June 5, 2021

Title: SPREAD THE LOVE

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

******This puzzle is part of the USA Today Pride Puzzle Series******

Theme Answers:

LOCAL DIVE (17A: Place to grab cheap beer in the neighborhood)

LOSE YOUR NERVE (39A: Chicken out)

LOOK ALIVE (63A: "Show some spirit out there!)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer begins with the letters LO-, and ends with the letters -VE. Therefore, the word LOVE is SPREAD by each theme answer.

Things I learned:

• THIS (31A: "Once on ___ Island") Once on THIS Island is a one-act Broadway musical about a peasant girl on a tropical island using the power of love to bring people of different social classes together. The original Broadway production ran from 1990-1991. A Broadway revival staged in 2017 won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. Disney+ is currently working on a movie adaptation of Once on THIS Island. I have a fairly good knowledge of musicals, but this one has managed to escape my attention until now. Happy to learn of it, and a fitting musical reference to include in a puzzle about SPREADING LOVE.
• MOJO (58A: ___ Jojo (rhyming Powerpuff Girls villain) The Powerpuff Girls is an animated TV series and media franchise about Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, who are genetically engineered little girls with superpowers. Professor Utonium is a scientist, and the girls' father. A chimpanzee named Jojo was Professor Utonium's lab assistant, but the same accident that gave the Powerpuff Girls their superpowers gave Jojo super-intelligence. He is now MOJO Jojo, a mad scientist and the main antagonist of the Powerpuff Girls. (Confession: I don't think I've ever seen the Powerpuff Girls, so if I've erred in this description, please gently correct me.)
• WAIST (51D: Place for a kamarbandh) A kamarbandh (sometimes spelled as "kamarband")  is a type of Indian jewelry. It is sometimes referred to as a WAIST chain or belly chain. I can now see the similarity to the word cummerbund (or cumberbund).
• JOEL (59D: "The Last of Us" protagonist) The Last of Us is a video game originally introduced by Sony in 2013. In the game, players control JOEL, a smuggler who is escorting a teenage girl across a post-apocalyptic United States.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ADELE (16A: "Skyfall" singer) ADELE's song "Skyfall" is the theme song for the 2012 James Bond movie of the same name.
• BENEATH (24A: "The Stars ___ Our Feet") The Stars BENEATH Our Feet is a middle grade novel by David Barclay Moore. The book tells the story of a boy in Harlem trying to find his way following his brother's death. The book is being adapted into a screenplay. 
• YELP (45A: App that has a review of itself) YELP is a mobile app publishing crowd-sourced reviews about business. This was a fun clue, and I tried to find some examples of reviews of YELP, but I couldn't do so without signing up for a YELP account.
• RIO (50A: Where Simone Manuel won gold) Simone Manuel swam for Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics in RIO. She is the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual swimming event. In addition to two gold medals, she also found two silver medals.
• DEMI (68A: Prefix for "sexual") A person who is DEMIsexual does not experience sexual attraction until they have formed a strong emotional connection. 
• EMO (2D: Dashboard Confessional genre) Dashboard Confessional is an EMO rock band. The band's name is derived from one of their songs, "The Sharp Hint of New Tears," which begins, "On the way home/ This car hears my confessions."
• SNAKE (4D: Sir Hiss, in "Robin Hood," e.g.) Here we are talking about the 1973 Disney animated version of Robin Hood. The SNAKE, Sir Hiss, is Prince John's advisor. Prince John is depicted as a lion.
• ELEVEN (11D: Eggo-loving "Stranger Things" character) I learned about ELEVEN from the February 4, 2021 puzzle when she appeared in a clue for EGGOS. The character ELEVEN is a young girl with psychokinetic abilities in the Stranger Things TV series.
• POD (46D: "___ Save America") POD Save America is a podcast self-described as "A political podcast for people who aren't ready to give up or go insane."
• ELBA (49D: Actor Idris) Idris ELBA is an English - see clue for SNOG (57D: Kiss, to 49-Down) - actor, writer, producer, rapper, songwriter, and DJ. His acting credits are many, including appearances in Thor, Star Trek Beyond, Molly's Game, and CATS. When performing as a DJ, he uses the moniker DJ Big Driis.

Geography review:

• OAHU (35A: Hawaiian island that's home to the Prince Lot Hula Festival) The Prince Lot Hula Festival is the largest statewide non-competitive hula festival in Hawaii. Established in 1978 with the goal of celebrating the culture of hula, the festival is named for Prince Lot Kapuāiwa who became King Kamehameha V, and was king of Hawaii from 1863 to 1872. The festival is held annually on OAHU.

This puzzle was a LOVEly way to begin my Saturday! (Computer challenges were not so LOVEly - my apologies for posting even later than usual!) A nice set of theme answers SPREADING LOVE here. Is my favorite theme answer LOOK ALIVE, or LOSE YOUR NERVE? Perhaps I need to head to my LOCAL DIVE and consider the question. The long Down bonuses are absolutely LOVEly today! (How many times can I use the word LOVEly while describing this puzzle...I'll try to SPREAD it out.) SECOND HONEYMOON is a delightful answer, but my favorite answer in this puzzle is definitely GETS ME EVERY TIME. Amanda Rafkin has been editing this series of USA Today Pride Puzzles, and today she is also our constructor. REMIND ME - what was that word I used to describe this puzzle? Oh, yes...it's LOVELY!