December 16, 2020

Title: PRIME EXAMPLES

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

JUST IN TIME (17A: None too soon)

MISSING THE CUT (23A: Failing to qualify)

ORDINAL NUMBER (50A: First or second, e.g.)

AT THIS RATE (60A: "If things continue as they're going...)

Theme synopsis: The last word of each theme answer can follow the word PRIME, giving us PRIME TIME, PRIME CUT, PRIME NUMBER, and PRIME RATE.

Things I learned:

• MAE (40A: Blues musician Jessie ___ Hemphill) Jessie MAE Hemphill's specialty was North Mississippi hill country blues. Her first album, titled She-Wolf, was released in 1981, and reissued in 1998.
• RICCI (2D: RAINN spokesperson Christina) Actress and producer, Christina RICCI, is the current national spokesperson for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), and is a member of its National Leadership Council. RAINN is a nonprofit organization focused on preventing sexual assault, helping survivors, and ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice.
• LBJ (5D: Nickname for the 2020 NBA Finals MVP) Don't get mad at me because this is in the "Things I learned" section - I do know who LeBron James is! I did not know he is referred to as LBJ, nor that he was the 2020 NBA Finals MVP. LBJ, who has played for the Los Angeles Lakers since 2018, was also the NBA Finals MVP in 2012, 2013, and 2016. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• KACEY (15A: "Golden Hour" singer Musgraves) Released in 2018, Golden Hour is the fourth studio album for KACEY MUSGRAVES. The album won Grammy, Academy of Country Music, and Country Music Association Awards for Album of the Year, and is only the fifth album to win all three of these awards.
• ELOPE (38A: Run off to get hitched) This is the second day in a row the puzzle is making this suggestion. Hmmmm.
• REN (45A: ___ Faire (medieval-themed festival)) At a REN Faire, you might be addressed as "Lord" or "Lady," watch a jousting event, or purchase Renaissance-themed handcrafts at the shoppes. Of course, you will need to wait until it's safe to attend such an event, but I do recommend going if you have the opportunity.
• ORDINAL NUMBER (50A: First or second, e.g.) An ORDINAL NUMBER is used to indicate position of an item in a sequence. 
• RAIN (64A: Picnic spoiler) and GNAT (67A: Picnic pest) At first I had ANTS spoiling the picnic. When I reached the second picnic clue, I changed the answer to RAIN and made ANTS the picnic pest, completely ignoring that the clue would have needed to be plural for this to be correct. It all go sorted out in the end. (Did you notice my use of ORDINAL NUMBERs in this explanation?)
• OREOS (3D: A British competitive eater took down 141 of them in five minutes in 2020) His name is Max Stanford, he ate the OREOS two at a time, and for setting this record he got a £150 prize. This clue made me laugh - crossword constructors are always searching for creative ways to clue the favorite crossword cookie. (It also made me feel a bit ill, as all thought of competitive eating does.)
• DEB (30D: Congresswoman Haaland) DEB Haaland is a U.S. Representative from New Mexico. A member of the Laguna Pueblo people, she is one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress.
• DAN (34D: Rank in kendo) Kendo is a Japanese martial art that uses bamboo swords.
• PEARL (35D: Black ball in bubble tea) There are many varieties of bubble tea. The "bubbles" are chewy tapioca balls, or PEARLs.
• EVIAN (54D: Water brand that sponsors an LPGA major) The EVIAN Championship is a Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour tournament played at the EVIAN Resort Golf Club in France.

Geography review:

• AKRON (28A: Ohio tire city) The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is based in AKRON, Ohio, and gave the city the nickname "Rubber Capital of the World." In a nice tie-in with 5-Down, AKRON, Ohio is also the birthplace of LeBron James. 
• SERB (69A: Kosovo resident, perhaps) Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but its status remains disputed. Ninety-eight of the 193 member states of the United Nations recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state. Serbia claims Kosovo as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

A PRIME puzzle today, both in terms of its theme and execution. My favorite theme answers were JUST IN TIME and AT THIS RATE. My favorite non theme answer was YOU LOST ME. The puzzle did not lose me, though. It was an enjoyable solve to begin my Wednesday.