October 9, 2020

Title: LET'S ROLL

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

MOVIE SETS (20A: Filming backdrops)

BOWLING ALLEYS (34A: Places for strikes and spares)

SUSHI BARS (52A: Spicy tuna sellers)

Theme synopsis: The theme answers are all locations where you might say, "LET'S ROLL!" We have cameras rolling on MOVIE SETS, balls rolling at BOWLING ALLEYS, and food rolled up at SUSHI BARS.

Things I learned:

• AQUA (9A: "Barbie Girl" band) Released in 1997, "Barbie Girl" was the third single for the dance-pop band AQUA. The song's double entendres led to a lawsuit from Barbie doll makers, Mattel. In 2002, the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge who ruled, "The parties are advised to chill."
• NIA (36D: Director DaCosta) NIA DaCosta wrote and directed the movie Little Woods. She will direct Captain Marvel 2 for Marvel Studios, making her the first Black woman to direct a Marvel Studios film.
• POP (42A: Normani genre) Normani became a part of the girl group Fifth Harmony on the TV series The X Factor. I learned about Fifth Harmony from the October 1 puzzle. Normani competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2017, and collaborated with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj to record a song for the Charlie's Angels' soundtrack.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PORTALS (27A: Stargates and such) A stargate, first seen in the 1994 film, Stargate, is a device that allows rapid travel between two distant locations. Wikipedia is careful to let me know such PORTALS are fictional, but wouldn't it make life interesting if they weren't?
• SOO (29A: Actress Phillipa) Phillipa SOO played the role of Eliza Hamilton in the Broadway musical Hamilton. My husband and I had tickets to see Hamilton (for the third time) in December. That's not happening, sadly. Maybe next year.
• TIA (39A: Hermana de mama) That is, the sister of your mother, also known as your aunt.
• PEA (42A: Fairy tale insomnia source) This is a fun clue! It took me far longer than it should have to connect this clue to The Princess and the PEA.
• QUEEN BEY (10D: Nickname for the singer of "Single Ladies") My daughter just downloaded the USA Today puzzle app this week. As soon as I filled in this answer I texted her that she would know and love 10 Down in today's puzzle. She did! Always nice to see a shoutout to Beyoncé, the QUEEN BEY.
• RUNNY (49D: Like some noses and eggs) This clue made me laugh out loud. I read the clue to my husband who said, "Brown?" That made me laugh again!
• BOAT (53D: "Whatever floats your ___") Another fun clue! This phrase, which I've been known to say, always reminds me of "Whatever," a 1982 country song by The Statler Brothers. The song is full of "Whatever" phrases such as "Whatever peels your banana," and "Whatever plays your piano." Interestingly, when I looked up the lyrics to this song, it doesn't actually contain the phrase, "Whatever floats your BOAT," but instead says, "Whatever sails your boat." Huh. My memory is playing tricks on me.

Geography review:

• ERIE (18A: Lake with an unsettling-sounding name) When I fill ERIE in as an answer, it's like greeting an old friend. Hello, ERIE, it's nice to see you again. This is the first time we've seen ERIE in the month of October. Lake ERIE is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes. Shallow is a relative term, as the average depth of Lake ERIE is 63 feet.

What a delightful puzzle! A fun theme with clever theme answers - not a BAD APPLE in the bunch. Additionally, we have shoutouts to QUEEN BEY and Phillipa SOO, and an opportunity to PEEK and PEER at a SALE ITEM to decide whether or not to accept it AS IS. HEY, if we're shopping online we might encounter a challenging CAPTCHA. An enjoyable way to start off my Friday morning. 

I will leave you heading into the weekend with a reminder to make a plan to vote in the November 3 election. It's always important to exercise your right to vote. I mailed in my absentee ballot yesterday.