January 23, 2021

Title: THE A-A TEAM

Constructor: Evan Kalish

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

JESSICA ALBA (20A: "Dark Angel" star)

JACINDA ARDERN (37A: Prime minister elected in 2017)

MAYA ANGELOU (57A: Writer of seven autobiographies)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer is a woman whose first name ends with an A, and last name begins with an A. Therefore, each answer contains an "A-A" string.

And now a few words from our constructor:

Evan: 37-Across is amazing, and at the time of the puzzle’s writing she had not made an appearance in a widely distributed U.S. crossword. This puzzle set out to rectify that disturbance in the Force, noting that Mary Lou Guizzo’s Oct. 2, 2020 Inkubator puzzle also featured the Prime Minister front and center: https://crosswordfiend.com/2020/10/01/friday-october-2-2020/

Things I learned:

• REESE (60A: American Indians in Children's Literature founder Debbie) American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) was founded by Debbie REESE in 2006 to analyze representations of Native and indigenous peoples in children's literature. Their website contains an abundant amount of helpful information not only for selecting children's books, but for educating yourself about indigenous peoples. I could have spent all morning exploring the site instead of finishing this write-up! Instead, I've bookmarked the site for later. 
• HARP (35D: Instrument for Ahya Simone) HARPist, singer-songwriter, and filmmaker, Ahya Simone describes her latest single, "Frostbite," as "a conversation about the feeling of being isolated while longing for connection and belonging." 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• JESSICA ALBA (20A: "Dark Angel" star) In the TV series, Dark Angel, JESSICA ALBA played the role of Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced transgenic supersoldier created in a government lab.
• SQUASH (33A: Food with acorn and spaghetti varieties) I like both of these varieties of SQUASH, as well as butternut, zucchini, pumpkin...well, you get the idea. Mmmmm, SQUASH. Acorn SQUASH is apparently also called Des Moines SQUASH. (I've never heard it called this, even when I lived in Des Moines.) Spaghetti SQUASH is so named because when cooked, the strands of SQUASH resemble spaghetti. I think this name is unfortunate, because people expect it to taste like spaghetti and are disappointed when it tastes like SQUASH. 
• JACINDA ARDERN (37A: Prime minister elected in 2017) JACINDA ARDERN is the 40th prime minister of New Zealand. She has received praise for her introduction of strict gun laws following the Christchurch Mosque shootings, and for her capable leadership of New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• QUOTES (43A: "Air" or "scare" punctuation) Air QUOTES are quotation marks formed with one's fingers when speaking. Scare QUOTES (also called shudder QUOTES!) are quotation marks placed around words or phrases to indicate they are being used in an ironic or non-standard sense. I enjoyed this clue, and the fact that it contained QUOTES.
• OBAMA (54A: "I would have voted for ___ for a third term if I could" ("Get Out" line)) Get Out is a 2017 horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele.
• MAYA ANGELOU (57A: Writer of seven autobiographies) That's a lot of autobiographies! MAYA ANGELOU's first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was published in 1969 and was about her life up to age 17. The next five autobiographies each covered a few years of her life. The final book, Mom & Me & Mom, published in 2013, was an overview of MAYA ANGELOU's life and discussed her relationship with her mother. 
• ALIAS (6D: Sasha Fierce, for Beyonce, e.g.) Beyoncé titled her third studio album, I Am...Sasha Fierce, after her alter ego.
• SCOT (33D: Get off ___-free) If you're interested in the origin of this phrase, I wrote about it in the blog post for the October 6, 2020 puzzle. Since the phrase is not referring to the Scottish people, the S does not need to be capitalized (unless of course it's a puzzle answer and that's the format used!)

Geography review:

• SENECA (2D: Nation in western New York) The SENECA Nation of Indians is based in western New York near Buffalo.
• IRAQI (21D: Resident of Baghdad or Basra) Baghdad is the capital of Iraq. Basra is Iraq's main port.
• RED (39D: Main color of the Turkish and Tunisian flags) The flag of Turkey is RED with a white star and crescent. The flag of Tunisa is RED, with a white circle surrounding a RED star and crescent. 

I give this puzzle an A...and another A! Nice theme which featured three accomplished women. I also appreciated learning about Debbie REESE and American Indians in Children's Literature, and Ahya Simone. Appropriate to have the answer FEMALE in the puzzle. Other nice entries: JOUSTERS, CAT SIT, QUOTES, and AGREED. This puzzle was a delightful way to start my Saturday.