December 23, 2020

Title: CRACK A SMILE

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers: 

GRASS STAIN (18A: Blemish on a sports uniform)

GREEN GOBLIN (26A: Archnemesis of Spider-Man)

GROUND CUMIN (43A: Garam masala ingredient)

GRAVY TRAIN (54A: Easy money source)

Theme synopsis: Each them answer begins with the letters GR- and ends with the letters -IN. Therefore, each answer CRACKS the word GRIN.

Things I learned:

• LOIS (11D: Artist ___ Mailou Jones) LOÏS Mailou Jones and her art are the subject of a recently published book by Rebecca VanDiver - Designing a New Tradition: LOÏS Mailou Jones and the Aesthetics of Blackness. The book discusses the artist's work from the 1920s to the 1990s.
• MIAMI (30D: "One Night in ___") One Night in MIAMI is a movie about a fictionalized meeting of Malcolm X, Muhammed Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke in a MIAMI hotel room in February 1964. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, and will be released by Amazon later this month. The movie is directed by Regina King, and the screenplay was written by Kemp Powers, based on a play he wrote with the same name.
• SCOT (41D: Shirley Manson, e.g.) Scottish singer, Shirley Manson, is the lead singer of the alt-rock band, Garbage. She has also done some acting, appearing in the season two premiere episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. 
• DIANNE (45D: "Rabbit Hole" actress Wiest) Rabbit Hole is a 2010 film about a couple, Becca and Howie, who are navigating grief after the death of their four-year-old son. DIANNE Wiest plays the role of Becca's mother, whose son died of a drug overdose.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• GREEN GOBLIN (26A: Archnemesis of Spider-Man) In Marvel Comics, the alias, GREEN GOBLIN, has been used by at least four different supervillains, the first of which was Norman Osborne. The GREEN GOBLIN's superpowers (and insanity) are chemically induced by a Goblin formula. The weapons used by GREEN GOBLIN resemble bats, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns.
• GROUND CUMIN (43A: Garam masala ingredient) Garam masala is a spice blend whose composition varies by region, but may contain bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, mace, cardamom, GROUND CUMIN, coriander, and/or chili powder.
• AIOLI (47A: Sauce similar to agliata) Both agliata and AIOLI are sauces whose main ingredient is garlic. 
• OWN (12D: "Greenleaf" channel) OWN is the Oprah Winfrey Network. Greenleaf is a TV series about the Greenleaf family and their megachurch in Memphis.
• OREO (52D: The Most Stuf cookie) Always nice to see our crossword cookie friend, OREO, in the puzzle. Have you heard about the Spam burger McDonald's has introduced in China featuring OREO crumbs and mayonnaise? It's important for us to keep up with OREO news, as I'm sure it's a matter of time before we see this use of the OREO cookie show up in a crossword.

Geography review:

• OSLO (9A: City with daily ferries to Copenhagen) Copenhagen, Denmark isn't the only place you can reach by ferry from OSLO. You can also take a daily ferry to Frederikshavn, Denmark, or Kiel, Germany.
• CAIRO (48A: City near the oldest of the Seven Wonders) The oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the Great Pyramid of Giza, dating back to 2584 B.C. The Great Pyramid of Giza is also the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing. 
• LAREDO (6D: Texas city with an annual Jalapeño Festival) LAREDO, Texas is a city in southern Texas on the U.S.-Mexico border. Its annual Jalapeño Festival is part of a month-long Washington's Birthday Celebration, and is one of the U.S.'s top ten eating festivals.
• STAN (19D: Ending of seven country names) Can you name them? Answer below.
• GARY (43D: Indiana city that's also a first name) I cannot think of (or drive through) GARY, Indiana without singing the song "GARY, Indiana" from The Music Man.

The puzzle made me SMILE. It really did! In fact, I smiled when I read the title, and again when I discovered the GRIN-cracking theme. The right center section of the puzzle proved a bit challenging for me. I originally had "me, too" instead of SO AM I, and this made it difficult to figure out ISLAMIC ART. In fact, I ended up looking up Shirley Manson, to discover she is a SCOT, and enable myself to finish the puzzle. (Stepping up on my soapbox...) So, I want to take this opportunity to say loud and clear, "It's okay to look things up when solving a crossword puzzle!" (Or to peek at the solution, or use the setting that highlights your errors. Or visit a blog to peek at the answers, say.) I only occasionally have to do this for the USA Today puzzles, but often do so when solving harder puzzles. It's not cheating. It's learning. We solve crosswords because they're fun. LET'S BE REAL - it's your puzzle-solving experience. Do whatever you need to do to enjoy the solve! (Stepping down off of my soapbox now.) This was an enjoyable puzzle to start my Wednesday. 

Answer: The seven countries whose names end with -STAN are Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.