March 28, 2021

Title: THREE YARDS

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editors: Erik Agard & Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

TAHRIR SQUARE (20A: 2011 Egyptian Revolution protest site)

RIHANNA NAVY (38A: Fanbase of the singer of "Kiss It Better")

MISS SCOTLAND (59A: Winner of a Glasgow beauty pageant)

Theme synopsis: The last word of each theme answer can precede the word YARD. We have THREE YARDS: SQUARE YARD, NAVY YARD, and SCOTLAND YARD.

Things I learned:

• HOPI (14A: Piki cuisine) Piki is a thin bread made from blue corn and culinary ash. The nearly transparent sheets are cooked on a flat, rectangular cooking stone, and then rolled into a cylinder. Piki is important in HOPI cuisine, and is made for ceremonial occasions.
• TAHRIR SQUARE (20A: 2011 Egyptian Revolution protest site) TAHRIR SQUARE in Cairo, Egypt was the site of the political protests that led to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. I knew of the protest, but could not remember the name of the SQUARE.
• GEEK (33A: ___ chic (rhyming style)) This clue confused me because I forgot that "chic" rhymes with "cheek" and "GEEK," and not with "slick" and "chick." (This tells you how "très chic" I am!) GEEK chic is a fashion trend characterized by clothing and accessories that are classically nerdy, like glasses, suspenders, and collared shirts.
• LEA (50A: Actress Seydoux) In 2013, LEA Seydoux was awarded the Palme d'Or, the highest honor given at the Cannes Film Festival, for her performance in the movie Blue is the Warmest Colour. She also played Madeleine Swann in the 2015 James Bond movie, Spectre. 
• OLSEN (63A: "Tell Me a Riddle" author Tillie) Tell Me a Riddle is a 1961 collection of four short stories (one of which was titled, "Tell Me a Riddle") by feminist writer Tillie Olsen. The title story was awarded the O. Henry Award, an award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The short story collection was adapted into a 1980 movie of the same name. The 2007 documentary, Tillie Olsen: A Heart in Action, examines the author's life and literary influence.
• SETH (5D: Summer's love on "The O.C.") The O.C. is a TV series set in Orange County, California. The series centers on teenagers Ryan and SETH, played by Ben McKenzie and Adam Brody. SETH's love interest, Summer Roberts, is played by Rachel Bilson. 
• ROE (24D: Eggs used to make karasumi) Karasumi is a high-priced delicacy made by salting mullet ROE and drying it in sunlight. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• RIHANNA NAVY (38A: Fanbase of the singer of "Kiss It Better") "Kiss It Better" is a 2016 song by RIHANNA. RIHANNA's fans adopted the name RIHANNA NAVY after RIHANNA released her fourth studio album, Rated R. The album contains the song, "G4L," with the lyrics, "We're an army, better yet a NAVY, better yet crazy."
• PAC (56A: Professor ___-Man (video game) Professor PAC-Man is a quiz arcade game released in 1983. It was Bally Midway without the authorization of Namco, the original creators of PAC-Man. The game presented visual puzzles for players to solve within a set time limit. 
• QUORA (22D: Site with an "Add Question" button) QUORA is a website where users can ask questions that are then answered by other users. The site was founded in 2009 by former Facebook employees Adam D'Angelo and Charlie Cheever.
• YALE (41D: School home to Pauli Murray College) Pauli Murray College is one of the fourteen residential colleges at YALE University in New Haven, Connecticut. The college is named for Pauli Murray, a civil rights activist who was the first Black woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest. Pauli Murray graduated from YALE Law School in 1965.
• APOLLO (51D: Harlem theater with an Amateur night) Amateur Night has been a feature of the APOLLO Theater since 1934. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, competitions were held nearly every Wednesday night, culminating with a Grand Finale competition. One of the first Amateur Night winners was 15-year-old Ella Fitzgerald.
• NHL (65D: Minnesota Wild org.) The Minnesota Wild are a professional hockey team in the West Division of the NHL. The team is based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Geography review:

• MISS SCOTLAND (59A: Winner of a Glasgow beauty pageant) MISS SCOTLAND is an annual beauty pageant whose winners compete in the Miss World pageant. The contest is held in Glasgow, the most populous city in SCOTLAND. 
• OHIO (70A: Its state native fruit is the pawpaw) Pawpaw, which grow on deciduous trees native to the eastern United States and Canada, are the largest edible fruit indigenous to the United States. Pawpaw fruits have a sweet, custardish flavor. OHIO has an Annual Pawpaw Festival held in Lake Snowden.
• HAWAII (11D: Kanaka Maoli's home) Kanaka Maoli are the indigenous people of HAWAII, who trace their ancestry to the original Polynesian settlers of the islands.
• LANKA (31D: Colombo, Sri ___) Colombo is the commercial capital and the most populous city of Sri LANKA, an island country in the Indian Ocean.
• LISBON (49D: Largest city of Portugal) In addition to being its largest city, LISBON is the capital of Portugal.

As soon as I saw the title, I was on the lookout for SCOTLAND YARD, and the puzzle did not disappoint. I found this puzzle a bit more challenging than usual. As you can see, I learned quite a few things today! This puzzle was an enjoyable way to begin my Sunday.