December 4, 2020

Title: SEEING STARS

Constructor: Brooke Husic

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

SHOOTING GUARDS (20A: Some basketball players, position-wise)

GOLD MEDAL (33A: One of four for Biles in 2016)

ROCK CANDY (45A: Crystallized snack)

ALL DAY EVERY DAY (55A: 24/7)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer can precede the word STAR, giving us SHOOTING STAR, GOLD STAR, ROCK STAR, and ALL STAR.

And now a word from our constructor:

Brooke: Always happy and grateful to be back in the USA Today! I would love to hear what you think about this puzzle in the comments below or on twitter @xandraladee.
Since 99% of the spotify users in your life are probably sharing their 2020 Wrapped screenshots, I think it's worth mentioning that I continually update a public spotify playlist that contains every song I've ever mentioned in a published crossword puzzle. Today's additions are 24A and 70A (both absolute bangers).
If you like my taste in music and/or my puzzles, then I recommend my upcoming puzzle with the Inkubator which drops this coming Thursday! The Inkubator is a fantastic outlet publishing crossword puzzles by trans women, cis women, and women-aligned constructors, and if you subscribe for 2021 now you also get the December 2020 puzzles. It comes out to less than $1 a puzzle!

Things I learned:

• EPPS (69A: Astronaut Jeanette) Jeanette EPPS is an aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut. EPPS is currently scheduled to be part of the crew on the first operational mission of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner to the International Space Station. That mission is planned for sometime in 2021.
• GRAY (32D: Singer Macy) Macy GRAY is an R&B and soul singer-songwriter and actress. Her 1999-2000 song, "I Try," was an international hit, charting in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, and topping the charts in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. "I Try" has been featured on episodes of several TV shows, including Spin City, The Office, Mrs. Brown's Boys, and The Last Man on Earth.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• OOPS (24A: "___!...I Did It Again") "Oops!...I Did It Again" is a song by Britney Spears, off her second album of the same name. The song is featured in this year's Christmas ad for the British grocery retailer, Tesco.
• GOLD MEDAL (33A: One of four for Biles in 2016) At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Simone Biles won individual GOLD MEDALs in all-around, vault, and floor. She also won a GOLD MEDAL as part of the U.S. gymnastics team nicknamed the "Final Five." We saw the Final Five in a clue in last Saturday's puzzle. 
• NOVAS (39A: Bright astronomical events) NOVAS are transient astronomical events (lasting for a few seconds to a few years) that cause the sudden appearance of a bright light in the sky which is sometimes mistaken for a "new" star. The word NOVA means "new star." It was fun to see NOVAS in the center of the puzzle as a STAR bonus.
• ALL DAY EVERY DAY (55A: 24/7) ALL DAY EVERY DAY is a great answer. I also like that this 14-letter answer can be clued efficiently as 24/7. Fun contrast between short clue and long answer.
• NNEKA (63A: 2016 WNBA MVP Ogwumike) NNEKA Ogwumike is a basketball player for WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. I learned this from the November 20 puzzle (also by Brooke Husic). NNEKA's younger sister, Chiney, also plays for the Sparks.
• OTTER (67A: Mammal that might eat 20 pounds of food per day) To put this consumption in perspective, the average person eats three to five pounds of food a day.
• WHOSE (70A: Shania Twain's "___ Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?") "WHOSE Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" is a 1995 single from Shania Twain's album, The Woman in Me.
• MOCHI (3D: Japanese rice cakes) MOCHI are made of short-grain japonica glutinous rice. The rice is pounded into a paste and molded into cakes.
• BEAN (7D: Adzuki, e.g.) The adzuki BEAN is also known as the red mung BEAN.
• NAMASTE (10D: Respectful greeting) NAMASTE is a customary, non-contact form of Hindu greeting, usually spoken with a slight bow with hands held together, palms touching and fingers pointing up.
• ODOM (21D: "Failing Up" author Leslie ___ Jr..) Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning is a 2018 book by Leslie ODOM, Jr., who also originated the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway.
• YOLO (61D: Acronym akin to "carpe diem") YOLO = You Only Live Once. (It also can mean You Only Look Once - see the write-up for the November 28 puzzle.) 

Geography review:

• SEA (1D: Sargasso or Caribbean) The Sargasso SEA is a region of the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike other SEAs, it has no land boundaries. It is characterized by its deep blue water and exceptional clarity, and is named for the Sargassum seaweed found there. The Caribbean SEA is bounded by Mexico, Central America, the Greater Antilles, and South America.
• OREGON (9D: Home to Mount Hood) Mount Hood is a potentially active volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, and is the highest mountain in OREGON.
• ASIA (44D: Most populous continent) ASIA is home to over 4.5 billion people. This is the first December appearance of our crossword-friend ASIA.

Who doesn't like to see STARS? This was a delightful theme with solid theme answers and fun resulting theme phrases. As mentioned above, I also enjoyed SEEING the bonus STAR-related NOVAS in the center of the puzzle. I enjoyed the cluing for I SHOULD - haven't we all received advice we might not take? The grid was fun, too. I liked the "stair step" effect of the black squares through the center of the grid. Solving this puzzle was a lovely start to my Friday morning. 

I second Brooke's recommendation to subscribe to the Inkubator! It's a great deal, the puzzles are fantastic, and it's a fabulous way to support women constructors.