October 1, 2020

Title: FINAL SCORES

Constructor: Patrick Jordan

Editor: Erik Agard & Paolo Pasco

Theme Answers:

SHORT TERM GOAL (20A: Near-future target)

CROSS COUNTRY RUN (39A: Competition on natural terrain)

LAUNDRY BASKET (52A: Container for dirty clothes)

Theme synopsis: The FINAL word in each theme answer is a way to SCORE in some sport. You can SCORE a GOAL, a RUN, or a BASKET.

Things I learned:

• RODE (34A: Took a tuk-tuk, say) A tuk-tuk is a motorized version of a rickshaw. Most have three wheels and are not fully enclosed. This clue is a good example of cluing an ordinary word in a way that might teach some solvers (like me!) something new. The word is recognizable and inferable once you fill in one or two letters from crossing letters.
• BOSS (66A: Fifth Harmony song with the lyric "Every day is pay day") Fifth Harmony is a girl group that was formed during the second season of the TV singing competition The X Factor. "Every day is pay day" is the first line of the song, "BOSS," which was on their debut album, Reflection. A fun puzzle tie-in - the lyrics of "BOSS" also include 37-Across multiple times.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MAMA (10A: "Lip Gloss" artist Lil ___) I have a sentimental attachment to this song, which you may recall reading about in my August 22 puzzle write-up. In addition to being a singer, Lil MAMA is also an actress and TV personality. She was a judge on America's Best Dance Crew for seven seasons. 
• MESSI (17A: Soccer star Lionel) Lionel MESSI plays soccer for the Argentina national team, and plays professionally for the Spanish club Barcelona. MESSI is considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Interestingly, being European, MESSI would describe himself as a football player.
• OBAMA (37A: Let's Move! leader Michelle) Let's Move! was a public health campaign started by Michelle OBAMA when she was first lady of the United States. The movement aimed to encourage healthier food in schools, better food labeling, and more physical activity for children.
• WEIRDO (5D: Strange sort, unkindly) I appreciate the addition of the word unkindly in this clue. It's important not to normalize unkind labels.
• LOUIS (29D: Armstrong who signed letters "Red beans and ricely yours") This is an "added value" clue. The clue could have simply been [Armstrong] but instead we received a bonus and learned this fun fact!
• BYTE (38D: "Take a ___" (Janelle Monae song from "Dirty Computer")) Adding the name of the album here makes the answer (a computer term) inferable even if you are unfamiliar with the song.
• TEAM (58D: Word after "go" or "home") Nice to have a TEAM in this puzzle about scoring in TEAM sports.

Geography review:

• AMAZON (25A: South American rainforest) Sixty percent of the AMAZON rainforest is located in Brazil, with the remainder in eight other countries: Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guinea, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. The AMAZON comprises over half of the planet's remaining rainforest.
• SWEDES (48A: Stockholmers, e.g.) Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. The city of Stockholm includes fourteen islands in the Baltic Sea. The area has been inhabited since the Stone Age (6000 BC).
• ASIA (11A: India's continent) Also a crossword constructor's favorite continent! It's always nice to see you, ASIA, even if it's only been three days. 

Today was one of those days where I was on the same wavelength as the puzzle, and the solve was smooth. I don't mind when the puzzles challenge me, but it's nice to have a solve like this once in awhile. An enjoyable theme which works well because the target words change meaning from the theme answers to the theme set. (I talked about this in yesterday's post.) I enjoyed the clue for AMUSE (32D: Coax a grin from) and WADDLE is just a fun word. This was definitely a delightful solve to start off the month of October.