August 19, 2021

Title: CASTING A WIDE NET

Constructor: Claire Rimkus

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

NERDED OUT (17A: Excitedly recited the digits of pi, for example)

NEEDLEPOINT (31A: Embroidery craft)

NEUROLOGIST (45A: Brain specialist)

NEON LIGHT (63A: Bar window fixture)

Theme synopsis: The word NET is CAST around each theme answer, with the letters NE- at the beginning of the word, and the letter -T at the end.

Things I learned:

• BUN (43A: Diana Taurasi hairstyle) Diana Taurasi is a professional basketball player for WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. She also plays on Team USA, and has won five Olympic gold medals. On June 27 of this year, Diana Taurasi became the first WNBA player to score 9,000 points. When asked to comment on the significance of that milestone, she replied, "It means you're old as dirt..." (She's 39.) Diana Taurasi's BUN is so iconic it has its own Twitter account.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• NERDED OUT (17A: Excitedly recited the digits of pi, for example) What a fun and appropriate way to clue NERDED OUT! I filled in the answer immediately. Our constructor, Claire, tweeted about this answer. 
• LEEKS (26A: Scallion relatives) Yesterday we saw the singular LEEK clued as [Vegetable related to garlic]. It's the week for learning about the LEEK'S relatives apparently.
• PBS (53A: "Reading Rainbow" channel) and LEVAR (65A: "Reading Rainbow" host Burton) It was fun to see PBS and LEVAR together in this corner of the puzzle, and nice to see them clued relatedly. LEVAR Burton hosted Reading Rainbow on PBS for 23 years. I mentioned LEVAR Burton in yesterday's write-up in reference to his role of KUNTA KINTE in Roots. 
• ALIBI (61A: "I was somewhere else" excuse) For some reason, this clue amused me. Maybe it's because the vague, "I was somewhere else," seems similar to "The dog ate my homework." Is it a TOTAL LIE (8D: Utter falsehood)?
• WERE (68A: "If I ___ a Boy") "If I WERE a Boy" is a 2008 song by Beyoncé. The song was released as a double A-side single (one where both songs are listed as side A and promoted as such) with "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."
• ODD (69A: Like one or three) and EVEN (2D: Like two or four) Fun to see ODD and EVEN both in the grid today, and even better that ODD has an ODD clue number and EVEN has an EVEN clue number. I may have NERDED OUT upon realizing this nice extra touch.
• ANA (10D: Scissor Sisters singer ___ Matronic) It was just over a year ago that the USA Today puzzle taught me about the pop rock band, the Scissor Sisters. Although I remembered learning about the band, I did not remember the names of the band members. However, ANA was easy to figure out from crossing answers.
• NINA SIMONE (11D: "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" singer) Nina Simone sang the song, "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," at the Harlem Cultural Festival on August 17, 1969. The Harlem Cultural Festival is featured in the recently released documentary, Summer of Soul. Nina Simone was inspired to write "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," after looking at a photo of her friend Lorraine Hansberry. (Lorraine Hansberry wrote the Broadway play, A Raisin in the Sun.)
• GODS 12D: Osiris and Anubis, for example) Osiris and Anubis were GODS worshipped in ancient Egypt religion. Osiris - depicted as a green-skinned bearded deity - was the god of fertility, agriculture, the dead, resurrection, and life. Anubis - depicted as a man with a canine head - was the god of death, mummification, embalming, and cemeteries. 
• DUNE (18D: Sci-fi book set on a desert planet) The influential sci-fi novel DUNE, written by Frank Herbert, was published in 1965. If you enjoy science fiction, you might be interested in this NPR list my son sent me yesterday of "50 Favorite Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade."
• FEEL (22D: "Make Me ___" (Janelle Monae song)) "Make Me FEEL" is a 2018 song from Janelle Monáe's album, Dirty Computer.
• BACON (28D: BLT ingredient) Ummm, BACON. BLTs are best, in my opinion, when tomatoes are in season. Therefore, I tend to eat an abundance of BLTs in August, making this clue seasonally appropriate.

This puzzle is CASTING A WIDE NET, not only with its theme, but also with its content. We have math and science, some music, Reading Rainbow, sports references, NEEDLEPOINT...well, you get the idea. I enjoyed seeing both PANDA and KOALA in the grid. Conversational clues with quotation marks are some of my favorite types of clues, because it sometimes seems like the puzzle is talking - either to itself or to us. Today's puzzle has some enjoyable conversation: "What are you DOING?" "What's up with THAT?" "I should have SEEN that coming." This ZESTY puzzle was a delightful way to begin my Thursday.