September 9, 2020

Title: RIGHT GUARD

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard & Paolo Pasco

Theme Answers:

JOB SECURITY (17A: What tenure provides to a professor)

LOCAL COLOR (30A: Distinctive regional characteristics)

HOTEL CHAIN (46A: Hyatt or Marriott, e.g.)

CASE IN POINT (62A: Good example)

Theme synopsis: The last word (or RIGHT part) of each theme answer can precede the word GUARD to form a new phrase. We have SECURITY GUARD, COLOR GUARD, CHAIN GUARD, and POINT GUARD.

Things I learned:

• MARIA (15A: Comedian DeCotis) MARIA DeCotis says New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reminds her of her Italian father. MARIA used the audio from some of Governor Cuomo's press briefings to produce videos which are popular on social media.
• TEA (16A: Yak butter ___ (traditional Tibetan drink)) Yak's milk has about twice the fat content of cow's milk, resulting in a butter with a texture similar to cheese. Yak butter TEA is traditionally made from tea leaves, yak butter, water, and salt.
• CELLO (18D: Instrument for Tina Guo) Tina Guo has become known for her CELLO videos which feature theatrical backdrops and elaborate costumes. Guo has appeared as a soloist with many symphonies including the San Diego Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, and the Victoria Symphony.
• WALSH (27D: "Private Practice" actress Kate) Kate WALSH played the role of Dr. Addison Montgomery in the TV series, Grey's Anatomy, and the spin-off from that show, Private Practice.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• BABA (1A: Father, in Chinese) and EAU (21A: ___ de toilette) and ETA (64A: Greek letter before theta) and MAORI (22D: Polynesian language) and CHICA (31D: Girl, in Spanish) and OMEGA (32D: End of the Greek alphabet) These six clues referencing five different languages make a nice sub-theme in today's puzzle. 
• SIT (39A: Dog trainer's command) and STAY (60D: Dog trainer's command) It occurred to me that these two commands are sometimes used together as they are here.
• TESLA (68A: ___ coil (scientific invention of 1891)) Oooooo, science! A TESLA coil, invented by Nikola TESLA, is a type of electrical circuit. The main use of TESLA coils today is for entertainment and educational purposes. You may have seen one if you've visited a science museum. Tesla coils can even be used to play music.
• DAY (9D: Joke-a-___ calendar) An opportunity to share my favorite riddle with you! What does an invisible cat drink? (Answer below)
• COEN (53D: Mashable editor Jessica) Mashable is a global digital media platform founded in 2005.  Mashable has over 9.6 million followers on Twitter.

Geography review:

• IRAN (49A: Country that celebrates Sizdah Bedar) Sizdah Bedar is an IRANian festival also known as Nature's Day. It is held annually on the thirteenth day of the first month of the IRANian calendar. Sizdah Bedar is celebrated by spending time picnicking outdoors.
• MAORI (22D: Polynesian language) MAORI is the language spoken by the indigenous people of New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in 1987.

This straightforward theme type was well-executed, as I expect from Zhouqin's puzzles. I appreciated that the resulting theme phrases are all different types of GUARDS. It took me a moment to remember a CHAIN GUARD is what keeps my pant legs from getting caught in my bicycle gears. Also interesting to note that COLOR GUARD, which is one of the resulting theme phrases in this puzzle, has been a theme answer in two of Zhouqin's puzzles in the time I've been blogging. (July 12 and July 15) That's not a bad thing - I'm just fascinated by data. I particularly enjoyed the theme answers LOCAL COLOR and CASE IN POINT. Plenty of fun non-theme answers, too, including IT'S ALL OVER and SENATE SEAT. I liked the animal sightings in the lower right corner - WALRUS, OTTER, and a peacock TAIL. Speaking of the lower right corner of the puzzle, I notice it is reminding us to STAY SEXY. All together, a delightful solve for a Wednesday morning.

And as promised: What does an invisible cat drink? Evaporated milk