December 5, 2020

Title: B SIDES

Constructor: Matthew Stock

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

BIOLOGY LAB (17A: STEM class)

BOOK CLUB (31A: Group for readers)

BLUE CRAB (44A: Maryland's state crustacean)

BREAD CRUMB (61A: Part of an edible trail)

BLURB (31D: Promotional paragraph)

Theme synopsis: The theme answers have the letter B on each SIDE.

And now a word from our constructor:

Matthew: Working with the short theme entries in this puzzle was really fun, since it gave me the flexibility to supersize those top right and bottom left corners (and the opportunity to squeeze an extra minithemer in at 31-Down!). Cluewise, 68-Across and the repetition at 50-Across/66-Across in particular make me smile. Hope you enjoy!

Things I learned:

• ANI (52A: Waspada co-founder Idris) Waspada is the second oldest continuously published newspaper in Indonesia. Waspada was first published in the midst of the Indonesian National Revolution, on January 11, 1947, by ANI Idrus and her husband, Mohammad Said.
• ELLE (4D: Gaming journalist Osili-Wood) ELLE Osili-Wood is a TV presenter, journalist, and gaming consultant who was named one of the most influential women in gaming by Gamesindustry.biz. Here's a fun thing: ELLE Osili-Wood has already tweeted about being an answer in today's puzzle!
• PARSEC (40D: Unit of distance in astronomy) The PARSEC is a unit of length used to measure large distances in the space. One PARSEC is approximately equal to 19 trillion miles, and equates to about 3.3 light years.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• GOGI (10A: Korean for meat) Bulgogi, the Korean grilled dish made of thinly-sliced marinated beef or pork, translates to "fire meat."
• TOWER (20A: Tall structure) and JENGA (22A: Game with a toppling 20-Across) This was a fun clue pairing, and I enjoyed seeing JENGA in the puzzle. Filling in JENGA immediately evoked the anxiety one gets when the TOWER gets really tall, and you tense up waiting for that moment it will come crashing down. Even though I know it's coming, I still flinch every time!
• QUE (23A: "___ haces?") I'm writing a crossword blog, which you are now reading. "QUE haces?" is Spanish for "What are you doing?"
• PAN (28A: Prefix for "Africanism") PAN-Africanism is a movement to encourage bonds of solidarity among ethnic groups of African descent. The movement includes those living in Africa as well as people in the Americas and Europe with predominantly African ancestry.
• BLUE CRAB (44A: Maryland's state crustacean) In case you were wondering, six U.S. states have designated state crustaceans. In addition to Maryland, they are Louisiana (crawfish), Oregon (Dungeness crab), Alabama (brown shrimp), Maine (lobster), and Texas (Texas Gulf Shrimp).
• DOS (50A: Uno mas uno) and TRES (66A: Uno mas uno mas uno) When I came to the answer for DOS, I was excited that I could figure it out. (I know a smattering of Spanish, so small victories are to be celebrated.) Then when I encountered the clue for TRES, it made me smile. Fun repetition.
• ARIE (65A: Singer India.___) India.ARIE is a singer and songwriter. Her 2003 album, Voyage to India, won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. 
• MILE (7D: The Magnificent ___ (Chicago district)) The Magnificent MILE is a section of Michigan Avenue in Chicago. It was named in the 1940s by real estate developer, Arthur Rubloff. Rent on the Magnificent MILE is the eighth most expensive in the U.S. This clue/answer made me miss Chicago! More specifically, it made me miss my favorite person in Chicago, my daughter, Leah. 
• BEAT POETS (8D: Bob Kaufman and Diane di Prima, e.g.) The Beat Generation was a movement started by a group of authors whose work explored American culture and politics in the time following World War II. The origin of the Beat Generation can be traced to Columbia University. Bob Kaufman and Diane di Prima were POETS associated with the BEAT Movement.
• LEO (25D: Sign before Virgo) Shoutout to my fellow LEOs!
• DOG (27D: Clifford is a big red one) Clifford the Big Red Dog is a children's book series written by Norman Bridwell. Clifford is a giant red Vizsla, and is the official mascot of Scholastic. The storiess have been adapted to TV, film, and video games. I have good memories of reading the Clifford books to my children, and still have quite a few of them on my bookshelves.
• BLURB (36D: Promotional paragraph) Okay, before you complain that I included BLURB as a theme answer even though the Bs are technically at the top and bottom, not at the sides, I do realize that. However, BLURB is a fun word to say, and I enjoyed seeing it as a bonus word beginning and ending in B.
• ALBUM ART (36D: Images accompanying a musical release) This was a lovely bonus answer for a puzzle whose title refers to the second side of a record!

Geography review:

• ISTANBUL (13D: Turkey's most populous city) ISTANBUL is not only the most populous city in Turkey; it is also the largest city in Europe.
• JFK (22D: Airport in Queens) John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is in Queens, New York, and is one of the main airports serving New York City.
• ARAB (59D: The "A" in UAE) UAE = United Arab Emirates

While it's always impressive to see long, grid-spanning theme answers, I find it equally enjoyable to have a theme of shorter answers, which can place fewer restraints on the grid, and, as Matthew noted, allow for some nice bonus answers. In addition to the aforementioned ALBUM ART, I also enjoyed SALSA BAR and TRUE LIFE. That lower left corner was a lot of fun! I enjoyed the cluing in the puzzle, also. The clue for BEAD was enjoyably misleading and tricky. (Belt, bracelet...? Ah...BEAD!) There was nothing in this puzzle to make me IRATE. It was a delightful way to start my Saturday.