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 added to the end of the second word, 2 added to the end of the first word (one at the central row). 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? : PEDANT XING. (10). Ped Xing (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? : GIANT JANE.(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.
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. I wonder how many of you ever have seen or heard of this movie? I grew up watching these creations. In addition to big stars, James Whitmore, Edmuns Gwenn, and James Arness, pre- Gunsmoke, the movies has Fess Parker and Leonard Nimoy and William Schallert in uncredited appearances.
Across:
1. Album with the hit "Mamma Mia" : ABBA. I like an easy 1A fill.
5. They won't last : FADS. Nice simple clue.
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. Unlike Sushi, Sashimi does refer to the raw fish.
16. Shinto temple gateway : TORII. Along with baseball player Hunter, we see this fill yearly.
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. See above.
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, it 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. Really 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. You all can listen on your own.
49. Bernina Range peak : ALP. marti, tell us more. please.
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. Ruled 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 : TEMP. Temporary employee.
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 hand this may the first appearance of 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 was '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. We just had that fill...
38. Like Phileas Fogg during much of his journey : ASEA.
39. Overhaul : SHAKE UP. I liked what this SONG (2:47) did.
40. Fit : CAPABLE.
42. Dishwasher brand : CASCADE. I wonder if Gareth gets a placement fee from them. Hmm, maybe we could start a new trend here to get constructors more money for their efforts.
43. Trisected : IN THREE. Often what happens to a pizza at my house.
44. Bolted : ATE. See more food.
45. Fishes, in a way : TRAWLS. I always associate this word with single people...
46. A ref may throw one : FLAG.
47. "Right after this show ..." : UP NEXT.
49. Captain's order : AVAST. A much misunderstood term. So I asked a GEEK.
54. "__ here" : SAME.
58. Many a bon mot : PUN. Where would we be without PUNS! How wonderful for John Lampkin to stop by and say hello.
59. '60s arena : NAM. Abbreviated clue begets abbreviated answer.
60. 1/48 cup: Abbr. : TSP. How many knew that there were 48 TSP in a cup of sugar?
62. Cartridge contents : INK. Well, my brain is running out of INK, so I guess it is time to say, do not be afraid, Friday the 13th is just another Friday of a great week where we had a puzzle from an old friend Jerome, one from our own discovery C.C. and Don G.. George Barany, John Lampkin and Mary Lou Guizzo stopping by and now finishing with GB. Happy Father's Day to all of us.
