August 10, 2020

Title: SPLIT ENDS

Constructor: Rachel Fabi

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

ON THE LEVEL (17A: Aboveboard) 

OFF-SCREEN (26A: Heard but not seen, perhaps)

HOT SECOND (42A: Very short or very long period of time, depending on context)

LIFT TICKET (56A: Ski resort pass)

Theme synopsis: The END word of each theme answer can be placed at the END of SPLIT to form a new phrase: SPLIT LEVEL, SPLIT SCREEN, SPLIT SECOND, SPLIT TICKET.

And now a word from our constructor:

Rachel: I wrote this puzzle a couple of months into quarantine while daydreaming about a haircut. It went through about 7 iterations before I was happy with the grid. Hope you enjoyed it!

Things I learned:

• HAYLEY (33A: Singer-songwriter Kiyoko) In 2007, HAYLEY Kiyoko was a founding member of The Stunners, a girl group that performed together until 2011. Since the group disbanded, HAYLEY has done solo work. She has also done some acting, including playing the role of Velma in the 2009 TV movie, Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins. HAYLEY Kiyoko is an active advocate for LGBTQ rights. Through her music and videos she works to normalize lesbian relationships. Side note: After entering DUE (30A: ___ process (14th Amendment protection)) and DUO (32A: Twosome) in this row, I would have laughed if the answer in this slot hand been DUA LIPA. (I'm aware it wouldn't fit...sigh.)

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• IDEA (19A: Bit of creativity) I had an IDEA I'd seen this answer recently. Yesterday IDEA was clued as [Innovator's inkling].
• OLE (37A: ___ Miss) OLE Miss is a nickname for the University of Mississippi. Although it sounds like a quaint shortening of Mississippi, the nickname's origin is derived from a term used for the slave master's wife. I admit I was unfamiliar with the negative connotation of the nickname until a reader brought it to my attention while I was writing this and sent me an article about it. This is an example of how racism is embedded in our culture. It's going to take continued work to keep ourselves aware of the many ways we've normalized harmful ideas. Here's your reminder: Black lives matter. 
• HOT SECOND (42A: Very short or very long period of time, depending on context) What a fun phrase! I went down an internet rabbit hole reading about people attempting to clarify the meaning of HOT SECOND, including a query about its meaning from someone trying to translate a sentence containing the phrase into French. 
• CLINE (46A: "I Fall to Pieces" singer Patsy) Patsy CLINE was one of the first country music artists to successfully cross over into pop music. Although her recording career lasted only eight years, Patsy CLINE is considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. CLINE died in a plane crash in 1963. "I Fall to Pieces" was her first number one hit, topping the charts in 1961. This song and "Crazy" will now be my earworms for the day!
• CATS (3D: Musical with the characters Skimbleshanks and Mr. Mistoffelees) Three days ago we saw CATS clued as [2019 movie featuring Jennifer Hudson as Grizabella]. Which CATS character will be featured in a clue next? Inquiring minds want to know! 
• DRIP DRY (9D: Hang after washing) and SLAP SHOT (15D: Powerful hockey strike) These two alliterative two word phrases with a similar sound pattern were lively additions to the puzzle.
• OUT (26A: LGTBQ+ magazine) OUT was founded in 1992 by Michael Goff. Since its founding, the magazine has offered an annual list of influential and inspirational LGBTQ personalities and celebrities known as the OUT100. It was only when I was typing the clue here that I noticed the initials LGTBQ+ are in a different order than I am used to seeing them. I wasn't able to find information on whether the ordering of the letters has significance. I welcome information from anyone that knows.

Fun Fact: Today's puzzle has the same title as the June 24, 2020 puzzle. I enjoyed this puzzle. It's a straightforward theme type, with some fun theme answers and nice resulting new phrases. Interesting that HOT SECOND and SPLIT SECOND can have the same meaning. Smooth fill all around, so thanks to Rachel for going though many iterations to achieve a nice grid. I appreciate learning about HAYLEY Kiyoko. In a different way, I also appreciate learning about the history of the OLE Miss nickname and using this as an opportunity to think about my own speech. This was an enjoyable start  to my Monday.

If you enjoyed this puzzle and would like to solve another puzzle constructed by Rachel Fabi, I encourage you to register for the Lollapuzzoola online crossword tournament which will be Saturday, August 15. Rachel is one of the tournament's puzzle constructors, as is Brooke Husic (the constructor of the August 6 puzzle), and Stella Zawistowski (the constructor of the August 1 puzzle). The other Lollapuzzoola constructors - joon pack, Sid Sivakumar, and Robyn Weintraub - are great, too, and I'm looking forward to solving these puzzles. Although I have yet to make it to an in-person crossword tournament (2020's American Crossword Puzzle Tournament was going to be my first. Sigh.) this will be the third online tournament I've participated in and I highly recommend them. Don't worry if you're not a competitive speed solver. It will still be fun and you can hang out with me in the bottom of the rankings!