A week where ants showed up all over the place, and now they are at the heart of this Friday from Gareth.
I am not expert on gridding, but this grid with the five theme answers set up as here, is to me the most common layout, and we all know add a letter, or a few letters or a word is a common theme convention. It is visually very pleasing with three ANTs on the end and two in the middle. and one dead center of the puzzle. Overall, with many 3 or 4 letter fill this did not feel like a Friday, though there were some challenges like BELLOWS, BUGABOO, MINIBUS, ORIGAMI, SHAKEUP. HOSANNAS and the very difficult for me EUSTACIA. Well let's see the latest from across the Atlantic.
18A. Roadside sign for sticklers? : PEDANTXING. (10). Pedxing (pedestrian crossing brings out the Pedant who often stops by to correct us all.
30A. Lower-class bovine? : COW PEASANT. (10). Cow PEAS show how much I do not know, as I have learned all about black-eyed peas (married an Alabama girl) and field peas. Anyway, you know GB will get animals in his grids one way or another.
36A. "Tarzan" character at an Imax? : GIANTJANE.(9). The Demi Moore character gets blown up on the big screen. LINK.(1:44). If you have never been to an IMAX theater, you should go, the experience of 3D movies is great.
46A. Coat waterproofing application? : FUR SEALANT.(10). I was a bit reluctant to accept fur seal because to me all seals have fur, but as this LINK shows, as I should know because he is a veterinarian it is a real term.
57A. Spiders' talent show? : WEB PAGEANT. (10). Great visual, Gareth puts a nice spin on this clue; also timely as we have begun Pageant time with the Miss USA last weekend.
And the rather difficult reveal:
56D. Classic 1954 horror film whose title creatures have invaded this puzzle : THEM.
Across:
1. Album with the hit "Mamma Mia" : ABBA.
5. They won't last : FADS.
9. Little bits : ATOMS.
14. Combat with seconds : DUEL. I could not find any good duels on June 13, with the July 11 Burr/Hamilton duel the closest. Maybe there is a crossword puzzle theme buried in there.
15. Sashimi fish : OPAH.
16. Shinto temple gateway : TORII.
17. Look like a wolf : OGLE. I think this one should be "as" a wolf.
20. Bar round : ALES. Yay, Tin, booze clecho. 23A. Bar staple : GIN
22. One may be restricted : AREA. Never a good idea to ignore this sign when you are in a movie.
.
24. Blood-typing letters : ABO.
25. Priest in 1 Samuel : ELI. This is another biblical story of a barren woman who is blessed with a child (Samuel) and the role of the priest of Shiloh. Meanwhile, the name ELI mean to ascend to G-d, with the Greek equivalent HELI, from which we get helicopter etc.
28. Yacht club hanging : OAR.
29. Homer's father, on "The Simpsons" : ABE.
33. Blue stuff : SMUT. Interesting word BLUE, can mean off-color, like smut or blue humor, or it can mean rigidly moral as in the Blue Laws of Puritan New England (and my childhood).
34. Church cheers : HOSANNAS. More religious cluing, and a very nice alliterative clue.
35. "Respect" songwriter Redding : OTIS. Reall popularized by ARETHA (2:30).
.
39. Jazzy style : SCAT.
41. "The Return of the Native" heroine __ Vye : EUSTACIA. A book by THOMAS HARDY; the latest Martha Grimes which I am now reading is set in "Hardy" country.
45. Comparative word : THAN.
48. Macklemore's genre : RAP.
49. Bernina Range peak : ALP. mARTI?
50. Bojangles' art : TAP. So many great links.
51. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr. : STE. French for Saint.
52. Blotter letters : AKA. Also Known As. The police blotter.
53. Boxy transports : VANS.
55. Fix permanently : ETCH. I know etching is a permanent process, but fix?
61. Mata __ : HARI.
63. Lollapaloozas : LULUS.
64. Present day, for short : XMAS. A cute way to clue the holiday with some misdirection.
65. Land west of Nod, in Genesis : EDEN. Rule no doubt by Wynken, Blynken. For crossword fans, the poem was written by Eugene Field who perhaps is most famous because his father represented Dred Scott before the Supreme Court, or maybe that is just a law school fact.
66. Tuckered out : SPENT. Such connotations....
67. Vacation sub : TEMPerature.
68. Like a doormat : MEEK. Still waiting to inherit the earth.
Down:
1. Fuss : ADO. Along with ALEE, ASEA, APE, EDEN, ATE, ELI, AREA some very common fill used in this effort.
2. Cause of worry : BUGABOO. On the other this may the first appearance oof this fill in the LAT.
3. Air delivery method? : BELLOWS. Am I the only one thinking about FedEx and Amazon's new drone service? You just don't see many blacksmiths any more.
4. On the quieter side : ALEE.
5. Fashion plate : FOP. Not a compliment, the dictionary suggests it comes from the German foppen "jeer at, make a fool of." I defer to our many German experts.
6. Mimic : APE.
7. Opening word? : DADA. My first said DADA as his first word, my youngest said Pizza Hut...go figure.
8. Rose of __ : SHARON. A nice CSO to our dear ARBAON. Another biblical reference in the puzzle from the Song of Solomon. The flower is actually an Hibiscus, which are common in So.Fla. Paired with a mini-clecho 9. Rose oil : ATTAR, which I know only from puzzle solving.
10. __ screen: medical test : TOX. Same derivation as inTOXicants and TOXic.
11. Art requiring a folder : ORIGAMI. Oh, one who folds...
12. Airport transport : MINIBUS.
13. Ring seal : SIGNET. Signet rings are not too popular anymore, and I thought the clue would make more sense as Seal ring, but it was still obvious.
19. Unlike Oscar Madison : NEAT. Are you Walter Matthau or Jack Klugman fans?
21. "Already caught that film!" : SEEN IT. Another English teacher's nightmare.
24. Weimar word of woe : ACH. I again defer to our German speakers, I recall there was some controversy.
26. Turner on a screen : LANA. Beautiful girl....
27. "Winning ... __ all-the-time thing": Lombardi : IS AN.Vince of Packer fame
31. Missionary's concern : PAGAN.This clue seems off as well, as Pagan rites, or beliefs might be a concern.
32. Starlike flower : ASTER.
33. Bargain : STEAL. Man, Jimmy Choo's for $500.00. What a steal!
35. Recorded, in a way : ON TAPE. An old way.
37. A moment ago : JUST.
38. Like Phileas Fogg during much of his journey : A SEA.
39. Overhaul : SHAKE UP.
40. Fit : CAPABLE.
42. Dishwasher brand : CASCADE.
43. Trisected : IN THREE.
44. Bolted : ATE.
45. Fishes, in a way : TRAWLS.
46. A ref may throw one : FLAG.
47. "Right after this show ..." : UP NEXT.
49. Captain's order : AVAST.
54. "__ here" : SAME.
58. Many a bon mot : PUN.
59. '60s arena : NAM.
60. 1/48 cup: Abbr. : TSP.
62. Cartridge contents : INK.
No comments:
Post a Comment