August 1, 2020

Title: STAR SEARCH

Constructor: Stella Zawistowski

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

JUST ARRIVED (17A: Label for new items in a store)

TESTAROSSA (26A: Ferrari model whose name translates to "redhead")

START SMALL (51A: Make a modest beginning)

SALES TARGET (68A: Quota for a rep)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer contains the word STAR.

Things I learned:

• TESTAROSSA (26A: Ferrari model whose name translates to "redhead") Not being a sports car aficionado, I had to look up whether TESTAROSSA was one word or two, and I discovered that the answer is...both. The Ferrari 250 TESTA ROSSA was a racing sports car built from 1957 to 1961. The Ferrari TESTAROSSA is a 12-cylinder mid-engine sports car manufactured from 1984 to 1991. The TESTAROSSA name was chosen to pay homage to the TESTA ROSSA racing car. Both the TESTAROSSA and the TESTA ROSSA engines featured cam covers that were painted red.
• JUJU (1D: "___ on That Beat (TZ Anthem)") "JUJU on That Beat (TZ Anthem)" is a song by the hip hop duo Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall. After McCall posted the song on his YouTube channel in 2016, it received over 45 million views and became a viral dance challenge.
• CARDIO (6D: Tabata training, e.g.) The Tabata regimen is a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) based on a study by Professor Izumi Tabata. The original study involved Olympic speed skaters. In popular culture, Tabata training refers to a variety of HIIT protocols, not only those in Professor Tabata's original study. 
• TAPS (38D: Dances like Eleanor Powell) Eleanor Powell was a dancer and actress known for her TAP dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, including Born to Dance and Honolulu. The musical film Broadway Melody of 1940 features Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dancing to the Cole Porter's song, "Begin the Beguine." Some consider this particular TAP sequence to be one of the greatest in film history.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• CAT (39A: Ocelot, for example) If you're a regular reader of this blog, hopefully you remembered reading about the ocelot just a few days ago.
• ACADEMY (40A: Place for learning) STAR ACADEMY  is a reality TV show with many versions airing in a number of countries. The basic concept of the show is that participants live in a boarding school and receive instruction in several artistic disciplines. Throughout the course of the show, participants perform for a live audience and compete for the grand prize of a record deal and some amount of money. Basically, a STAR ACADEMY show is a STAR SEARCH. I don't know whether or not Stella intended this, but I'm calling this one a bonus theme answer. 
• START SMALL (51A: Make a modest beginning) If you want to START SMALL, you might begin with a BIT (54A: Tiny amount) or a TAD (29D: Tiny amount).
• DOG TAGS (61A: Identifying neckwear) This was a perfectly good, misleading clue and I completely fell for it, thinking "school tie?" "some sort of scarf?" Nice aha moment when it fell into place.
• TESSA (74A: "Little Woods" actress Thompson) In Little Woods, TESSA Thompson portrays Ollie Hale, one of two sisters who find themselves entangled in the world of cross-border drug trading along the Canada-United States border.
• SIA (31D: Singer found at the ends of five country names) Hooray for SIA making an appearance in my imaginary concert featuring "Crossword-Friendly One-Named Singers." Can you name the five countries whose names end with -SIA? (Answer below)

I enjoyed this puzzle. There were plenty of interesting clues and answers, and the things I didn't immediately know (or remember) were gettable from the crossing answers. Did you notice that the first two theme answers both started at the left side of the grid, with the bottom two theme answers to the right of the grid? More often we see the theme answers alternating left-right-left-right. Sometimes puzzle construction is a matter of patiently trying different layouts of the theme answers to discover which layout provides the most favorable fill. No complaints with the fill today. A lovely way to start my Saturday and my August.

Geography review:

• The five country names ending in -SIA are Indonesia, Malaysia, Micronesia, Russia, and Tunisia.