December 25, 2020

Title: COMING AFTER

Constructor: Brooke Husic

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

BACK AND FORTH (19A: Discussion)

ANIMATED SHORT (34A: "Hair Love," for example)

BRINGS IT HOME (52A: Secures the win)

Theme synopsis: The word COMING can be placed AFTER the last word of each theme answer to form a new word: FORTHCOMING, SHORTCOMING, HOMECOMING.

And now a word from our constructor: 

Brooke: Merry Christmas! This crossword marks the start of a shift in my puzzlemaking for the USA Today. From this puzzle onward, I endeavor (especially when not collaborating) to select one or more long entries I want to feature before filling the grid. In this case, it was HE/HIM/HIS. I hope you like the ones I chose for the puzzles that "come after" this one! ;)
I am very grateful to Erik for reminding me that it's harmful to call pronouns "preferred" (see here) and that it's problematic to abbreviate movements such as Black Lives Matter (cf. 45D; see here). Erik also wrote some of this puzzle's best clues, including 32A and 29D. I'm happy for the literary subtheme that emerged (2020 Nobel laureate Louise Glück is one of my favorites), and I hope you find 22D fun. See you next year! xoxo, Brooke

Things I learned:

• ESME (67A: Author ___ Weijun Wang) ESMÉ Weijun Wang's first book is titled The Border of Paradise. Her second book, The Collected Schizophrenias, is a series of essays about Wang's experiences with schizoaffective disorder.  
• MANN (8D: Gospel singer Tamela) Tamela MANN began her gospel singing career with the group, Kirk Franklin and the Family. Since then she has released several solo albums. Her 2012 single, "Take Me to the King", was number one on Billboard's Gospel Songs chart. MANN also played the role of Cora Simmons in several of Tyler Perry's plays including I Can Do Bad All By Myself, and Madea's Family Reunion. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• DURAG (32A: It might be on the floor when you wake up) A DURAG can be worn while sleeping to keep wave patterns and braids from shifting.
• SULA (33A: Morrison novel that followed "The Bluest Eye") This is the second day in a row SULA has appeared in the puzzle. In yesterday's write-up, I noted that "SULA was Toni Morrison's second published novel." If I had a functional crystal ball, I would have added, "It followed the 1970 publication of The Bluest Eye, " to give you an edge for today's puzzle.
• ANIMATED SHORT (34A: "Hair Love," for example) If you have not yet seen the ANIMATED SHORT, Hair Love, give yourself a present and spend seven minutes of your time today watching it. It's delightful, and you'll see why it won an Academy Award for Best ANIMATED SHORT Film. 
• POI (50A: Samoan dessert) POI is a traditional Samoan dessert made from overripe bananas and coconut milk.
• ELI (63A: "One Night in Miami" star Goree) The movie One Night in Miami (which I wrote about two days ago), is a movie about a fictionalized meeting of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke. ELI Goree plays the role of Muhammad Ali.
• SEA (66A: "Mar" in English) Mar is the Spanish and Portuguese word for SEA.
• CAT (20A: Pusheen, for example) Pusheen is a cartoon CAT created by Claire Belton and Andrew Duff for the comic strip, "Everyday Cute." Since Pusheen's first appearance in 2010, the CAT has been featured in sticker sets and other merchandise. You can see examples of all things Pusheen on the CAT's website. (My CAT and I have a deal that requires I feature all appearances of the word CAT or CAT-related answers and clues.)
• OLDS (30D: Poet Sharon) Sharon OLDS won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Her publications include Stag's Leap and Odes.  
• APU (35D: Hari Kondabolu's "The Problem with ___") The Problem with APU is Hari Kondabolu's 2017 documentary focusing on the The Simpsons' character APU Nahasapeemapetilon. The film explores negative stereotypes of people of Indian and South Asian heritage.
• ALICIA (45D: Black Lives Matter co-founder Garza) Just taking this opportunity to remind you Black Live Matter. 
• ERG (47D: Rowing machine for short) I learned this from the December 17 puzzle, making me a little sad that I filled in this answer completely from crossing answers, and therefore didn't get to put my newly acquired knowledge to use. 
• IRIS (54D: Wild flower in a Louise Gluck title) Louise Glück is the 2020 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the author of The Wild IRIS. 

Geography review:

• ASIA (7D: Angkor Wat's continent) Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia. It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple for the Khmer Empire in the early 12th century, but gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple. This is the fourth December appearance for our crossword friend, ASIA.
• SAN (60A: ___ Francisco) SAN Francisco, California's nicknames include "The City by the Bay,"
  
  and "Golden Gate City." A trip to SAN Francisco and NAPA Valley with my daughter in January of this year was my last pre-COVID 19 vacation. I am thankful for great memories and anxious to begin traveling again!

BACK AND FORTH was my favorite theme answer today. I also enjoyed being reminded of the lovely ANIMATED SHORT, Hair Love. GO GETTER and PARADIGM were my favorite non-theme answers. This puzzle was a delightful way to start my Christmas Day. Merry Christmas, friends! It's an unusual Christmas for sure. My wish for you is that you experience joy on this day.