September 13, 2021

Title: TO BE...

Constructors: Hoang-Kim Vu & Kate Chin Park

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

HONEST MISTAKE (20A: Error that anyone could've made)

SURE THING (32A: "You got it!")

FAIR FIGHT (38A: Voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams)

CLEAR FAVORITE (48A: Most likely winner)

Theme synopsis: When the first word of each theme answer is be placed after the words TO BE, a common phrase is formed.

And now a word from our constructors:

Kate: This puzzle is my global print debut, so it's obviously a special one. I can't overstate how fortunate I was to work on this with Kim, whose exacting standards led to better choices at every stage of construction, and under Erik's benevolent guiding hand. I really like the simplicity of this theme, with each theme entry a familiar, in-the-language phrase; and I was glad to be able to clue FAIR FIGHT as the groundbreaking organization helmed by Stacey Abrams. Cluing ZAGS as the Spokane college basketball team was a nod to my hometown, and I was delighted to be able to reference Gee's Bend in the clue for ART; if you aren't familiar with the work of the Gee's Bend artists, do yourself a favor and look it up.
One final note: RIP, Michael K. Williams, gone far too soon.

Kim: Kate is being incredibly modest here; I was as equally fortunate to work with her and her brilliant mind. As with many of my collaborations, all of the clues you loved came directly from my co-constructor; truly my only regret is that because of the USAT's cluing style guide - which I love, don't get me wrong - we don't get to see Kate's devilishly clever cluing mind. This is a really fun grid that I was just glad to be a part of.
Similar to Kate's final note: as most folks know, the time between finalizing a puzzle and publication is lengthy enough that things can change in that time. So while the Michael K. Williams clue could not possibly capture the singularity that he was, I'm still glad all the same that we could include him even in a small way.

Things I learned:

• ART (24A: Gee's Bend quilts, e.g.) This answer was fairly inferable, but I was not familiar with the ART produced by the residents of Gee's Bend, so I took Kate's suggestion and looked it up. Gee's Bend, Alabama is a rural Black community about 60 miles southwest of Montgomery. Women who live in the town have been quilting for many years, first gaining widespread recognition for their work when it was exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas in 2002. The next year, fifty of the women formed the Gee's Bend Quilters Collective to market their quilts. Some of the Gee's Bend quilts have sold for over $20,000. I recommend this Smithsonian article if you'd like to learn more about Gee's Bend quilts and their artists.
• ZAGS (55A: Nickname for the Gonzaga Bulldogs) Gonzaga University is a Catholic university in Spokane, Washington. It was founded in 2887 and named for a Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga. I was not familiar with the Gonzaga Bulldogs, but ZAGS is a fun nickname.
• K-POP (60A: Loona genre) Loona is a South Korean girl group. The K-POP group's debut song was "Favorite," released in 2018. For 18 months prior to the release of "Favorite," the 12 members of the group were introduced with the release of solo works and songs by small subdivisions of the group.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SCAR (10D: Facial feature of Michael K. Williams) Michael K. Williams was known for playing the roles of Omar Little on the TV series, The Wire, and Albert "Chalky" White on the HBO series, Boardwalk Empire. His signature SCAR was the result of an injury he received in a bar fight when he was 25 years old. As Kate and Kim mentioned in their notes, Michael K. Williams died a week ago at the age of 54. 
• HONEST MISTAKE (20A: Error that anyone could've made) TO BE HONEST, it delighted me to see the answers UH OH (2D: "I've got a bad feeling about this!") and NO NO (3D: Thing that oughtn't be done) next to each other and intersecting with HONEST MISTAKE.
• SURE THING (32A: "You got it!") TO BE SURE, I'm delighted when I ask someone to do something and they reply, "SURE THING!"
• FAIR FIGHT (38A: Voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams) TO BE FAIR, founding FAIR FIGHT Action is just one of many notable things Stacey Abrams has done. FAIR FIGHT was founded in 2018 to address voter suppression. As the FAIR FIGHT website proclaims, "Democracy works best when we put in place the guardrails that ensure every American has an equal opportunity to make their voice heard and be fairly represented."
• CLEAR FAVORITE (48A: Most likely winner) TO BE CLEAR, the choice of a CLEAR FAVORITE may depend on who you ask.
• SEARS (58A: Blackens on the grill) and CHAR (41D: Blacken on the grill) I fell right into this trap, confidently typing in CHARS at 58-Across, until I encountered 41-D where I already had CHA-.
• NASA (62A: Org. with an Artemis spaceflight program) The goal of NASA's Artemis program is to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. Long term goals are to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon, and send humans to Mars. Cool stuff!
• ADAMS (7D: "Arrival" and "Enchanted" actress Amy) Amy ADAMS played the role of linguist Louise Banks, who is hired by the U.S. Army to communicate with aliens, in the 2016 movie, Arrival. In the 2007 movie, Enchanted, she played the role of princess-to-be Giselle. Two vastly different roles!
• ELLE (21D: Main character in "Legally Blonde") Reese Witherspoon played the role of ELLE Woods in the 2001 movie, Legally Blonde. The movie was adapted by Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. Amanda Brown based her novel on experiences she had while attending Stanford Law School.
• PURIM (27D: Holiday with mishloach manot) Mishloach manot are gifts of food given to family and friends during the celebration PURIM. I wrote about the Jewish holiday of PURIM last month.

When I saw the title of this puzzle, I wondered whether the theme answers would feature two of the letter B (or maybe two of the letter string "BE?") I was delightfully surprised to discover that was not the case - a fun theme and a lovely set of theme answers today. CLEAR FAVORITE sets itself up nicely to be the FAVORITE theme answer, but TO BE HONEST, I'm partial to HONEST MISTAKE (the phrase, not the error...) The fill in today's puzzle is smooth, as we've come to expect from the USA Today, and sometimes take for granted. I especially liked RISES UP and HORIZON. Great cluing all around, including: CRISIS (5D: ___ of confidence), SCRATCH (10D: Start from ___), and LEGO (49D: Toy that's infamously painful to step on). Congratulations to Kate Chin Park on her USA Today debut! I have enjoyed solving her puzzles in other venues, including on her crossword blog, and it was a delight to see her name today along with Hoang-Kim Vu. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to begin my Monday.