July 28. 2021

Title: LAST UP

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

ARE WE CLEAR (17A: "Got me now?)

SPIN DOCTOR (55A: Damage control professional)

SETS A LIMIT (3D: Specifies the maximum amount)

IT'S ALRIGHT (27D: "No worries")

Or, alternatively and also!

SETS A LIMIT (3D: Specifies the maximum amount)

BEET SALAD (8D: Red and green dish often topped with feta)

IT'S ALRIGHT (27D: "No worries")

ACTS ALONE (31D: Has no help)

Theme synopsis: The LAST part of each theme answer in the first set above can precede the word UP to form a new phrase. We have CLEAR UP, DOCTOR UP, LIMIT UP, and RIGHT UP. And also, the word LAST is found going UP in the vertical theme answers listed in the second set.

Things I learned:

• TEAS (26A: Keemun and kuding) Keemun is a black TEA produced exclusively in the Anhui province of China. The tea's name is a Western spelling of the County in which the tea is grown - Qimen. "Kuding" translates as "bitter nail TEA." It is an infusion that can be made from several different plant species, and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat the common cold, itching eyes, and headache. Although TEAS are my drink of choice, I was unfamiliar with either of these varieties. I am particularly a fan of strong black TEA, so I may have to seek out keemun and give it a try.
• CHAKA (35A: Maia ___, first Black woman NFL official) Earlier this year, Maia CHAKA became the first Black woman, and only the second woman, to officiate for the NFL. Sarah Thomas became an NFL official in 2015, and in 2021 she became the first woman to officiate in a Super Bowl.
• ISRAEL (50A: Sports reporter Gutierrez) ISRAEL Gutierrez is a reporter for ESPN. In addition to his reporting work, ISRAEL Gutierrez has been profiled in Men's Journal for his fitness and training regimen.
• CARL (14D: "The Mandalorian" actor Weathers) The Mandalorian is a TV series based on Star Wars about a lone bounty hunter (the title character) on the run after being hired to retrieve "The Child" (also known as "Baby Yoda"). CARL Weathers plays the role of Greef Karga, the leader of a group of bounty hunters. CARL Weathers also played the role of Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky movies. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• BASS (9A:Instrument for Esperanza Spalding) Esperanza Spalding is a jazz BASSist and the winner of four Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. Earlier this year, Spalding released a therapeutic suite of songs, called Triangle, meant to uplift the spirits of listeners. 
• OREO (13A: Cookie similar to a Giro) Giro is a brand of chocolate sandwich cookie made by Gamesa, Mexico's largest cookie manufacturer
• SEA SALT (22A: Seasoning for caramels) Salted caramel was invented by a French pastry chef, Henri Le Roux, in 1977. Since the 1990s when another French chef, Pierre Hermé, developed a salted caramel macaron, salted caramel has become increasingly popular. Salted caramel is made by sprinkling SEA SALT on caramel as it cools. 
• ISN'T (37A: "Winning ___ everything!") A well-known quote by former football coach Henry Russell ("Red") Reed expands this thought, "Winning ISN'T everything; it's the only thing." However, I'm a firm believer in only the part of the quote we see in today's clue. Winning ISN'T everything! A timely thought, with Simone Biles, the best gymnast of all time, bravely reminding us that wellbeing - mental and physical - is more important than winning. 
• SIRS (53A: Lancelot and Mix-a-Lot, e.g.) Lancelot was a knight in Arthurian legend. SIR Mix-a-Lot is a rapper whose 1992 song "Baby Got Back" went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 
• EMMA (62A: "Cruella" star Stone) EMMA Stone plays the title role in the 2021 movie, Cruella, based on the character from The Hundred and One Dalmatians. 
• TOE (4D: ___ socks) I happen to be away from home at the moment, or I would offer you a picture of TOE socks, as I have many, most of them in rainbow colors. Instead, enjoy this goofy social media post from past me:
  
• NIECE (33D: Sofia Coppola, to Talia Shire) Screenwriter, director, and producer Sofia Coppola is the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, making her the NIECE of actress Talia Shire (She played Connie Corleone in The Godfather.) who was Francis Ford Coppola's sister.
• ERRS (47D: Forgets to charge the phone, say) This is a fun clue! Haven't we all been there?
• STEM (53D: Enoki part) Enoki, also known as velvet shank, is a species of edible mushrooms. Cultivated ENOKI are white with long, thin STEMs. ENOKI are popular in Japanese cuisine.

Geography review:

• SALEM (23D: Willamette University city) Willamette University is a private school in SALEM, Oregon.

After Monday's FIRST THINGS FIRST (by Tracy Gray, not Zhouqin as I mistakenly said on Twitter yesterday - I'm so sorry Tracy!!), and yesterday's RIGHT THIS SECOND, we are now treated with LAST UP - a nice logical progression. This was a tricky theme! I was on the lookout for a word going UP the vertical answers, but when I discovered ARE WE CLEAR, I said, "Oh, CLEAR UP, and then stopped looking and actually missed the hidden LASTs until much later! Now I'm not sure if the "words preceding UP" were intended or coincidental, but either way, fun to have a theme that can work in two different ways. I was not familiar with the phrase LIMIT UP. It's a term used in relation to commodities future markets, and refers to the maximum amount a price is permitted to increase during a trading day. I especially enjoyed this puzzle's conversation with itself - "ARE WE CLEAR?" "IT'S ALRIGHT!" This puzzle was a great way to begin my Wednesday.