August 28, 2020

Title: THAT'S GOT A RING TO IT

Constructor: Gail Grabowski

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

BASEBALL DIAMOND (20A: "A League of Their Own" field)

SIT IN FIRST CLASS (38A: Be up front on a plane)

PRIOR ENGAGEMENT (53A: Reason for refusing an invitation)

Theme synopsis: The last word of each theme answer can be paired with the word RING to give us DIAMOND RING, CLASS RING, and ENGAGEMENT RING. 

Things I learned:

• STORM (9A: Halle Berry's "X-Men" role) I know of X-Men, STORM, and Halle Berry, but am not familiar enough with any of them to fill in this answer without crossings. The X-Men are a team of superheroes appearing in Marvel comic books, TV shows, films, and video games. STORM, who is able to control the weather and atmosphere, made her first comic book appearance in 1975. Halle Berry first portrayed STORM in the movie X-Men, released in 2000. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ALIBI (34A: One may be airtight) I enjoyed this clue.
• EATS (51A: Has wings, say) This is a common approach for cluing the word EATS, but it still got me. Flies? Soars? (Neither or which fit, I realize.) A definite groan when I realized it was EATS. 
• SCONE (64A Pastry served with tea) and TEA ACT (47D: Impetus for a Boston "party" in 1773) A minor dupe here with the word TEA appearing in a clue and the puzzle. I do enjoy a good SCONE with my cup of TEA. 
• ARIANA (5D: "Tattooed Heart" singer Grande) "It doesn't have to be forever/ Just as long as I'm the name/ On your tattooed heart." The song was on ARIANA Grande's debut album, Yours Truly, released in 2013. 
• PARLOR (6D: Tattoo ___) A nice pairing with the previous clue.
• EAGLES (48D: Apex predators among birds) An apex predator is a predator at the top of a food chain which does not have any natural predators itself. Other examples of apex predators are lions and orcas. Apex predators play a role in maintaining balance in an ecosystem by controlling prey density.

Geography review:

• IRAN (18A: Country with a four-crescent emblem) A sword and four crescents, combined in the shape of a water lily, make up the emblem of IRAN. The four crescents are meant to represent the word Allah.
• RENO (23A: City northeast of (and hidden nonconsecutively in) Sacramento) RENO, Nevada is located near the Nevada-California border, about 22 miles from Lake Tahoe. RENO is known for its tourism and casino industry.
• LIMA (2D: Peru's capital) LIMA is also Peru's largest city. The city of LIMA overlooks the Pacific Ocean. 
• ERIE (58D: Buffalo's Great Lake) Our friend, ERIE, is making its fourth appearance this month.
• NILE (59D: River through Egypt) Apparently trying to catch up with ERIE, NILE appears for the second day in a row, and the third time this month. 

"Put a Ring on It" could be an alternate title for this puzzle, and now my current earworm is Beyoncé's "Single Ladies." It could be worse! The appearance of DIAMOND and ENGAGEMENT in the theme answers had me looking for a hidden marriage proposal in the puzzle. A FIRST CLASS proposal, perhaps? I know not all DIAMOND RINGS are ENGAGEMENT RINGS, and vice versa, but those two feel similar - not enough to bother me, just enough for me to notice and wonder about a BOXING RING, or maybe a BATHTUB RING. The long theme answers meant there weren't many non-theme long answers, but the fill was smooth. An enjoyable solve for my Friday morning.