Wow, JW is back and what I anticipate will be a much talked about, much loved and much hated puzzle.
First, by use of perps and intuition you must solve the cross-referenced 29A, 35A and 49A to get to the title of the song (story). Only then can you begin to solve the 8 things which this old lady swallowed. This puts a real premium solving all the perps, which were not all easy, thought we do have a goodly amount of 3 and 4 letter fill. I did not recall this SONG but in reading the article I do have a vague recollection of the Jeff Goldblum line in the movie. 81 words with an average length of 4.84 is not at all Friday like, but there are many new and interesting fill and some nice decent length ones like ADRENAL, AS BIG AS, ELITISM, EMPANEL, LAGASSE, LIONESS, MADDENS, MARIANA, MASCARA, TWO-TONE, HITS WITH, STEM CELL. It was just a very odd puzzle for me to complete. The challenge to fit the refrain in the grid and then add each creature, in order as they are recited was daunting. I do not see any customary symmetry, but I am still so naive when it comes to gridding. Of course Friday is the day for experimentation and ingenuity, and this must have been fun if you knew the song.
29A. With 35- and 49-Across, start of a refrain whose ending words appear in sequence in the answers to starred clues :THERE WAS AN.(10).
35A. See 29-Across : OLD LADY WHO.(10).
49A. See 29-Across : SWALLOWED A. (10).
6A. *See 29-Across : FLY.(3).
17A *See 29-Across : SPIDER.(6).
19A. *See 29-Across : BIRD. (4).
20A. *See 29-Across : CAT. (3).
58A. *See 29-Across : DOG.(3).
63A. *See 29-Across : GOAT.(4).
71A. *See 29-Across : COW.(3)
72A. *See 29-Across : HORSE.(5).
Notice the absence of theme symmetry.
Across:
1. Whimpers : MEWLS. A word I associate with puppies and kitties.
9. Cooperative group : TEAM. My son works where there are no bosses, only team leaders.
13. Hindu nectar : AMRITA. Luckily, I started doing all the downs, so I had this from the perps as I had not memory of this Hindu (Sanskrit) version of ambrosia.
15. Suitor : BEAU. Are only men suitors?
16. Pierce player : ALDA. Hawkeye, Alan.
18. Pool equipment : RACK. Always fun excuse to LINK.
21. High-tech card contents : MEMORY.I think my own internal one needs an upgrade.
23. Toned down : MUTED.
24. "Star Wars" saga nickname : ANI. From I the Phantom Menace, also known as baby Darth.
25. Web store icon : CART.
26. Quad Cities city : MOLINE. Davenport and Bettendorf. in Iowa; and Rock Island and Moline in Illinois. Easy for some, but not for me.
27. French income : RENTE. The "E" makes this difficult because they call their government pension, "RENTE."
32. __ bloom: pond buildup : ALGAL. Algae.
33. Additionally : TOO.
34. San Jose Earthquakes' org. : MLS. Major League Soccer. World Cup in Brazil this year, and no Landon Donovan for the US.
41. Dough extruder? : ATM. Automated Teller Machine.
44. It may follow T. : REX. Nice CSO to all the dinosaurs out there reading this.
45. "Washington Week" moderator Gwen : IFILL. No politics, but I like IFILL as FILL.
54. Actress Raymonde of "Lost" : TANIA. Did not recall her, but I was not a big fan of the show. She has a bit of a Penelope Cruz look going on.
55. Withstood the ordeal : BORE UP. When it is good to be bored.
56. Matterhorn's range : ALPS. For his usual biographer, marti a CSO.
59. "Just me," formally : IT IS I. An old debate in these parts.
60. Immature : CALLOW. I used to get in trouble questioning why they call kids immature or CALLOW YOUTH, which made no sense to complain about since they were just kids.
62. Article in El Diario : UNA. One is Spanish; does anyone here keep a diary?
64. Decline : WANE.
65. Sign of fish : PISCES.
67. Youngest Brontë : ANNE. A very talented but doomed FAMILY.
68. Chimps, e.g. : APES. Read all about our closest cousins HERE, no monkeying around.
69. Make a point of : STRESS. I cannot stress the importance of paying attention.
70. Prepare scallops, in a way : SEAR. Try some NOW?
Down:
1. Cosmetic product : MASCARA.
2. Put on a jury : EMPANEL. Back in the courtroom.
3. "On __": Stephen King memoir : WRITING.
4. Cover : LID.
5. Subject of recent medical research : STEM CELL. A little SCIENCE.
6. Dread : FEAR.
7. Like many doilies : LACY. I read this as "dollies" and could not think of a single lacy dolly. Well, there was
8. Guffaw : YUK.
9. Roman slate : TABULA. Latin, famous from TABULA RASA, meaning a clean slate.
10. Upper-class rule : ELITISM. People who read Latin and stuff.
11. Major endocrine gland : ADRENAL. More Latin, meaning to the renal.
12. Really ticks off : MADDENS. Only John is famous.
14. Field : AREA.
15. Stew basis : BROTH. Now there are a million stocks you can buy pre-made.
22. "Rocky III" actor : MR. T. Every fool 'no dat.
23. Do some yard work : MOW. and if we add an "E."
26. Call from a Persian : MEOW. Not the Shah, but a kitty.
28. Eastern "way" : TAO.
30. LAX listing : ETD. Estimated Time of Departure.
31. Mr. Rogers on a horse : ROY.
36. Let go : DROP.
37. Kareem, formerly : LEW. Alcindor, of UCLA basketball fame.
38. Let go : AXE. I get this fill often.
39. Gives suddenly, as bad news : HITS WITH. Am I the only one who went to this...
40. Son-gun connection : OF A. I wonder when weapons replaced female dogs.
41. Comparable to, sizewise : AS BIG AS.
42. Like some sporty shoes : TWO TONE.
43. __ Islands: Guam locale : MARIANA.
46. Draft __ motor: gas furnace component : INDUCER.
47. Hunting 20-Across : LIONESS.
48. "Kicked-up Sandwiches" author : LAGASSE.
50. Bluegrass guitarist Flatt : LESTER.
51. Him, to Henri : LUI. Straight French.
52. Low-lying locales : DALES.
53. The whole shebang : ALL.
57. Boston __ : POPS.
60. Mob boss : CAPO.
61. From the top : ANEW.
64. Female in WWII : WAC. Women's Army Corps.
66. "No more seats" sign : SRO. Standing Room Only.
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