April 6, 2021

Title: SPLITTING UP

Constructor: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

ULTRACHEAP (20A: Bargain basement)

UNION MEMBERSHIP (37A: It grants labor protections)

UNDERSLEEP (54A: Wake up too early)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer SPLITS the word UP, with the U appearing at the beginning of the answer, and the P appearing at the end.

Things I learned:

• EDIE (14A: '60s superstar Sedgwick) EDIE Sedgwick starred in several of Andy Warhol's short films in the 1960s, and became known as one of his superstars. Several of Bob Dylan's songs (including "Just Like a Woman," and "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat") are reportedly about Sedgwick. Sadly, EDIE Sedgwick struggled with eating disorders and addiction, and died in 1971 at the age of 28 from an overdose of alcohol and barbiturates.
• LAS (41A: Dia de ___ Madres (Mexican holiday)) Dia de LAS Madres, or Mother's Day, is celebrated in Mexico on May 10 each year. Families gather together to celebrate, and it is traditional to start the celebration with "LAS Mañanitas," a song Mexicans also use to honor people on their birthdays. 
• NEGGA (50A: Ruth who played Mildred Loving) Ruth NEGGA played the role of Mildred Loving in the 2016 movie, Loving. The movie tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia. The 1967 case invalidated state laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Ruth NEGGA also played the role of Tulip O'Hare in the TV series, Preacher,  and the role of Raina in the TV series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. NEGGA was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, grew up in Ireland, and now lives in London. 
• ABACUS (5D: Cranmer ___ (calculation tool)) Invented by Tim Cranmer, a Cranmer ABACUS is an adapted ABACUS used by people who are blind. The Cranmer ABACUS has a piece of fabric or rubber placed behind the beads to keep the beads from moving inadvertently.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• EDM (25A: Genre played at raves) EDM, or electric dance music, includes the genres dance-pop, house, techno, trance, drum and bass, dubstep, and trap. I first learned about EDM from the August 24, 2020 puzzle.
• USA (48A: World Cup winners in 2019) Team USA won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup tournament in France. Team USA entered the tournament as defending champions, having won the 2015 World Cup in Canada. The FIFA Women's World Cup competition has been held every four years since 1991. USA has won four of the eight World Cup tournaments. (If I had more sports knowledge, this clue might have confused me, as the men's USA soccer team has not won any FIFA World Cup tournaments, and the men's World Cup competition has been held every four years since 1930, so it wasn't held in 2019.)
• SEGA (64A: Genesis and Dreamcast company) Both Genesis and Dreamcast are SEGA video game consoles. Dreamcast was SEGA's final home video game console, as the company stopped making consoles in 2001.
• DOSA (8D: Pancake served with sambar) A DOSA is a thin pancake in South Indian cuisine made from a fermented batter of lentils and rice. Sambar is a lentil-based vegetable curry.
• AND (21D: "___ I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Jennifer Holliday hit)) Sometimes its tricky to write interesting clues for short, common words like AND. This was a good one! "AND I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is a song from the Broadway musical, Dreamgirls. In 1981, Jennifer Holiday originated the role of Effie White, who sings the song in the musical. When Holliday released the song as a single in 1982, it became a number one R&B hit.
• DURIAN (45D: "King of fruits" with a strong fragrance) I have previously written about the DURIAN. It is known as the "king of fruits" in some regions because of its formidable appearance (it is covered with thorns) and its strong odor. I sometimes wonder who took a look at this thorny, smelly fruit and decided to try eating it!

Geography review:

• NOLA (17A: Mardi Gras city's nickname) New Orleans, Louisiana, or NOLA, is well-known for its annual Mardi Gras Festival featuring elaborate parades and masquerade balls.
• MACAU (39D: Gambling enclave near Hong Kong) MACAU is a city in China. It is the most densely populated region in the world, and has become a resort city and a top destination for gambling tourism. 
• ERIE (56D: Pennsylvania's fourth-largest city) ERIE is located on the shore of Lake ERIE, and is the county seat of ERIE County, Pennsylvania.

This was one of those days where the puzzle's title immediately clued me in to the theme. That didn't take away from my enjoyment of the puzzle, though. ULTRACHEAP was my favorite theme answer. The term UNDERSLEEP is not as familiar to me as its opposite, oversleep, but it was easily inferable from the clue and the theme mechanism. Nice fill all around in this grid. I especially liked SPYGLASS, ABACUS, and KEEP MUM. This is Enrique Henestroza Anguiano's USA Today crossword debut, so congrats Enrique! This puzzle was a nice way to start my Tuesday. NO LIE!