Our resident Shakespeare aficionado uses the letter B and E to wrap around the last word of an in the language phrase. He even provides us with a reveal that is a bit obscure, but it is a Friday. 38A. Also ... and, in three parts, a hint to the four longest Across answers: BESIDES (7). The three parts are "B" "E" and "SIDES." This advises you that B and E are on the sides of words. Even with 56 theme spaces, the puzzle is chock full of long fill and new fill to add to his always tricky cluing. Example of the great fill are DIGITAL, MADISON, PALED AT, TAVERNA, UNTIMED, FIRST BASE, OBSERVANT, CALAMITOUS and FRONT TEETH.
He has some foreign language stuff, some sports, some geography, some poetry, some music...well you can see for yourselves.
17A. Best Custard Enhancement award?: THE GOLDEN BRULEE (15). We start with a grid spanning fill built off of the Golden Rule. My favorite of the themers.
28A. Eve's incentive not to eat the apple?: ADAM'S BRIBE (10). Adam's Rib is also a biblical reference unless you think only of
46A. Whom to interrupt to end a couple's tedious conversation?: EITHER BORE (10). I like this one a lot also.
61A. Description of a consistent ogre?: THE SAME OLD BRUTE (15). JW does not get in a RUT unless cranking out fun puzzles that are challenging can be considered a rut.
1. Chem lab array: ACIDS. My chemistry classes never trusted us to get near the acids.
6. Grainy side: PILAF. Rice, the one staple in my Oo dominated diet.
11. Pixar SFX: CGI. Computer Generated Imagery has been around in some form since 1974. A LIST of favorite movies.
14. Certain Sri Lankan: TAMIL. Another PEOPLE whose history is filled with the results of Imperialism and ethnic incompatibility.
15. Defense concern: ALIBI. Alibis like eyewitnesses are not very reliable.
16. Orbital section: ARC. Both in the sky and near your eye.
20. Like moves in casual chess games: UNTIMED. Is the time lessened the better you are? I have never played with timers.
21. Overly orotund orator: GASBAG. Aren't you happy that OROTUND wasn't the fill?
22. Sacred symbol: TOTEM.
24. Pro __: TEM.
25. Romeo's partner?: ALFA. Another Shakespeare misdirection from our Will S. quote master.
33. "Free to Be... You and Me" co-creator Thomas: MARLO. She gathered the celebrities and put together the book which also became a PLAY.
35. Information: DATA.
36. See 13-Down: TEA. Paired with 13D. With 36-Across, summer drink: ICE. No Lemonade this week.
37. Sette minus sei: UNO. Italian for 7 - 6.
41. Minn. neighbor: ONT.
43. Je ne __ quoi: SAIS. The French expression, used in America par example: There's just been a certain je ne sais quoi about the hue that many can't quite put their finger on.
— Donna Freydkin, Allure, "How Beyoncé and Rita Hazan Chose the Perfect Blonde Hair Color for Bey's On the Run II Tour," 29 Aug. 2018.
44. Keyboard offering: ETUDE. We had our discussion of this recently.
50. Part of NAACP: Abbr.: ASSN.
51. Roadwork supply: TAR.
52. Israeli desert: NEGEV. Half of the land in Israel. LINK.
54. Big improvement over a mop, for short: WET-VAC. Just what the name sounds like. A new clue/fill introduced by JW.
63. "Take a load off": SIT.
64. Stealthy fighter: NINJA.
65. Result of a leadoff single: ONE ON. Baseball.
66. "Feh!": UGH.
67. Wyoming county: TETON. Think Grand! Some DF HISTORY.
68. Aggressive stingers: WASPS.
Down:
1. Westernmost Aleutian island: ATTU. Attu Island is so far west, it’s actually in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is the westernmost of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, even farther west than the Hawaiian Islands.
2. "All the Way" lyricist: CAHN. I wish I had remembered the C a few puzzles ago. A classic Sinatra tune.
"Ozymandias" is regarded as one of Percy Bysshe Shelley's most famous works. In antiquity, Ozymandias was an alternative name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. Shelley wrote the poem in friendly competition with his friend and fellow poet Horace Smith (1779–1849) who also wrote a sonnet on the same topic with the same name.
4. Like most selfies: DIGITAL.
5. Cinematographer's option: SLOMO. A portmanteau of SLOw MOtion.
6. Fraudulently increased: PADDED. The bill, the expense account, the bra, the damages and many more.
7. Martinique, par exemple: ILE. A French island, clued in French.
JW has used this a few times; it was first used in the NYT by Martin Schneider on a Sunday, Mar 14, 1999
8. CNN host Lisa: LING.
9. Their logo has a mirrored letter: ABBA. I do like their movies.11. Disastrous: CALAMITOUS. Very nice sparkly long word which JW introduces to the LAT. It has appeared only once in an NYT in 2010.
12. Novelist Iles: GREG. A very popular multi-genre AUTHOR. I have read only The Bone Tree so far. I may try more.
23. "The Federalist Papers" co-author: MADISON. President 1.
It is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution.
25. What jesters do: AMUSE.
26. Mostly private Hawaiian island: LANAI. Many here know Hawaii better than I do.
27. Incisors: FRONT TEETH. Another fill introduced to both LAT and NYT today.
29. Like Lear, ultimately: MAD. More Shakespeare.
30. Notre-Dame honoree: Abbr.: STE. Saint in French.
31. Switchback features: BENDS. This was the hardest for me to parse since I never heard the term switchback before. The definition is - a zigzag road, trail, or section of railroad tracks for climbing a steep hill.
32. Moth-__: EATEN.
34. Paying attention: OBSERVANT. I hope you have been paying attention today because this grid is just loaded with the good stuff.
39. Stirrup location: EAR. Did you bone up on your anatomy?
40. Bro, say: SIB.
45. Spot to sip ouzo: TAVERNA. It is all Greek to me.
47. Kentucky Derby showpieces: HATS. There are some nice horses there as well.
48. Change the itinerary: REPLAN.
49. "Great Scott!": EGAD. Perry White?
53. Nudge: ELBOW. Rude!
54. Fillmore was the last president who was one: WHIG. He is buried in Buffalo with both of his wives. President 2.
55. Lisette's BFF: AMIE. French.
56. You can see Lincoln on one: CENT. President mini-theme. Number 3.
58. Club payments: DUES.
59. On: ATOP.
60. Second-ranked pinochle cards: TENS. A fun GAME that I played when I was young.
61. Nashville sch.: TSU. Tennessee State University.
62. Eye in most of Iberia: OJO. Spanish.
Well, we done did it again. Fabulous fill JW. I leave you with this LINK as we observe Flag Day 242 years after the flag was chosen. Thank you all - now go and get ready for Father's Day. For which I give you this Dad Joke. (A Dad joke is an embarrassingly bad joke, often read through the eyes of a dad's lack of comedy).
My friend was a very indecisive rower. He could not pick either oar.
