October 8, 2020

Title: SWOLE

Constructor: David Steinberg

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

QUAD BIKE (17A: Off-road ride)

TRI-TIP (19A:Three-sided beef cut)

TRAP MUSIC (37A: Rico Nasty genre) 

BI ICON (60A: Josephine Baker or Lady Gaga, e.g.)

AB INITIO (62A: Latin for "from the beginning")

Theme synopsis: SWOLE is defined as extremely muscular. The first word of each theme answer refers to a muscle. We have a QUAD (quadricep), TRI (tricep), TRAP (trapezius), BI (bicep), and an AB (abdominal muscle).

Things I learned:

• TRAP MUSIC (37A: Rico Nasty genre) TRAP MUSIC is a subgenre of hip hop that uses synthesized drums and is characterized by complicated drum patterns. Rico Nasty is the professional name of Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly. Her music has elements of TRAP MUSIC and punk rap. She has said she "resonates with being a pop-punk princess."
• AB INITIO (62A: Latin for "from the beginning") The Latin phrase AB INITIO is used in law to refer to something being the case from the start (as opposed to when the court declared it so). The term is also used in science and engineering to refer to things that rely on basic laws of nature. In literature the term is used to refer to a story that is told from the beginning rather than from the middle of the story. Even with a background in science, this was a completely new term to me. I was grateful for fair crossing answers, as it took them all for me to uncover this answer.
• CHICANA (12D: Cisneros or Tafolla, e.g.) CHICANA is a chosen identity for people of Mexican descent born in the United States. Sandra Cisneros is a CHICANA writer and the author of The House on Mango Street. Carmen Tafolla is a CHICANA writer and a Professor Emerita of Bicultural Bilingual Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She has published poetry, short stories, and children's books, including This River Here: Poems of San Antonio, and What Can You DO with a Paleta? I learned the term CHICANA from the July 12 puzzle, but both of these authors were new to me. This was another instance where I relied on crossing answers to discover this answer. I am always happy to learn about new authors, and will be looking for their books.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ABJECT (8A: Bad, like some failures) and TRASHY (16A: Bad, like some TV) This was a fun pair of clues. 
• QUAD BIKE (17A: Off-road ride) A QUAD BIKE is also known as an all-terrain vehicle (ATV). QUAD BIKEs are not street legal in most states.
• LAG (48A: Gamer's annoyance) My first tries here were BUG and ADS. Who knew there were so many 3-letter annoyances faced by gamers?
• BI ICON (60A: Josephine Baker or Lady Gaga, e.g.) Josephine Baker was an entertainer, French resistance agent, and civil rights activist. Although Josephine Baker had four marriages to men, she had relationships with several women. Lady Gaga is a singer, songwriter, and actress. Lady Gaga identifies as bisexual. This answer was challenging to me because it looks so strange when it is smashed together. What is a BIICON? Figuring out the puzzle theme helped me parse this correctly.
• NIQABS (1D: Face covering veils) NIQĀBS are worn by some Muslim women. It is a type of hijab that covers the face, leaving only the eyes visible. I have heard this term, but it was not familiar enough to me to be able to come up with it without a lot of help from crossing answers.
• JAIL (10D: Modern abolitionist's bane) Prison abolition is a modern movement that seeks to abolish the current prison system and build a more equitable society. A thorough discussion of this movement is beyond the scope of this blog, but I encourage you to read more about it. 
• SIA (39D: "Cheap Thrills" singer) SIA performs her third act in my imaginary concert featuring "Crossword-Friendly One-Named Singers." Hmmm, maybe I'll make a playlist...

Geography review:

• PISA (36A: Leaning Tower's home) In addition to being the home of the famous Leaning Tower, PISA, Italy is also home to more than 20 other historic churches and several medieval palaces. The Leaning Tower of PISA is a free-standing bell tower, or campanile, and is part of the PISA Cathedral. Its nearly four-degree lean is a result of an unstable foundation.
• TAMPA (52A: Florida city home to Ybor City) Ybor City is a historic neighborhood in TAMPA, Florida. It was founded in the 1880s by cigar manufacturers, and for many years was populated almost entirely by immigrants from Cuba, Spain, and Italy.
• UCLA (38D: Public Ivy in the Golden State) The Golden State is a nickname for California. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is the second-oldest institution in the University of California system. (UC Berkeley is the oldest.)

The first thing I did when I saw the title of this puzzle was look up the definition of the word SWOLE! I admit SWOLE is not a word I use on a regular basis. (Actually, I'm pretty sure I've never used it.) My husband's response when I showed him the puzzle was, "What's a SWOLE?" I was glad I took the time to refresh my memory of the meaning of SWOLE, as it then made the puzzle's theme pretty easy to spot. It's a clever theme, and an interesting arrangement of theme answers in the third and thirteenth rows, leaving the center of the puzzle wide open. I almost wondered if I was missing some aspect of the theme in the center of the puzzle. As always, if I am, let me know! 

Addendum: As I suspected, and as Bethany pointed out (Thank you!) I initially missed TRAP MUSIC as a theme answer. TRAP is short for the trapezius muscle.

As noted above, I faced some challenges with a few entries. It's okay to be challenged by a puzzle, though, so it's all good! (I also worked the puzzle a couple of hours earlier than usual because of morning commitments, so it's possible I wasn't fully awake and caffeinated!) It was fun to see a David Steinberg puzzle in the USA Today. David is the editor of the Universal crossword puzzles. This puzzle was an enjoyable part of my Thursday morning.

Addendum: As I was entering information on some spreadsheets I use to keep track of puzzle data, I noticed some ABs I had missed! This SWOLE puzzle also has ABs in ABJECT, TAB, NIQABS, and ABA. There's also a BI in QUAD BIKE.