September 11, 2020

Title: WITHIN SIGHT

Constructor: Brooke Husic

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

STREET LIGHT (29A: Path-illuminating fixture)

SWIPE RIGHT (44A: Signal "I'm interested" on a dating app)

SLEEP TIGHT (7D: "Sweet dreams" alternative)

STAGE FRIGHT (16D: Pre-show jitters)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer begins with S- and ends with -IGHT. Therefore, each theme answer is found WITHIN the word SIGHT.

And now a word from our constructor:

Brooke: This puzzle's theme was inspired by my friend whose use of the phrase "sleep tight" I find endearing. I'm grateful as always to Erik for his wonderful editing! He's written more clues than usual here because my initial draft would've played too difficult. I'm very happy he highlighted Teyana Taylor in 24-Down; I love "The Album."

Things I learned:

• TIA (28A: "Sister, Sister" star Mowry) In the TV sitcom, Sister, Sister, TIA Mowry played opposite her identical twin sister, Tamera Mowry. On the show, the sisters played TIA Landry and Tamera Campbell, identical twin sisters who were separated at birth and accidentally find each other years later.
• ERIC (47A: Jazz legend Dolphy) ERIC Dolphy was a multi-instrumentalist who played the jazz alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, clarinet, and piccolo. When he was 36 years old, ERIC Dolphy collapsed on stage while performing in Berlin, and died after falling into a diabetic coma, the result of undiagnosed diabetes. The inscription on his headstone reads, "He Lives In His Music."
• LEIGH (21D: Singer Nash) LEIGH Nash is the lead vocalist for the band Sixpence None the Richer. Her latest album is a solo country music album titled, The State I'm In. 
• SARI (29D: Lehenga alternative) A lehenga is a type of ankle-length, embroidered, pleated skirt worn by women from the Indian subcontinent.
• ADAM (50D: ___ Red Eagle ("The Miseducation of Cameron Post" character) In the movie, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, teenagers ADAM Red Eagle (played by Forrest Goodluck) and Jane Fonda (played by Sasha Lane) befriend Cameron Post (played by Chloë Grace Moretz) when she is sent to a gay conversion therapy center. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MARI (1A: Activist Copeny) MARI Copeny was eight years old when she wrote a letter to President Obama drawing attention to the water crisis in her hometown of Flint, Michigan. We saw MARI in a clue for FLINT in the July 10 puzzle.
• MAS (5A: Un poquito ___ (a bit more)) and SCOOP (53A: Ice cream ball) Remember the phrase, "un poquito MAS, por favor," and use it if anyone attempts to give you a small SCOOP of ice cream.
• HIVE (14A: ___ mind (unified consciousness)) The term, "HIVE mind" has been in use since the 1950's. It appears to have been coined by science fiction writer James H. Schmitz in a short story titled, "Second Night of Summer." HIVE mind correlates to the way a colony of bees behaves in a coordinated manner, as if directed by a single intelligence.
• SALE (16A: Poshmark transaction) Poshmark is an online marketplace where people can buy and sell new or used clothing and accessories.
• AMIGO (48A: Spanish for "friend") and PALS (64A: Friends) and ALLY (6D: Non-enemy) This is a very friendly crossword puzzle!
• SEES (11A: Really gets) A nice bonus to go along with the SIGHT theme.
• BET (24D: Teyana Taylor won Video Director of the Year at its 2020 award show) BET here stands for Black Entertainment Television. 
• EVEN (52D: Like all bra band sizes) Why is this?! If you have ever worn a bra, you know bra sizing is unnecessarily complicated and confusing and no international standards for sizing exist.
• CTRL (54D: SZA album whose name is a computer key) SZA is the professional name of singer, rapper, and songwriter Solána Imani Rowe. Her album, CTRL, was released in 2017. In 2018, SZA won the BET Award for Best New Artist.

Geography review:

• USA (32A: D.C.'s country) In 2019, Washington D.C. had an estimated population of over 705,000 people, making it the 20th most populous city in the USA.
• PERU (39A: Lima's country) Lima is the capital and largest city of PERU. Located in western South America, PERU's western border is the Pacific Ocean.

This puzzle is an example of the use of diagonal symmetry. In this case the axis of symmetry runs from the upper right corner to the lower left corner. The four theme answers are intersecting in the center of the puzzle, a feat made a little easier by this type of theme in which the theme answers share a common four-letter string at the end. I enjoyed the theme and the puzzle. In addition to the answers I've highlighted above, I was amused by the intersecting EVILEST REALIST. I also liked the answers UP AHEAD, LUSH, and CHALLAH. In summary, THAT'S NICE describes the puzzle well. A delightful solve to begin my Friday morning.