Mystery Hunt 2012 Recast: COMPLETE!!!

[Scurra]

Indexing into the "other" phrase of each pair in the clue order gives:

OPPORTUNITY OR CURIOSITY OF NASA

so let's try the unexpectedly topical answer of

call in MARS ROVER
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New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[LordKinbote]

[novice]

[Scurra]

The first answer is CROSS ARC (6). This pairs with CRASS ORC (3), so take #3 (O) from CROSS ARC. (As it happens, these are both O but that's just a coincidence, or careful design by the puzzle writer.)

The second answer is DEBTOR RAP (5). This pairs with PARROT BED (9) so take the P from DEBTOR RAP.

And so on.
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_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[gftt*]

For this next one, are we really supposed to find songs from musicals which each of these poems can be sung to? That seems like a lot of searching.

[Scurra]

I have a horrible feeling this is the case. Because I have done the last one "Yes sir, I worship Athena" - it's "Don't Cry For Me Argentina".

I have been redoing the others as syllable/rhyme patterns (with some possible stress patterns too) to see if I can get anywhere. There's a decent chance that they are all songs from Tony winners though, since that's a fairly common and containable list. Evita would then match the 1980 date, as opposed to 1979 which was when it opened.

edit: based on that thought, I think "I sent that letter" is "Comedy Tonight" from A Funny Thing Happened..., which won the Tony in 1963. In which case the entry in the grid would have to be Pseudolus.

edit2: "All the Cats R mine" could be "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King (1998 winner), so the grid entry would be Pumbaa (only six letter character I think.)
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_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[Scurra]

In which case, as a starting point, we might have

[gftt*]

Looking at the lyrics from Evita, the word "truth" is repeated in the puzzle's lines at the same point Evita sings it. It also fits in the grid for 1980.

Similarly, "something" from ...Forum matches.

[gftt*]

[Scurra]

Chorus. But if there are words to match as well, then I might well be wrong.

edit: "It's" at the start of line 2 matches. But I guess we're looking for a six-letter match?

edit: the more I look, the less happy I am. Scrub this one.
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_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[Scurra]

But based on what gftt says, it is probably more likely to be:

[gftt*]

".... stealing plums" is from Les Mis: Do you Hear the People Sing? (which curiously was one of the initialed songs in the IPO puzzle...)

The matching word is "beating".

[gftt*]

[Scurra]

"Everything that I am hearing" is "Think of me" from Phantom.
The shared word is Promise.
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New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[Scurra]

"Why won't Sparky glow?" is "The Song That Goes Like This" from Spamalot.
The shared word is "starts"
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New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[Scurra]

It looks as though they have kept the rhymes intact, which is a really neat trick given that they can't repeat any of the words (unless it is the match of course!)
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New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[gftt*]

"I dyed my hair blue" is Getting to Know You from the King and I. Word is "hope".

[Scurra]

"All my Cats" is "There's a fine fine line" from Avenue Q
Shared word is "Fine"
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[Scurra]

"This dress looked utterly perfect" is "Seasons of Love" from Rent

Shared word is Moments.
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[Scurra]

"Apparently the voters" is "Another hundred people" from Company

Shared word is Looking

At this point I would call in FORGET PARIS
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[gftt*]

Commas don’t need to be copious = Springtime for Hitler. Shared word is Hitler.

[gftt*]

...and to round it out, "With a rat on a stick" = "Circle of life", with match word "circle".

[Scurra]

Well those last two were fairly likely, but I couldn't get either of them to fit the lyrics properly (all the others were really good matches.) Hey ho.
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New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[gftt*]

I must say that was very well-done on the part of the puzzle authors.

[Scurra]

Oh absolutely. It made the puzzle feasible to solve and amusing too (it's going to be hard for me not to hear "stealing plums" instead of "when tomorrow comes" from now on... )
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_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[Scurra]

Current meta answers:

DRUNK TANK
BATED BREATH
BUSINESS TRAVELERS
LOVE ETC
START OVER
CAR SEAT
CASH COW
MARS ROVER
FORGET PARIS
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_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[LordKinbote]

FORGET PARIS is correct.

Last for the round (and then I'll just give you the last answer):

Getting There is Half the Fun by by Michael Colao; cryptic clues by Michael Colao and Francis Heaney

[gftt*]

One thing to keep in mind is that they're in a particular order, according to the show page.

[Suspence]

[N.] Programming language incorporates a valuable piece of wisdom, perhaps
PERL or PEARL

[N.] Margaret returns with precious item
GEM
_________________
I hate people who try to write interesting things in their signature.

[gftt]

Nobel Prize winning novelist who drew on the history of his native Bosnia for his material = IVO ANDRIC
(Starting in Budapest)

[N.] Wear out German agreement before the first and second of December = JADE
[N.] Programming language incorporates a valuable piece of wisdom, perhaps = PEARL
[N.] Margaret returns with precious item = GEM

Russian writer and fervent Christian anarcho-pacifist, who has been played on film or TV by Christopher Plummer and Michael Gough = LEO TOLSTOY
(Starting in Helsinki)

Final profit extracted from alluring trickery
Draft beer spilled on ultimate British character, unfinished

Surname of 19th century Republican US President or capital city of a Midwestern US state = LINCOLN
(Starting in Chicago)


Amazing story’s finish follows part of a race = LEGEND
Car going backwards mid-mile is a phenomenon = MIRACLE
Quiet conveyance to Simba’s rock = PRIDE

Czech writer who popularised the word “robot” (coined by his brother) and wrote a play which featured robots, which was one of the earliest science-fiction plays = Karel Čapek
(Starting in Nuremburg)


Genius of brain cell I mixed up [otS]
Outdoor musical performance is dry and inordinately electronic [otS]
Initially justice evolved when everyone lusted for a precious ornament [otS] = JEWEL

Surname of the Polish renaissance astronomer who championed a cosmology where the Earth was not the center of the universe = COPERNICUS
(Starting in Amsterdam)


Taking time off, expert embraces unfulfilled Lord Cook, for one [otS] = EXPLORER (of the Seas)
Exploit tavern due to be renovated [otS]
One finding a way for Pandora’s people to meet swamp resident [otS] = NAVIGATOR (of the Seas)
Remain unhappy before resistance of seaman [otS] = MARINER (of the Seas)

Pen name of the French writer who served as part of Napoleon’s army in the invasion of Russia and who moved to Milan after the war, and who gave his name to the psychosomatic illness that causes palpitations when an individual is exposed to particularly beautiful art
(Starting in Paris)


Rump hit harshly in coup = TRIUMPH
Six against a hundred: a Conservative win = VICTORY

Surname of the eponymous heroine of Puccini’s opera set in Rome in 1800 = TOSCA
(Starting in Vienna)


Adding cesium to active yeast yields illegal drug = ECSTASY
Southeast nation’s troubled feeling = SENSATION
Disturbing satanic info provides captivation = FASCINATION
Creativity from one country containing wizards = IMAGINATION
Muse on pain I stir around = INSPIRATION
Euphoria from boundless intercourse
Elysium exists in procession = PARADISE

Arguably the most popular German movie actor of the 20th century, he appeared in over a hundred silent films, in the first German talkie in 1929, and then went on to be the biggest German movie star from 1930-1945. A square in his native Hamburg was renamed for him after his death in 1960
(Starting in Hamburg)


Stellar assemblage of battered colonial tents
Lack of boundaries for one in nifty convertible
Two thousand in business attire at meeting of government heads = SUMMITS

Born as James Howlett, this fictional character is the best at what he does, but what he does isn’t very nice = WOLVERINE
(Starting in Chicago)


Removing “ass-backwards” from list of defined terms provides acclaim
Primeval organism displays courage
Terribly wrong to lose right of independence
Autonomy comes from more Fed activity

This surrealist painter, sculptor, photographer and filmmaker has permanent exhibitions devoted to his work in Montmartre in Paris and near St. Mark’s Square in Venice, as well as in his native Catalonia = SALVADOR DALI
(Starting in Barcelona)


Tailless equine and bovine start to fall
Overshadow movie excerpts with something transcendental before and after
Outline renovation of hotel suite
Act of contemplating relic, often, is stirring = REFLECTION

Surname of the Polish composer known as the “Poet of the Piano” = CHOPIN
(Starting in Warsaw)


Buzz Lightyear’s enemy returns with one young adult to Georgia, as the neighbors say = GRUZIYA
Hear “banzai” translated on the outskirts of Zaire’s capital, or alternatively, a country in the Caucasus = AZERBAIZAN
Infielder Matsui has tank travelling to the largest landlocked country = KAZAKHSTAN
Yes, penetrating air leak damaged Russian republic = KARELIYA
(see: http://www.shipsandharbours.com/picture/number468.asp or
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belorussiya_class )

Legendary libertine eponymous protagonist of one of Mozart’s most popular operas = DON GIOVANNI
(Starting in Vienna)


[MS] I unfortunately gain sin as a badge of honor
[MS] New gold tee by one California clothing company

Jewish Austro-Hungarian composer of operettas during the “silver age” of Viennese Operetta. During the Second World War, he emigrated (temporarily) to the United States
(Starting in Munich)


Lend clothing, for example, to someone larger than life [otS]
Don’t be thrifty having left our majesty [otS]
Regretted northern Argentina’s revolution leading to glory [otS]
Overwhelming pleasure disturbed shady pro [otS]
Slovenly men can’t then charm [otS]

[Scurra]

Quiet conveyance to Simba’s rock PRIDE (having just done some Lion King research this was easy!)
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New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[novice]

Car going backwards... Is MIRACLE.

The sci-fi writer isn't Asimov, but Karel Čapek.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Čapek

[gftt]

[novice]

Adding cesium to active yeast yields illegal drug = ECSTASY
Rump hit harshly in coup = TRIUMPH
Elysium exists in procession = PARADISE

[Scurra]

Answers to A Numbers Game are all Night Trains

Ivo Andric (Budapest – Belgrade) D343
Leo Tolstoy (Helsinki – Moscow) 31
Lincoln (Chicago – St Louis) 300-307
Karel Capek (Nuremberg – Prague) EX353
Copernicus (Amsterdam – Prague) CNL 457
Stendhal (Paris – Milan – Venice) EC220
Tosca (Vienna – Rome) EN235
Hans Albers (Hamburg – Vienna) EN491
Wolverine (Chicago – Pontiac) 350-355
Salvador Dali (Barcelona – Milan) EN11273
Frederic Chopin (Warsaw – Vienna) D407
Don Giovanni (Prague – Vienna – Venice) EN237
Kalman (Munich – Budapest) EN463

I am doing a double-check on the numbers because there are two directions (hence the starting city given.) The two US routes have general numbers - I would guess we need to know which one went on the night of Thursday 12th, but the Amtrak site appears to be down at the moment!

(I will note that I only did this bit so fast because I've written puzzles using "named trains" before and recognised several of them. )
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New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[gftt]

I think the cruise ships are listing all ships in given class other than the ship the class is named after. So for instance, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiance_class contains Serenade, Brilliance, and Jewel which are all clued, but Radiance is not.

I have to leave for now so I can't edit the main post. If someone wants to take over feel free.

[novice]

JEWEL
[N.] Wear out German agreement before the first and second of December = JADE
[N.] Programming language incorporates a valuable piece of wisdom, perhaps = PEARL
[N.] Margaret returns with precious item = GEM

DREAM
Final profit extracted from alluring trickery = MAGIC
Draft beer spilled on ultimate British character, unfinished = BREEZE

SPIRIT
Amazing story’s finish follows part of a race = LEGEND
Car going backwards mid-mile is a phenomenon = MIRACLE
Quiet conveyance to Simba’s rock = PRIDE

RADIANCE
Genius of brain cell I mixed up [otS] = BRILLIANCE
Outdoor musical performance is dry and inordinately electronic [otS] = SERENADE
Initially justice evolved when everyone lusted for a precious ornament [otS] = JEWEL

VOYAGER
Taking time off, expert embraces unfulfilled Lord Cook, for one [otS] = EXPLORER (of the Seas)
Exploit tavern due to be renovated [otS] = ADVENTURE
One finding a way for Pandora’s people to meet swamp resident [otS] = NAVIGATOR (of the Seas)
Remain unhappy before resistance of seaman [otS] = MARINER (of the Seas)

DESTINY
Rump hit harshly in coup = TRIUMPH
Six against a hundred: a Conservative win = VICTORY

FANTASY
Adding cesium to active yeast yields illegal drug = ECSTASY
Southeast nation’s troubled feeling = SENSATION
Disturbing satanic info provides captivation = FASCINATION
Creativity from one country containing wizards = IMAGINATION
Muse on pain I stir around = INSPIRATION
Euphoria from boundless intercourse = ELATION
Elysium exists in procession = PARADISE

???
Stellar assemblage of battered colonial tents
Lack of boundaries for one in nifty convertible
Two thousand in business attire at meeting of government heads = SUMMITS

???
Removing “ass-backwards” from list of defined terms provides acclaim
Primeval organism displays courage
Terribly wrong to lose right of independence
Autonomy comes from more Fed activity

SOLSTICE
Tailless equine and bovine start to fall = EQUINOX
Overshadow movie excerpts with something transcendental before and after = ECLIPSE
Outline renovation of hotel suite = SILHOUETTE
Act of contemplating relic, often, is stirring = REFLECTION

BELORUSSIYA
Buzz Lightyear’s enemy returns with one young adult to Georgia, as the neighbors say = GRUZIYA
Hear “banzai” translated on the outskirts of Zaire’s capital, or alternatively, a country in the Caucasus = AZERBAIZHAN
Infielder Matsui has tank travelling to the largest landlocked country = KAZAKHSTAN
Yes, penetrating air leak damaged Russian republic = KARELIYA

???
[MS] I unfortunately gain sin as a badge of honor
[MS] New gold tee by one California clothing company

VISION
Lend clothing, for example, to someone larger than life [otS] = LEGEND
Don’t be thrifty having left our majesty [otS] = SPLENDOUR
Regretted northern Argentina’s revolution leading to glory [otS] = GRANDEUR
Overwhelming pleasure disturbed shady pro [otS] = RHAPSODY
Slovenly men can’t then charm [otS] = ENCHANTMENT

[gftt*]

[gftt*]

[novice]

JEWEL

DREAM

SPIRIT

RADIANCE

VOYAGER

DESTINY

FANTASY

MILLENIUM

CONQUEST

SOLSTICE

BELORUSSIYA

REGATTA

VISION