August 21, 2020

Title: IT'S A RACE

Constructor: Gail Grabowski

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

RAT KANGAROO (17A: Rabbit-sized marsupial)

HORSE AROUND (53A: Play boisterously)

DRAG AND DROP (11D: File-moving method on a computer)

SPACE HEATER (25D: Portable device for warming a small area)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer describes a type of RACE: RAT RACE, HORSE RACE, DRAG RACE, SPACE RACE.

Things I learned:

• EMPIRE (28A: Sundiata Keita ruled one) Sundiata Keita, also known as the Lion of Mali, was the founder of the Mali EMPIRE. An EMPIRE in West Africa, the Mali EMPIRE began in 1235 and lasted until 1670.
• READS (49A: Takes time for some Tomi Adeyemi) Tomi Adeyemi is the author of the fantasy novels, Children of Blood and Bone, and Children of Virtue and Vengeance. 
• ARI (22D: Actress Nicole ___ Parker) Nicole ARI Parker played the role of Teri Joseph on the TV series Soul Food. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• RAT KANGAROO (17A: Rabbit-sized marsupial) The RAT KANGAROO, also called a bettong or potoroo, is a small relative of kangaroos and wallabies found in parts of Australia. Several RAT KANGAROO species have become extinct due to loss of habitat and the introduction of red foxes to the Australian continent which preyed upon the small animals. The RAT KANGAROO is not to be confused with the kangaroo rat, which is a hopping species of rats living in North America.
• EAR (1D: Orecchiette shape) Orecchiette pasta's name comes from the Italian words for "EAR" and "small."
• SNOW DAY (10D: Winter closure) and SLEET (48D: Winter precipitation) A wintry combination! We also saw SNOW and SLEET together in the August 6 puzzle.
• MARS RED (41D: Color named for a planet) It's fun to see a reference to MARS in a puzzle where one of the resulting theme answers is SPACE RACE. The planet MARS appears RED because its surface is covered with a dust primarily made of iron. The dust has oxidized, giving it a rusty RED color. Dust storms blow the oxidized dust into the atmosphere, giving MARS a RED sky. Crayola produces a crayon named MARS RED which is available in its Outer Space collection.

I enjoyed this theme. RAT RACE, DRAG RACE, SPACE RACE, and HORSE RACE are all quite different things. Fun to see the spectrum of types of RACEs. My favorite theme answer was DRAG AND DROP. From a construction standpoint, placing two theme answers across and two theme answers down allows for an open grid with fewer constraints. No answer in this puzzle crosses more than one theme answer. I enjoyed the non-theme answers of FAR OUT and SERAPES. A fun solve for a Friday morning.