Popeye villain who sailed black barnacle / THU 11-17-16 / Work not of buffa style / Longtime home of Tappet Brothers / Video game featuring archaeologist heroine / Tree frog with distinctive call / One of eggs used in this 1986 film is now exhibited in Smithsonian / Insect with multi-queen colonies

Constructor:Timothy Polin and Joe Krozel

Relative difficulty:Easy-Medium

[.puz version of this puzzle had the following note:]

THEME:King TUT's tomb, I think (28A: King of the 18th dynasty) — you've got his name there in the center and then his MUMMY there entombed in that black-square pyramid structure at the bottom, and then you've also got a handful of theme-word-containing answers (one Across, two Down):

• PYRAMID SCHEME (17A: Common scam)
• TOMB RAIDER (21D: Video game featuring an archaeologist heroine)
• PHARAOH ANT (23D: Insect with multi-queen colonies)

Word of the Day:PHARAOH ANT—

The pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) is a small (2 mm) yellow or light brown, almost transparent ant notorious for being a major indoornuisancepest, especially in hospitals. The pharaoh ant, whose origins are unknown, has now been introduced to virtually every area of the world, including Europe, the Americas, Australasia and Southeast Asia. This species is polygynous, meaning each colony contains many queens, leading to unique caste interactions and colony dynamics. This also allows the colony to fragment into bud colonies quickly. Colonies do not display aggression toward each other; this is known as unicoloniality. Monomorium pharaonis is also notable for its complex foraging system, involving intricate trail routes maintained with several pheromones. It was the first ant species discovered to use a negative (repellant) pheromone. These chemicals are integral for communication in this species. Pharaoh ants are a tropical species, but they thrive in buildings almost anywhere, even in temperate regions provided central heating is present. (wikipedia)

I admire the ambition here. Was just talking with a constructor about the strengths and weaknesses of crossword conventions—particularly having to do with grid size, shape, symmetry—and how newspapers are limited (in practice, anyway) by physical space. The grid has to occupy just so much space in the paper, and has to be a certain shape (square or close to square) in order to fill that space neatly. Digital delivery (with the puzzle freed from the tyranny of newsprint) has made it possible to be far more creative; and yet, because of the strong force of habit, even indie, non-newspaper crosswords distributed solely in digital formats tend to conform pretty strictly to print-bound conventions when it comes to size and shape. Conventions give an art its form, its contours—they make it visible and understandable as a Thing—but they set limits, the usefulness of which be, well, limited. Which brings me back to this puzzle, and the fact that I wish it were shaped like a pyramid instead of a moth.


The pyramid effect is expressed neatly enough in those lower black squares, but nothing about the rest of the grid really screams or even whispers "pyramid" (feel free to walk up to random people today and whisper "pyramid" in their ear, spookily—call it "the pyramid challenge," film it, it'll be great). Full-blown pyramid woulda been cool—semi-pyramid with antennae, less ... evocative. But the concept, I still dig. And it played like a pretty clean and interesting Friday, and who doesn't like that? I will say that the meta was a little too easy to get. Would've been cool if figuring out MUMMY involved something more complicated / clever than just plugging in letters that correspond with numbers in the grid. But I'm spoiled by my regular solving of killer metas by the likes of Matt Gaffney, Erik Agard, Francis Heaney, so my standards are perhaps unreasonably high on that count. Enjoyment was had. By me. Passive voice!


Had trouble raiding this tomb, at the outset, because I briefly blanked on ALBOM and briefly blanked on when Passover is (I wrote AUG—?!), and then PEEPER (11A: Tree frog with a distinctive call) I wanted to be PEWPEW (*much* more "distinctive call,"PEEPER—you might wanna look into it), and once LIFT got into my brain for 2D: Get off the ground? (LEAP), it didn't want to leave. Not sure why that clue has a "?"—it's pretty literal, although, OK, I guess when your clue is a phrase commonly used as a metaphor and you want us to take it literally, sure, "?" No problem. After I got the NW sorted, I tore through the rest with no issues. Briefly couldn't remember if it was LSATS or PSATS, briefly didn't believe RASTAMAN was serious (27D: Dreaded guy?). Nothing else provided much resistance. Ominous to have LITHUANIA (26D: Eurozone member beginning n 2015) next to LAST-GASP (32D: Done in desperation), considering the current political climate, but as crossword answers, that juxtaposition is very pleasing. The end.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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