October 13, 2021

Title: DOUBLEDAY

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

BORROWED MONEY (18A: Took out a loan, for example

SWEDISH MONARCHY (33A: Stockholm Palace line)

WEDDING KIMONO (49A: Japanese bridal garment)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer contains the abbreviations for two DAYs of the week: WEDnesday and MONday.

Things I learned:

• ANNE (55A: Painter Neilson) ANNE Neilson is known for her painting of angels. She has published three coffee table books of her paintings: Angels in Our Midst (2012), Strokes of Compassion (2014), and Angels: The Collector's Edition (2016).
• HOLES (62A: Simit bread middles) Simit, a popular Turkish street food, is a circular bread coated with seeds - usually sesame seeds. In the United States simit is known as the Turkish bagel.
• LIMES (44D: Khauk swe thoke fruits) Khauk swè thoke is a salad in Burmese cuisine. The dish consists of wheat noodles, dried shrimp, shredded cabbage, carrots, fish sauce - perhaps a TSP (41A: Fish sauce amount (Abbr.)) - LIMES, and peanut oil. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• AGES (12A: A long time) and AGO (2D: A long time ___) This is the first of many clue pairs in this puzzle. I like that AGES and AGO crossed.
• MENA (13A: Name that's an anagram of "name") The name MENA may be a given name or a nickname for Wilhelmena. This clue led me to look up people named MENA, which introduced me to MENA Trott (now MENA Lazar), the co-founder of Six Apart, the company that created the early blogging software, Moveable Type. 
• ECON (16A: B-school course) and MBA(21A: B-school degree) It took me a few moments to realize a B-school was a Business school, not a second-tier college. I guess that makes it obvious I'm not a B-school grad, and don't have an MBA. I did take ECON though; the main thing I remember from that course is learning about cognitive dissonance. 
• TIO (30A: Hermano de una madre) The hermano (brother) de una madre (of your mother) would be your TIO (uncle).
• SWEDISH MONARCHY (33A: Stockholm Palace line) Sweden is currently governed by a representative democracy. The SWEDISH MONARCHY perform a variety of official and unofficial duties representing Sweden. The current King of Sweden is Carl XVI Gustaf, who inherited the throne after the death of his grandfather in 1973.
• RIB (47A: Bone near the serratus anterior) The serratus anterior is a muscle connecting the scapula (shoulder blade) to the RIBs.
• ACIDS (54A: Glycolic and hyaluronic, e.g.) Glycolic ACID is made by many plants, and is used in some skin care products. Hyaluronic ACID is a component of skin and cartilage in humans. It is also used medically and is a common ingredient in skin care products. 
• SNOWS (6D: Winter weather events) and ICE STORMS (31D: Winter weather events) This pair of clues reminded me of our recent vacation. As I mentioned yesterday, I've been in Colorado. Near the end of our time in
  
  Rocky Mountain National Park, it SNOWed in the mountains, making for beautiful photo ops. We also encountered an ICE STORM (sleet and hail) while we were hiking on our last day there. 
• TODOS (8D: All, in Spanish) and NADA (53D: Nothing, in Spanish) It's all or nothing with this pair of clues. Fun to see TODOS and NADA lined up in the same column.
• AS ONE (9D: In unison) This wasn't necessarily a paired clue, but it was fun to see AS ONE right next to TODOS.
• ADOBO (36D: Slow-cooked Filipino dish) ADOBO is made using vinegar, soy sauce, black peppercorns, and bay leaves. The dish may be cooked with pork or chicken, or only vegetables.
• RINSE (47D: Remove soap from) and WASH (49D: Use soap on) One more set of paired clues.

Geography review:

• DIEGO (40A: San ___ State University) San DIEGO State University is a public university founded in 1897. It's motto is "Leadership Starts Here."
• ERIE (45A: Pennsylvania city home to Waldameer & Water World) Waldameer & Water World is an amusement park in ERIE, Pennsylvania that operates from May through September. The name "Waldameer" translates from German to "Woods by the Sea." A new cluing angle for our crossword-friend, ERIE.
• MINSK (21D: Most populous city in Belarus) In addition to being its most populous city, MINSK is the capital of Belarus. 

Appropriately for a DOUBLEDAY themed puzzle, we had an abundance of paired clues today. I appreciated that today is WEDnesday, one of the DAYs utilized in the theme. I also thought it was fun to see WED and MON move progressively farther apart. I don't think there's any particular meaning there, just a nice visual. The grid for today's puzzle is asymmetric. I'm assuming this choice was made to enable smooth fill, and I will always be a fan of that decision. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to begin my WEDnesday.