February 6, 2021

Title: HIDDEN MESSAGES

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editors: Erik Agard & Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

TO WHAT EXTENT (20A: "How much?")

WENT EXTINCT (36A: Died out)

YEAST EXTRACT (54A: Vegemite ingredient)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer has the word TEXT HIDDEN inside of it.

Things I learned:

• PAIN (39A: Wong To Yick target) Wong To Yick is a brand of Wood Lock oil used as a topical analgesic to treat PAIN. Wong To Yick contains, camphor, menthol, methyl salicylate, and lavender oil.
• EAT (42A: Enjoy some nasi timbel) Nasi timbel is a dish of steamed rice wrapped in a banana leaf. It is a traditional dish in Sudanese cuisine.
• GIA (46A: "Mainstream" director Coppola) Along with directing the 2020 movie, Mainstream, GIA Coppola also co-wrote the screenplay. 
• DIOR (63A: Maria Grazia Chiuri is its first female creative director) Maria Grazia Chiuri has been the creative director at DIOR since July 2016. Prior to working at DIOR, Chiuri was the co-creative director at Valentino, and an accessories Designer for Fendi.
• LAM (11D: Fashion designer Derek) Derek LAM launched a brand of clothing for women in 2003. A second line, Derek LAM 10 Crosby, was started in 2011.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• EPEE (18A: Sword with two accents) When I read this clue, it occurred to me that if a person only saw the word ÉPÉE in crossword puzzles, they would not realize it had any accents at all. The ÉPÉE is one of three swords used in fencing, and the only one with an accent. (The other two fencing swords are the foil and sabre.)
• ENEMY (19A: Cheetah, to Wonder Woman) The DC Comics character, Cheetah, most frequently appears as an ENEMY for Wonder Woman, though she also has gone up against Batman and Superman. Kristen Wiig plays Cheetah in the movie, Wonder Woman 1984.
• GEO (33A: Prefix for "cache") A GEOcache is a container of items (usually a logbook, pencil, and a variety of small, inexpensive objects) which is hidden at a specific location for searchers to find using GPS coordinates. There are GEOcaches hidden in a variety of places. A quick search at GEOcaching.com revealed there are 875 GEOcaches in my area. It's been a few years since I've been GEOcaching - in fact, when we started GEOcaching, it was before the widespread availability of smartphones, and we used a dedicated GPS device. GEOcaching is a lot of fun, and a good way to explore an area.
• ANTS (35A: ___ on a log (healthy snack)) It's the second puzzle appearance this week for ANTS on a log. We last saw it in Thursday's puzzle. 
• ORG (45A: URL ending for TheTrevorProject) The Trevor Project is a national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people. 
• YEAST EXTRACT (54A: Vegemite ingredient) Vegemite, the spread made from leftover brewers' YEAST EXTRACT with vegetable and spice additives, was developed in Australia in 1922. Vegemite is similar to marmite, and has a salty, slightly bitter taste (or so I'm told).
• EELS (66A: Fish in unakyu rolls) Unakyu sushi rolls contain EEL and cucumber.
• ALEXA (7D: Actress Davalos) ALEXA Davalos played the role of Juliana Crain in the TV series, The Man in the High Castle.
• AMY (12D: Author Tan) The first AMY Tan novel I read was The Joy Luck Club, published in 1989. That novel has been adapted into a movie and a play. AMY Tan's other books include The Kitchen God's Wife, The Bonesetter's Daughter, and The Valley of Amazement.
• ASPEN (21D: "Quaking" tree) The quaking ASPEN is named because its leaves appear to tremble. A fun fact about ASPEN trees is they propagate through their roots, so when you see a grove of ASPEN trees, it is often one organism sharing a common root system.
• HOT (21D: Like gochujang paste) Gochujang paste is a HOT and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking. 
• MAC (58D: ___ and cheese (candy cane flavor)) That's not a typo, you can really buy MAC and cheese candy canes. You can also find candy canes in the following flavors: bacon, pickle, ketchup, PHO, shiitake mushroom, and kale. We live in an interesting world.

Geography review:

• SCOT (17A: Glasgow native) Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland, and the third most populous city in the United Kingdom. 
• SAMOA (56A: Country with an 'ava ceremony) SAMOA is a Polynesian island country located about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. The capital of SAMOA is Apia. The 'ava ceremony is a solemn ritual in which a ceremonial beverage is shared. The ceremony includes speeches and the drinking of 'ava, and is used to mark important occasions. 
• VIENNA (8D: Austria's largest city) In addition to being its largest city, VIENNA is also the capital of Austria.
• DETROIT (15D: First U.S. city to pave a road for cars) One mile of Woodward Avenue in DETROIT, Michigan was paved in 1909. The remaining 27 miles of Woodward Avenue were paved seven years later. Woodward Avenue was also the sight of the first three-color traffic light installation; that happened in 1919. 
• YORK (54D: City that first produced the Peppermint Pattie) Currently produced by the Hershey Company, the first YORK Peppermint Pattie was made by Henry Kessler in YORK, Pennsylvania at the YORK Cone Company in 1940.

While yesterday's puzzle was signaling for help, today's puzzle is simply sending us MESSAGES - TEXT MESSAGES, that is. We most often see Zhouqin Burnikel's puzzles on Wednesdays and Sundays, but they are a treat any day of the week. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to begin my Saturday.