stymification down south. Only got the SW after much haggling with the “check” button. So, I cheated and STILL DNF.
Wait, which song is a Dio ripoff?
Another hand up for ORCA.
Going nuts trying to think of something in a financial institution that would satisfy the clue [Bank edifice] is what kept me from falling for the [Subway fixture] trap.
Loved this themed themeless today.
Awesome tribute to true metal god! Bravo, BEQ.
@scooper – There’s an upside-down ELF in 47-Down, and I’m counting that as part of the theme.
Nicely done.
Got a kick out of seeing “of crosswords” in two different clues; I guess it’s a way to legitimize the necessary crosswordese, but to see it twice jars a bit.
“Sea predator, to Maleska” — anyone?
if i were matt gaffney, this might be the meta going through the center of my 16×15 dio tribute contest puzzle:
BIRTH GREY VODKA
first correct answer gets a set of pencils from my desk drawer.
An unrecorded Cyanide Valentine song: “Crucified.”
Loved this puzzle. Besides being a nice tribute to a metal jesus, was fun. Rock on, BEQ!
Mesium here, yet with enough thorny spots to keep me on my toes. 36A “Port.’s place” is the northwest, no? Loved the two “of crosswords” clues, and wondered why 63A didn’t read 63A “Bay window of crosswords” as well. And the first T in YTTRIA was a total swag.
Felt an odd sense of relief when 14A turned out to be INURN instead of ENURN. I have no idea why. Fav clue was 6D “Pull out one’s meat, perhaps”. Nice. Fav answer was that DOH! holding down the center.
Yep, 56-D was great. Kicked me hard until I figured it out. Nice tribute.
Aside: I swear some years ago while on vacation in Anaheim, I walked right past the subject of our puzzle while touring that mousey theme park one day. And let’s face it; there’s not that many people, even in California, that look like him. Did a double-take, then he mixed with the (sparse) crowd and we moved on.
Of course, I could be wrong, but if not, it was kind of cool for a child of the 80’s like myself.
Erm…I had Ronnie James Rio crossing Erwin. Guess I don’t know my astronomers.
Loved me some 10A clue!