August 31, 2021

Title: BEDSPREADS

Constructor: Claire Rimkus

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

BEST FRIEND (17A: Closest pal)

BACKTRACKED (26A: Reversed a previous decision)

BABY PROOFED (47A: Installed cabinet locks)

BEFOREHAND (61A: In advance)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer SPREADS the word BED, with some letters appearing at the beginning of the answer, and the remaining letters appearing at the end.

Things I learned:

• DIETS (22A: Topics in nutritional anthropology) Although the answer was inferable, I wasn't familiar with the subject of nutritional anthropology. This particular area of anthropology (the study of human societies and cultures) focuses on the study of food and nutrition, i.e. DIETS, from evolutionary, behavioral, social, and cultural perspectives.
• KIA (30D: WNBA star Nurse) KIA Nurse has been playing basketball since she was four years old. She now plays for WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, having previously played for the Canberra Capitals and the New York Liberty. KIA Nurse also played for Team Canada at the 2016 and 2020 (held in 2021) Olympics.
• WEAVE (33D: ___ poles (agility course obstacles)) WEAVE poles are a series of upright poles spaced about two feet apart, that dogs WEAVE through on an agility course. I've seen videos of dogs competing on agility courses, but did not know what this obstacle was called. 
• ALDIS (50D: "One Night in Miami" star Hodge) I learned about the movie, One Night in Miami - that tells of a fictionalized meeting between Malcolm X, Muhammed Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke - from the December 23, 2020 puzzle. The movie has appeared in the puzzle a couple of times since then, but I did not remember that ALDIS Hodge plays the role of Jim Brown.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• GNOME (4A: Garden figurine) I filled in this answer immediately, and then wondered, "Why do people put GNOMEs in their gardens? According to this article, although placing statues in gardens dates back to ancient Roman times, the contemporary garden GNOME was allegedly introduced in the 1880s, produced by German artist, Philip Griebel. GNOME figurines are now available in a variety of styles. You may recall this one that I linked to when GARDEN GNOME was a theme
  
  answer in a previous Claire Rimkus puzzle. On one of our daily walks a couple of months ago, my husband and I discovered a GNOME figurine that made us laugh. It's not in a garden, but being eaten by a dragon serving as a mailbox support. (True confession: I've been waiting for GNOME to appear in the puzzle so I could share this photo with you - thank you, Claire!)
• ROBIN (15A: "A Black Lady Sketch Show" creator Thede) ROBIN Thede created A Black Lady Sketch Show for HBO. As the name implies, the show features comedic sketches performed by a cast of Black women. ROBIN Thede is one of the stars of the show, joined by Ashley Nicole Black, Gabrielle Dennis, Quinta Brunson, Laci Mosley, and Skye Townsend.
• ANT (25A: Insect that Scott Lang can control) In the Marvel Comics Universe, Scott Lang is the alter-ego of ANT-Man. An electronics expert who is a reformed thief, Scott Lang is the second person to use the ANT-Man name, having stolen the ANT-Man suit from Hank Pym (who then gave him the suit). One of the abilities enabled by the ANT-Man suit is telepathic communication with insects.
• BACKTRACKED (26A: Reversed a previous decision) I initially had "backpedaled," which interestingly also fits the space, the clue, and the theme. However, that gave me the answer FLAPS for (18D: Alternatives to heels), rather than FLATS, alerting me to my error. 
• OWN (32A: ___ goal (hockey error) In hockey, an OWN goal - hitting a puck into your OWN team's net - is credited to the last player of the other team to have touched the puck. The thought behind this is that OWN goals sometimes happen when a player is trying to deflect a shot, and instead ends up scoring for the other team. 
• ECON (43A: Subj. aptly hidden in "trade control") Fun hidden word find. I'm a fan of this type of clue, particularly when the word is hidden in a phrase relating to its meaning.
• THAI (63A: Panang curry cuisine) Panang curry is a type of red THAI curry usually eaten with rice. 
• HENS (66A: Many "Chicken Run" characters) Chicken Run is a 2000 animated movie about a group of HENS attempting to escape a farm in order to avoid being made into meat pies.
• RON (68A: Comedian Funches) I learned about RON Funches earlier this year.
• BTS (61D: "Permission to Dance" band) "Permission to Dance" is a song released in July of this year by the South Korean boy band BTS.

Geography review:

• SPAIN (9D: Lydia Valentin's country) Lydia Valentín is a World Champion weightlifter. She has been weightlifting since the age of 11, and has competed in four Olympic games, including the recent Tokyo Games. 

This is a classic theme type, well-executed with a nice set of theme answers. I liked that each of the possible breaks of BED was represented twice. Some absolutely lovely non-theme answers today: COMES CLEAN, CORNY, LOOFAHS, STACK UP, NO IDEA, and my absolute favorite, NOTE TO SELF. I use the phrase NOTE TO SELF quite a bit, and it was fun to see it. This puzzle was a great way to begin my Tuesday.