December 15, 2020

Title: WATER CONTAINERS

Constructor: Gail Grabowski

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

POOL PLAYER (17A: Competitor with a cue stick)

WELL-INTENTIONED (39A: Based on benevolent aims)

SINK OR SWIM (62A: Success-vs.-failure dichotomy)

Theme synopsis: The first words of the theme answers are WATER CONTAINERS.

Things I learned:

• ELI (60A: "Daughters of the Dust" father) Daughters of the Dust is a 1991 movie written, directed, and produced by Julie Dash. Set in 1902, the film tells the story of three generations of Gullah women. The Gullah are African Americans living in an area of the southern United States who speak a creole language (Gullah) and whose culture is influenced by West African culture. As the clue states, ELI is the father in the movie. He is married to Eula. Their unborn child narrates the film. In 2004, Daughters of the Dust was chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the Unites States National Film Registry.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ELOPE (15A: Avoid wedding formalities) and WED (33D: Married) A nice pair of related answers even though the clues weren't linked.
• PEKE (67A: ___-a-Tese (dog breed)) A PEKE-a-tese is cross between a Pekingese and a Maltese. Also sometimes referred to as a Maltipeke. The PEKE-a-tese is considered a "designer dog," a result of a trend in the 1980s when various mixes of pure-bred dogs were used in an attempt to create smaller, hypo-allergenic breeds. 
• JOY (7D: Poet Harjo) JOY Harjo is currently the United States Poet Laureate, and was recently appointed to a third term. I learned about JOY Harjo from the June 20 puzzle, and so when I saw the news or her reappointment as poet laureate last month, I was familiar with her name and work. Thank you puzzle! Harjo is the first Native American to serve as Poet Laureate, and only the second to serve a third term. (Robert Pinsky served as Poet Laureate from 1997-2000.)
• OLIN (57D: "The Artist's Wife" star Lena) The release of the movie, The Artist's Wife, was delayed from April to September of this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. LENA Olin plays the role of Claire, the wife of a famed artist who is faced with deciding whether to live in her husband's shadow (as he is diagnosed with dementia) or pursue her own painting career.

Geography review:

• SEINE (50D: River through Paris) The SEINE, which flows through Paris, France and into the English Channel, has provided inspiration for many artists, including Georges Seurat. Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is set on an island in the SEINE.

This puzzle! Just when I thought we had developed a RAPPORT, it SASSED me. I HATE that. Then it decided to CHIDE me for using the word HATE frivolously (instead of reserving it for things worthy of the emotion such as injustice). ALAS, I thought the puzzle was my PAL; what a SLAP in the face. You wanted a feud, puzzle, but IT'S time to END IT. You might have put me in a MAJOR SNIT, but I decided to use my WIT instead. I will not say, "I FOLD." You LOSE, puzzle.

Silliness aside, this was a fine and enjoyable puzzle. A straightforward theme, with nice theme answers. It was fun that one of the theme answers also contained the word SWIM, which we might do in our POOL. I also liked seeing CARP and PESCI (Italian for fishes) to SWIM in our WATER CONTAINERS. At first I thought POOL PLAYER might be POOL SHARKS, which would have been fun, too. This puzzle was a delightful way to start my Tuesday.