September 20, 2020

Title: L.A. WOMAN

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

LILY ALDRIDGE (19A: Model with her own fragrance line)

LAURA ASHLEY (38A: Welsh-born clothing designer)

LAUREN ALAINA (56A: "Road Less Traveled" singer)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer is a woman with the initials L.A.

Things I learned:

• EMMA (4A: Chamberlain hailed as "the most popular girl in the world" by Cosmopolitan in 2020) EMMA Chamberlain is a YouTuber, or YouTube content creator. EMMA's YouTube channel has over 9 million subscribers. The Cosmopolitan quote in the clue is from the caption below her name on the cover of the February 2020 issue of Cosmopolitan.
• LILY ALDRIDGE (19A: Model with her own fragrance line) LILY ALDRIDGE was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2010 to 2018. Her fragrance line, LILY ALDRIDGE Parfums, launched in 2019.
• LAUREN ALAINA (56A: "Road Less Traveled" singer) LAUREN ALAINA was the runner-up on the tenth season of American Idol. Road Less Traveled is the name of her second studio album, released in 2017, and also the name of a movie released the same year. 
• POBLANO (1D: Pepper used in chiles en nogada) Chiles en nogada is a Mexican dish of POBLANO peppers stuffed with a mixture of shredded meat, fruits, and spices, and topped with a walnut cream sauce. I like POBLANO peppers, and this sounds delicious!
• NIA (9D: Pro wrestler Jax) NIA Jax has been a wrestler with the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.) since 2014. In WWE, NIA Jax is a heel, a wrestler who portrays a villain and acts as an antagonist to the faces, or heroic protagonists.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ART (22A: Kara Walker's field) Kara Walker is best known for her panoramic ART of black cut-paper silhouettes against a white wall. In her ART, Walker explores race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity. She has taught at Columbia University and Rutgers University.
• ENDS (34A: Curling periods) In curling, players slide stones on a sheet of ice. Each team has eight stones. An end is completed when both teams have thrown all of their stones. A game usually consists of eight or ten ENDS.
• LAURA ASHLEY (38A: Welsh-born clothing designer) LAURA ASHLEY plc is a textile design company founded by LAURA ASHLEY and her husband, Bernard, in 1953. The LAURA ASHLEY style is characterized by the use of natural fabrics and Romantic English designs.
• ADA (20D: Pioneering programmer Lovelace) ADA Lovelace was one of the first computer programmers, and is considered to be one of the first to recognize the full potential of computers. ADA Lovelace died in 1852 at the age of 36. I wonder what she would think about the fact that many of us now carry a computer in our pocket.
• LOU (49D: "Skip to My ___") The "LOU" in the title of the song, "Skip to My LOU," comes from the word, "loo," a Scottish word for "love." (Not to be confused with the British use of the word loo!)

Geography review:

• BOISE (15A: Idaho Black History Museum city) BOISE is the capital of Idaho, and its most populous city. The Idaho Black History Museum was built in 1995.
• SRI (54A: ___ Lankan rupee) SRI Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean. Its currency is the SRI Lankan rupee.
• KOREA (8D: The "K" in K-Town) Sometimes known as Little KOREA, a KOREAtown, or K-town is a Korean-dominated section of a city or metropolitan area. K-towns can be found in cities around the world, including in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Toronto, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
• GARY, INDIANA (25D: City that's a song title in "The Music Man") GARY, INDIANA is in northern INDIANA, along the shore of Lake Michigan, and about 25 miles from Chicago, Illinois. Any time I drive through GARY, INDIANA, I get this song stuck in my head. Today the puzzle did that for me and I didn't even have to leave home!
• U.S. STATE (39D: Minnesota, e.g.) Minnesota became a U.S. STATE in 1858, and was the 32nd U.S. STATE. The nickname of Minnesota is "Land of 10,000 Lakes."

The title of this puzzle immediately clued me in to the theme. Not being familiar with 2/3 of the theme answers, I had to rely on crossing answers, although at least I knew the theme answers all started with the letter L! Fortunately, the crossing answers provided enough help so my not being familiar with LILY ALDRIDGE and LAUREN ALAINA turned out to not be a BIG DEAL. I enjoyed the entry BUILT TO LAST. A nice puzzle to begin my Sunday morning.