December 6, 2020

Title: OUTSIDE LANE

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

LAYS IT ON THE LINE (17A: Holds nothing back)

LION'S MANE (22A: Aslan's hair)

LAND OF THE FREE (54A: National anthem of Belize)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer contains the word LANE on its OUTSIDE edges, with some of the letters at the beginning of the answer, and the remaining letters at the end.

Things I learned:

• BIKE (1A: "If my grandmother had wheels, she would have been a ___") What a delightful, wacky clue to start off a puzzle! This phrase was new to me, but is apparently a classic phrase which has been around for many years. It has even been discovered in a book published in Germany in 1908. Used as a response to someone wishing a situation was different than reality, the phrase has variations in which grandmother would have been a wagon or a bus. In 2010, the phrase received a lot of attention when chef Gino D'Acampo said it on the British TV show, The Morning.
• EASEL (4D: Prop for Faith Ringgold) Faith Ringgold is an artist whose works include paintings, sculpture, and narrative quilts. She has also done performance art incorporating some of her works, and has written and illustrated 17 children's books. Ringgold's first children's book, Tar Beach, was based on a narrative quilt of the same name, and won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. Much of Ringgold's work focuses on stories and experiences of African American women.
• ELIE (58D: Fashion designer Saab) ELIE Saab is a Lebanese fashion designer with workshops in Lebanon, Milan, and Paris. Saab designed a gown worn to the Royal Ascot by Kate Middleton in 2019. Earlier this year, Saab's home, main office, and headquarters in Lebanon were badly damaged by the explosion of chemicals at the Beirut port.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LION'S MANE (22A: Aslan's hair) Aslan is the LION in the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, and is the only character to appear in all seven books of the series.
• NATO (41A: Brussels-based defense grp.) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance between 30 European and North American countries. NATO implements the North Atlantic Treaty signed in 1949.
• ANI (46A: Alex and ___ (jewelry brand)) Alex and ANI was founded in Rhode Island in 2004 by Carolyn Rafaelian, who named the jewelry brand after her two daughters.
• LENT (12D: Period starting on Feb. 17 in 2021) LENT is a period of the Christian year leading up to EASTER. It begins on Ash Wednesday, which will be February 17 next year, and lasts 40 days, not counting Sundays.
• MANDOPOP (39D: Music genre big in China) MANDOPOP refers to Mandarin popular music. 

Geography review:

• LAS (26A: ___ Vegas Raiders) The LAS Vegas Raiders are an NFL team. They play their home games in Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.
• LAND OF THE FREE (54A: National anthem of Belize) Belize is a Central American country on the Caribbean Sea. Belize gained full independence from the United Kingdom in 1981.
• OHIO (65A: Smallest four-letter state) Utah is the largest four-letter state, with Iowa falling in the middle. If there were one more four-letter states, the U.S. would have four four-letter states, and wouldn't that be fun? And if my grandmother had wheels, she would have been a BIKE!
• BALI (1D: Island with a lot of yoga retreats) BALI is a province of Indonesia. There are around 600 yoga retreats in BALI. 
• IRAN (2D: Country south of Azerbaijan) In addition to Azerbaijan, neighbors of IRAN are Armenia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, and Iraq. The capital of IRAN is Tehran.
• NEPALI (23A: Like many Sherpa people) The Sherpa people are a Tibetan ethnic group. Most Sherpa people live in Nepal.

This puzzle has left-right mirror symmetry. It is symmetrical along a vertical axis down the center of the puzzle. This is in contrast to 180 degree rotational symmetry seen in the majority of crossword puzzles. (A grid with rotational symmetry will look the same upside-down as it does right side up.) In order to use rotational symmetry, some of the puzzle's theme answers must be matched in length. Mirror symmetry is an option that is useful when theme answers are not paired in length, as seen with today's 15-, 9- and 13-letter theme answers. Okay, that's it for today's symmetry lesson! I enjoyed this puzzle. As noted above, it was fun to start off with an intriguing and somewhat silly clue at 1-Across. My favorite long Down answer was I CAN SEE WHY. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to start my Sunday morning.