August 7, 2020

Title: BROKEN RECORDS

Constructor: Gail Grabowski

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

NOBEL PRIZE (17A: Award for Rigoberta Menchu)

OIL PAINTER (55A: Artist such as Harmonia Rosales)

TRIAL PERIOD (10D: Testing time)

CENTRAL PARK (24D: Manhattan attraction)

Theme synopsis: In each theme answer, the letters LP (as in an LP RECORD) are BROKEN by the space between the two words.

Things I learned:

• NOBEL PRIZE (17A: Award for Rigoberta Menchu) Rigoberta Menchú is a human rights activist promoting the rights of Guatemala's indigenous peoples. She has also been active in working for indigenous rights internationally. Rigoberta Menchú won the NOBEL Peace PRIZE in 1992. This clue is a fine example of the way the USA Today crossword team uses clues to make the puzzles more inclusive and diverse. It would have been easy to clue NOBEL PRIZE in reference to any number of names familiar to many solvers. (There's nothing wrong with that; many deserving and interesting people have been awarded the NOBEL PRIZE - e.g. Malala Yousafzai and Martin Luther King, Jr.) The answer NOBEL PRIZE is easily inferable from the word "Award" once a few letters have been filled in from crossing answers. Therefore, it's a good opportunity to introduce a name that might be new to solvers. Perhaps the solver will be intrigued and look the name up to learn more about the person. Or head over to this blog and read what I wrote!
• OIL PAINTER (55A: Artist such as Harmonia Rosales) Harmonia Rosales is an OIL PAINTER who reinterprets classic Renaissance artwork by replacing Black heroines as the main subject of the painting. She has said she hopes to empower people with art, and provide art that reflects the long-ignored beauty of women of color. Her work is stunning. You can see examples of her paintings on her website. 
• CANE (1D: Prop for Bartholomew Richard Fitzgerald-Smythe) Bartholomew Richard Fitzgerald-Smythe is the proper name of Mr. Peanut, the CANE-carrying, monocled mascot of Planters. 
• OTTO (51D: "The Daughter" actress Miranda) Miranda OTTO won an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Charlotte Finch in The Daughter. Miranda OTTO currently plays the role of Zelda Spellman on the TV series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• CATS (50A: 2019 movie featuring Jennifer Hudson as Grizabella) From the reactions I've heard and read, CATS is a movie that inspires strong reactions. I haven't heard of anyone that feels lukewarm about it.
• OHO (51A: "So now the truth comes out!") The OHO/AHA pair is similar to EVADE/ELUDE for me. The clues used for these pairs of words are often similar. Therefore, I'm never quite sure which answer to fill in and often leave it blank. Today I took a chance that this clue referred to AHA. Statistically, AHA appears in crosswords more than twice as often as its counterpart. OHO! I was wrong!
• EVE (4D: WALL-E's romantic interest) In the movie, EVE is an Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator. Last month the New York Times crossword puzzle incorrectly clued the word EVA as [Wall-E's love in "Wall-E"]. As you can imagine, this sent some folks on crossword Twitter into a tailspin, which is often entertaining. 
• PANS (18D: Equipment on "Chopped") Chopped is one of my favorite shows to binge watch. Since I don't own a TV at home, I will often turn on the Food Network when I stay in a hotel and watch whatever is on. It is often reruns of Chopped. Ted Allen hosts this reality cooking show that has been on the air since 2009. In each episode, chefs compete to create dishes incorporating "mystery ingredients" found in their baskets. There's a time constraint, of course, and celebrity judges. I find it entertaining.
• BRIEF (28D: Like a 37-Down, often) and ANECDOTE (37D: Story in a speech, often) and AMUSING (41D: Like a 37-Down, often) Sometimes cross-references can be vexing, but I found this example to be a BRIEF, AMUSING ANECDOTE. Well done.
• SEAN (49D: "Good Will Hunting" therapist) Robin Williams played Dr. SEAN Maguire in the 1997 movie, Good Will Hunting. Ah, I miss Robin Williams amazing talent. SEAN is also my son's name, so "Hi, SEAN!" (He's not a regular reader of my blog, but just in case he wanders by.)

Geography review:

• ERIE (15A: One of the Great Lakes) Ah, Lake ERIE is back for the second day in a row, making up for not appearing for over two weeks. By volume, Lake ERIE is the smallest of the Great Lakes. It's still 210 feet deep at its deepest point though.

When I saw the title BROKEN RECORDS, I was looking for the letters L and P. However, I was expecting to find them at the beginning and end of the theme answers, so it took me a little while to find them.  I actually reached out for help, and as soon as I did I spotted the BROKEN LPs hiding in plain sight in the center of the themers. (Thank you, Matthew Stock, for having my back!) This was an enjoyable solve. Interesting and fun cluing throughout. A nice start to my Friday morning.