Theme: Pat, give me a G, no better make that a double! (an homage to our own Garlic Gal).
The letters "GG" are inserted into descriptions or expressions to create a new phrase clued wackily. My second offering from this rabbinical student living in Jerusalem, the first being a January Friday with PE removed from phrases. So we take away, we add, I wonder what is next. I like most of the theme, but not crazy about the middle grid-spanner for reasons listed below. The rest did not seem like a Friday at all with the plethora of 3,4 and 5 letter fill. with the longest non-theme fill 6 letters. Well into the fray, let's see where we come out.
18A. Non-magical "Harry Potter" animal? : MUGGLE DEER. (11). If you somehow missed the entire Harry Potter craze, Muggles are what the magical ones call humans. Mule Deer have big ears and live out west in the US.
23A. Camembert left out in the sun too long? : SAGGY CHEESE. (11). Supposedly the baring of the teeth which comes from enunciating 'Cheese' is where the expression started. Camembert like brie, often sags.
37A. Woman's enticing movements? : FEMININE WIGGLES.(15) A grid spanner, and the odd man out in two ways, as it is the only one with GG added to the second word, and the meaning of the phrase does not change much as wiggling is certainly one of the womanly ways of the world.
52A. Miracle in the mire? : BOGGY WONDER.(11). Boy wonder is used to describe any prodigy, from Mozart to David Steinberg; growing up in New England we all know BOGGS. I like the alliterative clue.
58A. Periodical dedicated to stylish boots? : UGGS WEEKLY. Are UGGS considered stylish, I always thought they were so named because they were ugly but comfortable? They advertise in US Weekly? Weakly?
and a bonus hint...
63A. Best Picture of 1958, and a hint to this puzzle's theme : GIGI. Love Maurice Chevalier, and I have always taken this advice to heart. LISTEN.(1:04).
Across:
1. "Poetic" or "Prose" mythological work : EDDA. No Icelandic hint on Friday.
5. Movie-rating org. : MPAA. Motion Picture Association of America
9. R&B singer known for popularizing Auto-Tune : T PAIN. Not only had I not heard of this artist, I had no clue there was such a device infecting modern music. I certainly was interested by the effects on Cher's Believe but I had no clue, even though I have heard the sound again. Jzb, your thought? I really enjoy when a constructor teaches me something I never knew, and I feel rather foolish for missing the whole controversy. LINK.
14. Device for Marner : LOOM. Well George Eliot's Silas Marner will always stick in my mind if only because as a youngster I was fascinated by George being a woman. The literary device of the LOOM can be discussed, but her contribution to Victorian literature in this and others like Middlemarch is only a question only of degree.
15. Orderer's reference : MENU. Orderer, what an awkward sounding word.
16. "In what way?" : HOW SO.
17. Not to mention : ALSO.
20. Shill : PLANT. The audience member placed there to fool the others into thinking they are having a good time, or need to spend money.
22. Serengeti predators : LIONS. Semi clecho, 25D. Serengeti scavenger : HYENA. Finally, 60D. Serengeti prey : GNU. Sums up the region and life.
26. Whammy : HEX. marks the spot? In Liverpool?
29. Cockney location word : ERE. We are not there, we are 'ere.
30. Bean opening? : SOY.
31. Constant flow : STREAM. Are we too early for prostate humor?
33. Annoy : MOLEST. I had a very hard time sussing this, as lots of people have annoyed me....
36. Inventing middle name : ALVA. Mr. Edison to you.
42. Gulf of __ : ADEN.
43. Stands : ARISES.
44. The Aztecs' Tonatiuh, for one : SUN GOD. Not up on my Aztec deities, but this filled easily.
47. Bert Bobbsey's twin : NAN.
48. Old sports org. with a red, white and blue ball : ABA. American Basketball Association. Home of the incomparable Dr. J., Julius Erving who played at UMass when I was in undergrad and graduate school in UConn. What a player, and the NBA owes the three point shot, slam dunk contest and other changes to the ABA. WATCH. (5:07).
51. Germaphobia may be a symptom of it, for short : OCD. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
56. British bishop's headdress : MITRE. A word every crossword solver should know.
57. Target : AIM AT.
64. Japanese comics : MANGA. My kids were very into MANGA and ANIME, I will ask YR to explain more about how they fit in Japanese culture.
65. Kitchenware brand : EKCO. I heard that before.
66. First name in case fiction : ERLE. Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason.
67. Rebuff : SPURN.
68. Lunkhead : DODO. A shout-out to our own who derives her nickname from her name not a reminder of the extinct bird which was believed to be not very intelligent.
69. One may make you uncomfortable : LEER. Or it might make you pretty excited...
Down:
1. Go by : ELAPSE. Where does the time go, we are on the downs already.
2. Almighty __ : DOLLAR. Ah yes, the American Dream.
3. How much to take : DOSAGE. Well after last Sunday, it is nice to see AGE make a comeback.
4. First __ equals : AMONG. An odd sounding phrase from the LATIN to describe the senior member of a group of peers.
5. "Dee-lish!" : MMM. Good.
6. Little, in Lille : PEU. Straight French, an accessible one for those who parle un peu.
7. Position, as a pool cue : ANGLE.
8. Bellow title hero March : AUGIE. This was the first of his three National Book Awards; I have read his work and enjoyed them, not equally, but certainly Herzog and Mr. Sammler's Planet have stuck with me. He also won a Pulitzer Prize and a Nobel Prize. However my favorite AUGIE (0:20) who would fit because of the 2 G's.
9. Place to browse : THE NET.
10. Sci-fi vehicles : PODS. The ships or the home of the body snatchers?
11. Reverence : AWE.
12. Expert finish? : ISE. If we complain about ADE as a puzzle answer, how Expertise?
13. Here-there link : NOR.
19. Fan's disappointment : LOSS.
21. 1980s-'90s heavyweight champ : TYSON. Now a media star. UNDISPUTED TRUTH. (3:26).
24. E. follower : COLI.
26. Word after raise or catch : HELL.
27. Place for a nest, perhaps : EAVE.
28. Short holiday? : XMAS. I thinks this is cute; certainly once I saw the answer I thought it was cute.
32. Joplin works : RAGS. I know Scott Joplin wrote Ragtime music, but I was ready to nitpick, but... Merriam Webster says it is a composition in ragtime, short for ragtime. First Known Use: 1897
33. Artistic dynasty : MING. C.C. any thoughts? (C.C.: My first reaction is Tang, as it's the peak of various arts, esp poetry and painting. I only associate MING with vases.)
34. Sun. message : SERmon. Sunday.
35. Strong like string : TWINY. String is not strong, twine is strong string which is doubled up.
37. Burkina __ : FASO. I have never heard of this COUNTRY, let alone know where it is located. Damn you American geography.
38. Cabinet dept. : EDUCation.
39. Heal : MEND. A HEART? (3:00).
40. Part of Caesar's boast : I SAW. VIDI.
41. Italy's largest port : GENOA. No, I did nota noa that.
45. Sci-fi character nicknamed Ben : OBIWAN. Kenobi. Ken, ben?
46. Heap affection (on) : DOTE. Followed by....
48. Regard highly : ADMIRE. Which leads to....
49. Hunting dog : BEAGLE. Snoopy?
50. More pretentious : ARTIER.
53. "__ is good" : GREED. Saw the promo a million times.
54. "Wall Street" antagonist who said 53-Down : GEKKO.. Michael Douglas.
55. Spinal Tap guitarist Tufnel : NIGEL. One of many CREATIONS (0:50) of Christopher Guest.
56. Roman Cath. title : MSGR. Monseigneur.
58. Verbal stumbles : UMS. Er, I hope you all got this one.
59. Disparity : GAP. Like this?
61. PC screen type : LCD. Liquid Crystal Display.
62. "__-hoo!" : YOO. Boo-hoo, we are done for another week.
Before we go, I wanted to express my condolences to the family and friends of Harold Ramis, who died this week. He brought us ANIMAL HOUSE, GHOSTBUTERS, CADDYSHACK, and GROUNDHOG DAY among many others. Don't cross the streams!
Can you believe we are two months into the year already, the Olympics are over, and spring is on the way for all you who choose to live in the frozen north. I am off to my day job, so I will see you all at the beach next time. Lemonade out.
