October 31, 2020

Title: GHOSTED

Constructor: Paolo Pasco

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

BLACK PEPPER (17A: Seasoning in a grinder)

TALK OF THE TOWN (27A: Subject of a lot of buzz)

SNAPCHAT STORY (43A: Collection of posts that disappear after 24 hours)

SINKING SHIP (58A: Failing company, metaphorically)

Theme synopsis: The last word of each theme answer can be preceded by the word GHOST, resulting in GHOST PEPPER, GHOST TOWN, GHOST STORY, and GHOST SHIP.

Things I learned:

• NIA (35A: Project ___ (youth advocacy group)) The word "NIA" means "with purpose" in Swahili. The purpose of Project NIA is to promote restorative and transformative justice practices in an effort to end the incarceration of children and young adults.
• TAMIA (15A: "Officially Missing You" artist) TAMIA is a Canadian R&B artist. "Officially Missing You" is a single from her third album, More. TAMIA is an advocate for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003. This appears to be the debut of TAMIA in (mainline) crosswords. I was not previously familiar with TAMIA, but will be adding her to my "Imaginary Concert of Crossword-Friendly-One-Named-Singers."
• WII U (47A: Console that sounds like two pronouns) The WII U was a Nintendo video game console from 2012 to 2017. My limited game console knowledge did not include the WII U (until today).
• ABBY (1D: Comedian Elliott) ABBY Elliott was a Saturday Night Live cast member from 2008 to 2012. She also played the role of Brooke Von-Weber on the TV series Odd Mom Out.
• PORK (18D: Crispy pata meat) Crispy pata is a Filipino dish of deep fried pig trotters (knuckles) served with a soy-vinegar dip.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• GHOST PEPPER (theme phrase) In 2007, the GHOST PEPPER was certified by Guinness World Records as the world's hottest chili pepper. It has since lost that title, as chili pepper growers continue to compete to grow the hottest pepper. A GHOST PEPPER is rated at more than one million Scoville Heat Units, 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce.
• TEA (29D: Drink such as salabat) Ginger TEA, an herbal drink made from ginger root, is called salabat in the Philippines.
• IDA (16A: ___ B. Wells Society (reporting group)) The IDA B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting was launched in 2015 by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Ron Nixon, Corey Johnson, and Topher Sanders. Named for investigative journalist, IDA B. Wells, the purpose of the society is to promote opportunities for investigative reporting among journalists of color.
• THERE (22A: "You had to be ___") Ah, the "location joke" disclaimer, "You had to be THERE."
• LES (64A: Laura of 100 Gecs) 100 Gecs is a musical duo of Dylan Brady and Laura LES. The name 100 Gecs was taken from some graffiti that was on a brick wall of Laura's college dorm.
• DATE (13D: Oct. 31, for Halloween) Timely! In a nod to Thursday's puzzle, my mug has
  
  dressed up as OSCAR the Grouch for Halloween. 
• CHAN (26D: "Crazy Rich Asians" actress Gemma) Gemma CHAN played the role of Astrid in Crazy Rich Asians. 
• TONY AWARDS ("Cats" won seven in 1983) That's Cats, the musical, not Cats, the 2019 movie. In response to a Cats clue in Tuesday's crossword, there was a discussion on Twitter about who might be responsible for an increase in Cats appearances in crosswords. The existence of this CATS (2019) puzzle was submitted as a possible clue. I'm not complaining...keep those Cats clues and answers coming!
• INTO (51D: "___ the Unknown") "INTO the Unknown" is a song from Frozen II.

Geography review:

• STATE (6A: Oaxaca or Ohio) Oaxaca is one of Mexico's 32 STATEs. Ohio is one of the 50 U.S. STATES.
• OAHU (37D: Island home to Waikiki Beach) OAHU is the third largest of the Hawaiian islands. Its nickname is "The Gathering Place." Waikiki Beach is on the south shore of OAHU.

A delightful and appropriate theme for Halloween. I enjoyed all of the theme answers, and appreciated that a couple of theme answers added some bonus features to the theme. The SNAPCHAT GHOST is the company's icon. (Also, the disappearance of a SNAPCHAT STORY is rather GHOST-like.) There are several things that BLACK GHOST could refer to, including the BLACK GHOST knifefish, a tropical fish found in South America. I tried to find a TALK GHOST and a SINKING GHOST, but to no avail. (Although a SINKING SHIP is what is said to lead to the appearance of a GHOST SHIP, so that's fun.) In addition to the theme, there were plenty of other answers and clues to enjoy. I appreciated learning about The NIA Project and TAMIA. I did chuckle to see IPO crossing the SINKING SHIP [failing company, metaphorically]. NO REASON to grumble about this puzzle, it was a delightful start to my Halloween Saturday. Happy Halloween! And if you live in a place that observes daylight saving time, enjoy your extra hour of sleep tonight.