May 13, 2021

Title: DANCING PARTNERS

Constructor: Claire Rimkus

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

BELLY LAUGH (17A: Hearty chuckle)

SQUARE ROOT (33A: Part of the quadratic formula)

SALSA VERDE (39A: Enchilada topping)

BREAK BREAD (56A: Dine together)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer can PARTNER with the word DANCING. That will give us BELLY DANCING, SQUARE DANCING, SALSA DANCING, and BREAK DANCING.

Things I learned:

• MAORI (26A: Natives who apply ta moko) MAORI are the indigenous people of New Zealand. Ta moko is the permanent marking, or tattooing, that was traditionally practiced by the MAORI. The process was traditionally done using knives and chisels to embed the ink. The art form is considered sacred, and the most popular spot for MAORI tattooing was the head. There's some rather gory history around the collecting and trading of MAORI heads in the 1700s and early 1800s. MAORI would collect the tattooed heads of their enemies as trophies, and keep them in ornate boxes. European explorers were intrigued by ta moko, and the MAORI discovered they could use the tattooed heads to trade for weapons. Since the 1990s, the practice of ta moko has begun to regain popularity again, though most modern MAORI tattoos use needle-based machines. I was familiar with the MAORI, but not with the term "ta moko."
• HBO (52A: "Betty" channel) Betty is a TV series created by Crystal Moselle, and based on Moselle's 2018 movie, Skate Kitchen. Betty focuses on a group of girl skateboarders, and their efforts to stand out in the predominantly male world of skateboarding in New York. 
• LEWIS (18D: Chicago labor leader Karen) Karen LEWIS was a high school chemistry teacher for nearly 20 years before becoming the president of the Chicago Teachers Union in 2010, a position she held until 2014. It was during her term as president that the Chicago Teachers Union organized a seven day strike in 2012 to protest Mayor Rahm Emanuel's failure to deliver a promised pay raise. LEWIS died earlier this year as a result of a glioblastoma (brain tumor).
• ARABIC (45D: Language that Diana Haddad sings in) Diana Haddad is a popular ARABIC pop musician. She was born in Lebanon and also holds citizenship in the UAE. The video for her song, "Mani Mani" was filmed in Lebanon. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ASIA (16A: ___ Kate Dillon of "Billions") Billions is a TV show that is centered in the world of high finance, and tells the story of hedge fund manager, Bobby Axelrod, played by Damian Lewis. ASIA Kate Dillon plays the role of financial analyst, Taylor Amber Mason. It's nice to occasionally see a clue for ASIA that isn't geography-related. 
• LOGO (32A: Giant panda, for WWF) In this case, WWF is the World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly the World Wildlife Fund). I previously wrote about their panda LOGO. 
• SQUARE ROOT (33A: Part of the quadratic formula) A quadratic formula provides a solution to a quadratic equation. Since a quadratic equation has the form: ax² + bx + c = 0 (where x = an unknown, and a, b, and c represent known numbers), the formula to solve the equation will involve a SQUARE ROOT. (It's okay if you just said, "...oh, math..." and skimmed over this section.)
• TREATIES (43A: Fort Laramie (1868) and others) There have been two TREATIES of Fort Laramie, in 1851 and 1868. The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie was an agreement between the United States and the Oglala, Miniconjou, and Brulé bands of Lakota, the Yanktonai Dakota, and the Arapaho Nation. This treaty formed the basis of the 1980 Supreme Court case, United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, in which the court ruled the U.S. government had illegally taken tribal lands covered under the treaty. The court ruled that the government owed the Sioux compensation plus interest. Although this now amounts to $1 billion, the Sioux have refused payment, demanding their land back instead. 
• KELP (3D: Large brown seaweed) and EEL (4D: Slithery fish) It's a nice visual to have an EEL slithering next to the KELP.
• SKYLAR (5D: WNBA star Diggins-Smith) SKYLAR Diggins-Smith plays for WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. I first learned about her from the March 12 puzzle. 
• LOUD (7D: Like a power clashing outfit) This clue made me chuckle. If you're ready to get LOUD and do some power clashing, here are some tips. 
• MILK (12D: Almond or soy drink) This clue reminded me of an article I read a few years ago about the dairy industry's efforts to get the FDA to enforce an existing regulation that defines MILK as "something that comes from a mammary gland." It's easy to guess the dairy industry's interest in not having almond or soy products labeled as MILK.
• BURRS (28D: Velcrolike seedpods) You're probably aware that the invention of velcro was inspired by BURRS. This clue reminded me of a tweet my daughter shared with me on Mother's Day. 
  
  
  
• ODES (54D: Poems like "homage to my hips") I highly recommend spending a couple of minutes of your day to watch Lucille Clifton read her poem, "homage to my hips."
• RIB (57D: Bone that can be "true" or "false") All of your RIBs connect to your spine, but only the top seven pairs of RIBs also connect to your sternum. Those RIBs are known as "true RIBs." The remaining RIBs are called "false RIBs." The 8th, 9th, and 10th pairs of RIBs do not connect directly to the sternum, but are connected to the 7th RIB by cartilage. The 11th and 12th pairs of RIBs do not reach the front of the body and are called "floating RIBs." Thus ends your anatomy lesson for the day.

For some reason I feel like DANCING! A delightful set of theme answers. I especially liked BELLY LAUGH and BREAK BREAD. Great long bonuses today in PARADE ROUTE and LOOKS AROUND. This puzzle was a delightful way to begin my Wednesday.