June 7, 2021

Title: X FACTOR

Constructor: Nate Cardin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

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

Theme Answers:

X CHROMOSOME (17A: Genetic unit in all mammalian egg cells)

X MARKS THE SPOT (26A: Phrase on a treasure map)

X GENDER MARKER (45A: Feature of a nonbinary person's government ID, maybe)

X-RAY MACHINE (60A: Device for scanning luggage)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer has the X FACTOR. In this case, that special quality happens to be the letter X at the beginning of the answer.

And now a word from our constructor:

Nate: I am so proud of the USA Today and Universal crosswords for their Pride month initiatives, and I am even more honored to be a part of them! I know how important representation in media is to me, my self worth, and my willingness to buy into that media, so I hope that these puzzles and the ever-queering of crosswords will make other folks from across the LGBTQIA+ community feel like they belong and that they too can bring their voice to puzzles in a way that challenges the idea of a default cis/straight solver or constructor. Wishing everyone the happiest and queerest Pride! (And if you want more fun, super queer crosswords, check out our project from a few years ago, Queer Qrosswords.

Things I learned:

• ODE (41A: "___ to Sequoyah" (Alexander Posey poem)) We frequently see ODE in the puzzle. I like it when the clue for ODE introduces me to a new poem/poet. Alexander Posey was a poet, humorist, journalist, and politician in the Creek nation. His "ODE to Sequoyah," honors Sequoyah, who invented a written alphabet for the Cherokee language.
• SHO (49A: "Work in Progress" network, for short) Work in Progress is a comedy starring Abby McEnany in a semi-biographical role as a "self-identified fat, queer dyke" living with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The TV series premiered on SHOwtime in December 2019.
• LAURA (64A: Singer-songwriter Mvula) The latest album from British singer-songwriter LAURA Mvula, titled Pink Noise, is scheduled to be released July 2. The album includes the single "Safe Passage," released in March. 
• HINGE (29D: "The dating app for people who want to get off dating apps") It's been a (long) while since I have dated...so long, in fact, that dating apps didn't exist! This "when I was your age" anecdote is simply to say I was not surprised I had not heard of HINGE. Founded in 2012, HINGE markets itself as "designed to be deleted" when users fall in love. In 2019, Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, who was a presidential candidate at the time, revealed he had met his husband, Chasten, on HINGE.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MARS (33A: The Red Planet) The planet MARS appears red because its surface is covered with a dust primarily made of iron. The dust has oxidized, giving it a rusty RED color. Dust storms blow the oxidized dust into the atmosphere, giving MARS a red sky. Have you been following the MARS Rover, Perseverance? It's amazing to me to see photos of a planet that is millions of miles from Earth. 
• X GENDER MARKER (45A: Feature of a nonbinary person's government ID, maybe) A gender-neutral ID displays an X GENDER MARKER in place of an M (male) or F (female). Gender-neutral IDs may be used by nonbinary persons, and by people of any gender not wishing to reveal their gender on their ID. Australia has allowed the use of an X GENDER MARKER on government IDs since 2003. In 2017, Oregon became the first U.S. state to allow the use of the X GENDER MARKER on state IDS; that number has grown to 19 states and Washington, D.C. 
• TESS (68A: Cher's "Burlesque character) Burlesque is a 2010 movie starring Cher and Christina Aguilera. Cher plays the role of TESS Scali, the owner of a burlesque club. 
• SIX (1D: Number of strings on a standard guitar) This was a fun way to clue the number SIX. Although a standard guitar has SIX strings, guitars are available with four, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and eighteen strings.
• PARLORS (4D: Places to get ice cream or tattoos) This clue made me smile. Isn't it interesting that you get both ice cream and tattoos at PARLORS? I wonder if any combo ice cream/tattoo PARLORS exist? Okay, I was curious enough to investigate this question, and the answer is yes - Licky Chin in Chow Kit (a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). 
• CROCHET (44D: Create blankets with hooked needles) This clue amused me - it's such a fun way to describe CROCHET. 
• MOMA (47D: NYC attraction hidden in "sumo match") I wonder if there are any paintings of sumo matches at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art)?
• SWAM (51D: Competed like Katie Ledecky) Katie Ledecky SWAM for Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, winning four gold medals. 

Geography review:

• INCAN (13A: Like Machu Picchu) Machu Picchu is a 15th-century citadel in Peru. It was constructed around 1450, most likely as an estate of Pachacuti, an INCAN emperor. 

This puzzle has a certain something, a special quality...an X FACTOR. When I saw the title of the puzzle I thought, "Hmm, that's fun." When I filled in the first theme answer, X CHROMOSOME, I thought, "Wait, is this going to be a puzzle of answers beginning with X? How many of those are there?" It turns out there are at least four, and they are all in-the-language phrases. Well, that's fun! All those Xs might have presented a challenge when filling the grid, but RELAX! Not only is the fill great, but there's a fifth X thrown in for fun. ART EXHIBIT is a lovely long bonus answer using one of those Xs. This is Nate Cardin's first USA Today puzzle - welcome, Nate! - but he's published crosswords in many other venues. In fact, he constructed yesterday's Universal puzzle. I also second Nate's recommendation to check out the Queer Qrosswords project. This puzzle was a delightful way to begin my Monday!