April 16, 2021

Title: PUT A RING ON IT

Constructor: Pao Roy

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

ZIP YOUR LIP (16A: "Shush!")

BIG MOOD (28A: "That's a perfect representation of how I feel")

T BONE (35A: High-quality beef cut)

ROOM KEY (40A: Hotel guest's acquisition)

BEAT BOXING (53A: Vocal percussion)

Theme synopsis: You can PUT A RING on the last word of each theme answer to create a new phrase. We have a LIP RING, MOOD RING, BONE RING, KEY RING, and BOXING RING.

Things I learned:

• B-BOY (31D: Male-identifying breakdancer) Breakdancing is an athletic form of dancing typically set to songs featuring drum breaks. Created by Black and Puerto Rican youth in the early 1970s, breakdancing's popularity quickly spread. A breakdancer is known as a B-BOY, a b-girl, a breaker, or a breakdancer. I knew the dance form, but wasn't familiar with this term.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TESLA (14A: Scientist hidden in "Mariotte's law") Mariotte's law, also known as Boyle's law or Boyle-Mariotte law, says that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to the volume it occupies. (That's a simplified version.) Nikola TESLA was an inventor and engineer known for his contributions to the design of modern electricity supply systems and alternating current (AC).
• MOMA (18A: NYC attraction) The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) grew out of an idea
  
  developed by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan in 1929. During its first four years the museum was located in four different temporary locations. Although Abby Aldrich Rockefeller's husband, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., was opposed to the idea of a museum for modern art, he eventually donated the land for the current site of the museum on 53rd Street in New York City (NYC) between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh is part of MOMA's collection.
• THEIR (43A: "They/Them/___: A Guide to Nonbinary and Genderqueer Identitities") This 2019 book is written by Eris Young, and explores what it's like to live outside of the gender binary.
• ZOE (49A: Actress Kravitz) ZOË Kravitz is an actress, singer, and model. She played Christina in The Divergent Series, and Robyn Brooks in the TV series High Fidelity.
• BEAT BOXING (53A: Vocal percussion) BEAT BOXING is a form of vocal percussion involving using one's mouth and voice to mimic the sound of drums. If you need a feel good break in your day, click on this link and enjoy some babies and BEAT BOXING. 
• DIM SUM (9D: Traditional Cantonese meal) DIMSUM is a large range of small dishes. A DIM SUM restaurant may have several dozen dishes on its menu. In Cantonese cuisine, DIM SUM is traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for breakfast or lunch. 
• CHOCOHOLIC (27D: Truffle connoisseur, perhaps) It doesn't take much to make me want some chocolate. This clue did it! I have a mug (this will not surprise you if you read Wednesday's blog!) that says, "I am a complex woman of many moods...and they all require chocolate."
• HELLO (39D: "Konnichiwa" translation) Konnichiwa is a Japanese greeting.

Geography review:

• HAITI (39A: French and Creole are its official languages) HAITI is a country located on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. It shares the island with the Dominican Republic.
• ERIE (55D: Alphabetically, the first of the Great Lakes) I use the mnemonic device HOMES to remember the names of the Great Lakes. Listed alphabetically, the mnemonic would be EHMOS - ERIE, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, Superior. Today is the fourth appearance this month for our crossword friend, ERIE. 
• ASIA (2D: Home to Doha, Jakarta and Manila) Doha is the capital of Qatar. Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia. Manila is the capital of the Philippines. All of these cities and their respective countries are located in ASIA. Today is the first appearance this month for our crossword friend, ASIA, and it has been exactly one month since we last saw ASIA in the puzzle.
• ISLA (6D: Puerto Rico, por ejemplo) Puerto Rico is an island in the northeast Caribbean Sea. It is an unincorporated territory of the United States.

I appreciated that this puzzle showed admiration for itself as it OOHED and AAHED (30A & 17D: Expressed amazement). It was fun that these two answers intersected. ZIP YOUR LIP was a nice, sassy theme answer - a BIG MOOD, so to speak. I also enjoyed the non-theme answers of I GOT NOTHIN', I AM SO THERE, and, of course, CHOCOHOLIC. This puzzle was a fine way to start my Friday.