October 14, 2020

Title: ROYAL FAMILY

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard & Paolo Pasco

Theme Answers:

BLUE RIBBON (17A: County fair prize) 

COURT DISASTER (23A: Tempt fate)

FLUSH WITH CASH (50A: Rich)

PAIN RELIEF (60A: Tiger Balm's purpose)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer can be placed after the word ROYAL to form a new phrase. We have a FAMILY of ROYAL phrases: ROYAL BLUE, ROYAL COURT, ROYAL FLUSH, and ROYAL PAIN.

Things I learned:

• DRE (24D: Miriam A. Hyman's "The Chi" character) The Chi is a TV series about life in a South Side Chicago neighborhood. Miriam A. Hyman plays the role of high school counselor, Dre.
• TECHS (41D: "Glitch ___" (animated series)) A series of glitches have caused video game characters to manifest in the real world, where they create havoc. This is the premise of Glitch Techs, named for the gamers who are secretly dealing with the glitches.
• ALEXA (53D: Fashion designer Chung) ALEXA Chung is a model who released her own fashion label, Alexachung, in 2017. According to their website, Alexachung is "inspired by everything from Jane Birkin's insouciance to David Hockney's stripy sweater."
• ELI (62D: "Love Live!" character hidden in this clue) Love Live! School Idol Project is a Japanese multimedia project revolving around a group of nine schoolgirl friends, one of whom is ELI. The girls become idols to save their school from shutting down. Love Live! launched as a comic in an issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, and now includes music CDs, anime music videos, manga adaptations, an anime TV series, and video games.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• VELCRO (33A: Fastener with hooks and loops) VELCRO was invented by George de Mestral who wondered why burdock seeds clung to his coat and dog. Mestral named his invention VELCRO, a portmanteau of two French words: "velour" and "crochet." Every adult who has put shoes on a young child thanks George de Mestral for his invention.
• NOLAN (46A: ESPN host Katie) Katie NOLAN hosts Always Late with Katie NOLAN on ESPN2. You may recall from the June 10 puzzle that NOLAN also set a Guinness World Record for stacking donuts while blindfolded.
• PAIN RELIEF (60A: Tiger Balm's purpose) Tiger Balm is a brand of ointment containing camphor, menthol, mint oil, cajuput oil, and clove oil. It is produced by the Singapore-based Haw Par Corporation, and sold in a hexagonal container.
• HINDU (3D: Like Holi and Diwali) Holi is a HINDU festival celebrating the arrival of spring. Holi is celebrated during the HINDU month of Phalguna (mid-March). Diwali is the HINDU festival of lights and is celebrated during the HINDU month Kartika (between mid-October and mid-November).
• RUSSO (18D: "Wizards of Waverly Place" surname) was a TV series about three siblings with magical abilities. The RUSSO family made a previous appearance in the puzzle on July 2.
• RABBI (35D: Yeshiva instructor) A Yeshiva is a Jewish school focusing on the study of traditional religious texts and Jewish law.

Geography review:

• MIAMI (15A: Coconut Grove's city) Coconut Grove is the oldest, continuously-inhabited neighborhood of MIAMI, Florida.
• INDUS (19A: River through Pakistan) One of the longest rivers in Asia, the INDUS River flows through China and India, as well as Pakistan.
• SYRIA (28A: Burj Islam's country) Burj Islam, SYRIA is a popular summer resort village that has a white rock beach.
• OSLO (66A: Political center of Norway) OSLO is the capital of Norway. 
• OMAN (31D: Country hidden in Romania) OMAN is a country on the Arabian peninsula in western Asia. Its capital and most populous city is Muscat. Romania is a European country. Its capital is Bucharest.

I enjoyed this puzzle's theme. Some nice theme answers, especially COURT DISASTER and FLUSH WITH CASH. The resulting new phrases were fun, too, especially ROYAL PAIN. We have an interesting zoo in this puzzle, with GNUS, SLUGS, a HYENA, and APES, with a few elephant EARS and a dog beach (ARF) thrown in. The puzzle was not LABORIOUS at all. It was a delightful start to my Wednesday. No desire to UNSEE this puzzle. I award it a BLUE RIBBON.