June 21, 2021

Title: PJ PARTY

Constructors: Malaika Handa & Matthew Stock

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

PRACTICAL JOKE (24A: Swapping salt and sugar labels, e.g.)

PRINT JOURNALISM (38A: Magazine articles, for example)

POETIC JUSTICE (49A: Janet Jackson movie)

Theme synopsis: The first word in each theme answer begins with a P, and the second word begins with a J. Therefore, we has a PARTY of PJ phrases.

And now a word from our constructors:

Malaika: I am so excited to make my USA Today debut, and also my print newspaper debut! It feels very apt to do so with Matthew, who was the first person to host one of my puzzles. Matthew was a *dream* to work with (hehehe)-- we have very similar Puzzle Voices and Puzzle Priorities when it comes to building a grid and cluing, which made putting together this puzzle go very smoothly.
I thought of this theme as I was working from home in my pajamas (the best way to work from home). This time last year, I invested in fancy PJs and wow, that purchase was more worth it than I ever could have known at the time. Hope you all have had a cozy Monday!

Matthew: I’m so thankful to have worked with Malaika on this puzzle! Her contributions to the Puzzleverse in just the last year have been incredible, and I am extremely hype for her to have a puzzle running in print today. I thought the theme here was super fun, especially Malaika’s clue on 24-Across, and I had a great time working on the fill together over Zoom a few months ago. Hope you all enjoyed it!

Things I learned:

• SIMON (14A: "Bridgerton" duke played by Rege-Jean Page) Regé Jean Page plays the role of SIMON Basset, Duke of Hastings in the Netflix series, Bridgerton. Although I've heard a lot about it (including a lot about Regé Jean Page), I haven't watched Bridgerton, and was thankful for crossing answers to decipher the name here. 
• SHE (29A: "___ Rates Dogs: The Podcast") SHE Rates Dogs began as a social media platform launched in 2018 by Michaela Okland for women to share about their worst dates. In 2020, Michaela and Mat George began hosting a weekly podcast, She Rates Dogs: The Podcast, discussing listeners' dating stories, and offering dating and life advice. 
• WINGS (43A: Eyeliner look) It was just a few days ago that I learned about the makeup look known as halo eye. Today I learned about WINGS. I've seen this makeup look, I just didn't know what it was called. WINGS are achieved by defining the top eyelid with eyeliner, and extending the line toward the eyebrow.
• ELF (46A: Night ___ (World of Warcraft creature) Shhh - please don't tell my son I didn't immediately fill in this answer. World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in a fictional world known as Azeroth. My entire knowledge of World of Warcraft comes from talking to my son about it and admiring the detailed World of Warcraft miniatures he paints. It's possible he has mentioned a night ELF at some point, but I didn't remember it today. However, it was pretty easy to figure out once I filled in the E from TWEEN. Night elves are an ancient people in Azeroth. 
• JAIN (26D: Believer in ahimsa) JAINism is an ancient religion that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Ahimsa, a principle of nonviolence and non-injury, is one of the main religious principles of JAINism. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• UMAMI (1A: Miso taste) UMAMI is one of the five basic tastes, along with sour, sweet, salty, and bitter. UMAMI has been described as a savory taste. Miso, made by fermenting soybeans , has a strong UMAMI flavor, as does soy sauce, meats, fish, yeast extract, cheese, and mushrooms.
• IRON (15A: Steamer alternative) This was a challenging clue for me because my mind read "Steamer" as a type of boat, not as an appliance to remove wrinkles from clothing. Even after I filled in IRON from crossing answers it took a minute. I guess I need to pay more attention to my wrinkled clothing!
• POETIC JUSTICE (49A: Janet Jackson movie) In the 1993 movie, POETIC JUSTICE, Janet Jackson plays a poet named JUSTICE LaRue. The poems her character recites during the movie were written by Maya Angelou. This is not the first time we've seen POETIC JUSTICE as a theme answer. It was also one of the theme answers in the November 5, 2020 puzzle titled, Bottom of the League.
• DRUMS (58A: Djembes and dholkis) A djembe is a goblet-shaped drum played with bare hands. A dholki is a two-headed hand drum. 
• STEP (68A: "1, 2 ___" (Ciara hit) "1, 2 STEP" is a 2004 song featuring Missy Elliott from Ciara's debut album, Goodies. "1, 2 STEP" was written by Ciara and Missy Elliott. 
• MOO (4D: Exclamation while driving past a herd of cows) This clue made me laugh! I usually double it and exclaim, "MOO MOOs!" What is it about cows? Maybe it's just that the word MOO is fun to say.
• PALAK (10D: ___ paneer) PALAK paneer is a vegetarian dish made from spinach and paneer (a cheese similar to cottage cheese).
• LIN (22D: Architect Maya) Maya LIN is the architect who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., after winning a design competition held to choose the design. She also designed the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama. 
• GUM (47D: "Chewing ___" (Michaela Coel sitcom)) Michaela Coel wrote Chewing GUM, based on her 2012 play, Chewing GUM Dreams.The TV show centers around a 24-year-old shop assistant, Tracey Gordon. Tracey, who is a virgin, decides she wants to explore the world and have sex.  I first learned about Michaela Coel from the September 18, 2020 puzzle. 

Geography review:

• ASIA (16A: Bhutan's continent) Bhutan is a land-locked country in ASIA, bordered by China and India. The capital of Bhutan is Thimphu.
• ERIE (57D: Native people for whom a Great Lake is named) This is our crossword-friend ERIE's third appearance this month. We've also seen ASIA three times this month, and this is the second time this month we've seen them together. 

Were you still in your PJs and listening to Pearl Jam while solving this puzzle? I wasn't, but still enjoyed it - a fun set of PJ theme answers. I also enjoyed the answers CONFIDENT, DIG UP DIRT, and AS I'VE SAID. Welcome and congrats to Malaika Handa on her USA Today and print puzzle debut! AS I'VE SAID previously, Malaika curates the 7xwords project. She also posts other puzzles she's constructed on her site.  AS I'VE also SAID, you can find more puzzles by Matthew Stock at Happy Little Puzzles. This puzzle was a delightful way to begin my Monday.