August 29, 2020

Title: THE PLATE SHOW

Constructor: Patrick Jordan

Editor: Erik Agard & Paolo Pasco

Theme Answers:

GOLD RECORD (17A: Honor for a hit song)

HOT PURSUIT (52A: High-intensity chase)

VANITY FAIR (11D: Magazine revived in 1983)

HOME OFFICE (27D: Workspace for a telecommuter)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer describes a type of PLATE: GOLD PLATE, HOT PLATE, VANITY PLATE, HOME PLATE.

Things I learned:

• CAIN (21A: "Quiet" author Susan) As it turns out, I did know this, but had forgotten it. Susan CAIN is the author of the 2012 book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop
  
  Talking. In 2015, CAIN founded Quiet Revolution, a company whose stated mission is "to unlock the power of introverts for the benefit of us all." Interestingly, I chose my mug this morning before I solved the puzzle.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• NAME (34A: Dog tag datum) Bonus theme answer: NAME PLATE.
• MARY (36A: "Practically perfect" Poppins) A fun alliterative clue! Also, the image of MARY Poppins singing, "I'm practically perfect in every way," brings a smile to my face. 
• MICE (55A: Cartoon cats chase them) This is true, but it's also true that real cats sometimes chase MICE. Many years ago I was unknowingly sharing a house with MICE (and bats and raccoons, but those are other stories!) One day I opened a curtain that a mouse had been climbing up (unbeknownst to me, obviously, or I would have left the curtain closed). The mouse fell on my foot, which led me to scream, which attracted the attention of my cat who began to chase the mouse, which attracted the attention of my husband who began to chase the cat chasing the mouse. Come to think of it, we might have been in a cartoon!
• MERCURY (5D: Venus neighbor) and MARS (36D: Earth neighbor) "My very educated mother just served us nachos." No, I haven't completely lost it. That sentence would have been helpful in solving today's puzzle, as it's a mnemonic device for remembering the order of the planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
• OLIVIA (10D: "Booksmart" director Wilde) Booksmart has been on my "Movies To Watch" list since I heard OLIVIA Wilde interviewed on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me... My daughter has also recommended I watch this movie about two high school girls who, on their last day of classes, finally decide to break some rules and party. Thanks to the crossword's reminder, maybe I'll watch it today.
• VANITY FAIR (11D: Magazine revived in 1983) VANITY FAIR has been the title of five magazines. The first VANITY FAIR (1859 to 1863) was a humorous weekly magazine published in New York. The next VANITY FAIR (1868-1914) was a British weekly magazine subtitled, "A Weekly Show of Political, Social and Literary Wares." Lasting only three years (1902-1904), the third version of VANITY FAIR went bankrupt. The next magazine to have the title VANITY FAIR began in 1913 and was merged into Vogue in 1936. The fifth and current VANITY FAIR is a monthly magazine of pop culture, fashion and politics published by Condé Nast. I did not realize there had been so many versions of VANITY FAIR. It was interesting to learn this.
• STARR (26D: Main character of "The Hate U Give") If you are a regular solver of the USA Today crossword, or a regular reader of this blog, you might remember STARR from the August 11 puzzle when Matthew Stock, who wrote the blog that day, recommended you read The Hate U Give if you haven't yet. 

Geography review:

• SALEM (1A: State capital near Portland) SALEM is the capital and second-largest city of Oregon. Portland is Oregon's largest city.
• OHIO (56A: Bowling Green State University's state) Bowling Green State University is a public university in northwestern OHIO. The institution was established as a teacher-training college in 1910. 

I was a fan of this puzzle from the moment I read the title. Such fun! Who would co-host "The Plate Show" with Patrick Jordan? Got any punny ideas? If so, feel free to tweet them at me. Some nice finds for theme answers. HOT PURSUIT is great and HOME OFFICE seems pertinent during these COVID-19 times. The resulting PLATE phrases were nice, too. Each phrase has a distinctly different meaning. I particularly liked VANITY PLATE, the term for a license plate that can add entertainment to car trips as you attempt to discern its meaning. The open grid pattern allowed for smooth and interesting fill such as RED ROSES and MERCURY. I also liked the informal cluing of DISMAYED (28A: Bummed out). EARLY and DAYS sitting next to each other is a nice visual. Solving this puzzle was a delightful way to begin my Saturday.