October 20, 2021

Title: YOU'RE A SWEETHEART

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

PRECIOUS LEE (16A: Model on the cover of Vogue's 2021 September issue)

WENDY DARLING (26A: Friend of Peter Pan)

REBECCA SUGAR (44A: "Steven Universe" creator)

ANGEL OLSEN (61A: "My Woman" singer-songwriter)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer is a person whose first or last name is synonymous with SWEETHEART: PRECIOUS, DARLING, SUGAR, ANGEL.

Things I learned:

• PRECIOUS LEE (16A: Model on the cover of Vogue's 2021 September issue) PRECIOUS LEE is one of the model's appearing in Vogue's September 2021 cover story, "Generation America: The Models Changing an Industry."
• REBECCA SUGAR (44A: "Steven Universe" creator) I learned about Steven Universe - the animated TV series about magical alien warriors - from the August 20, 2021 puzzle. Animator, writer, and storyboard artist, REBECCA SUGAR, is the creator of the show. Steven Universe has won multiple awards, including a 2019 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids and Family Program.
• ANGEL OLSEN (61A: "My Woman" singer-songwriter) My Woman was ANGEL OLSEN's third studio album. Time magazine listed My Woman among "The Top 10 Best Albums of 2016." 
• FETE (68A: Soca party) "Soca" was a new term for me. Soca music - defined as the "Soul of Calypso"- was invented by Trinidadian musician, Lord Shorty. A soca party, or FETE, features plenty of the high-energy music, perfect for partying and dancing.
• HER (39D: "On ___ Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker") On HER Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker is a 2002 biography of Madam C.J. Walker, written by her great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles. In the early 1900s, Madam C.J. Walker developed a line of cosmetics and hair care products for Black women, and founded the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. The 2020 Netflix miniseries, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker was based on A'Lelia Bundles's book. This clue is an example of a good way to elevate a common three-letter answer such as HER.
• AGED (56D: Like Zhenjiang vinegar) Zhenjiang vinegar is a rice-based black vinegar taking its name from the city of Zhenjiang in China's Jiangsu province. During production, Zhenjiang vinegar is AGED for at least three months.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LETTER (23A: Alif, ba or ta, for example) Alif, ba, and ta are the first three LETTERs of the Arabic alphabet. 
• DOE (34A: Female mouse) Other female animals referred to as DOE include the antelope, caribou, deer, gerbil, hamster, hare, koala, rabbit, rat, squirrel, and weasel. A male mouse is called a buck.
• ACNE (63A: Salicylic acid target) Salicylic acid is the active ingredient in many ACNE treatments.
• TOAD (66A: "Frog and ___ Together") Frog and TOAD Together is a 1972 Newberry Honor Book by Arnold Lobel. The book is one of a series of books about two great friends, Frog and TOAD. I have fond memories of reading these fabulous books to my children. There is a Twitter account, Frog and TOAD Bot, that tweets art and quotes from the Frog and TOAD books every three hours.
• SISTER (12D: Chloe, to Halle Bailey) The R&B DUO, Chloe x Halle, is composed of SISTERs Chloe and Halle Bailey.
• DUO (42D: Irene & Seulgi, e.g.) I learned about this DUO - a subgroup of the South Korean girl group, Red Velvet - from the May 23, 2021 puzzle. 

Geography review:

• ATL (6D: Capital of Georgia, for short) ATLanta, Georgia's name comes from the Western and Atlantic Railroad, as the city was originally founded as the terminus of the state-sponsored railroad. PRECIOUS LEE is from ATLanta, Georgia.
• IDA (25D: Neighbor of Ore.) IDA has become a crossword-frequent-flier recently. This is its fourth appearance this month, and its sixth appearance since June 10 of this year (the start of this blog's second year.) With eight months still to go in this blogging year, today's appearance means IDA has tied its number of appearances in the first year of Sally's Take. We'll see if this trend continues. (There's no significance to this other than showing I like data.)

It was fun to see that today's SWEETHEARTs come from a variety of areas. We have a model, a fictional character, an animator, and a singer. TOP BANANA and OVERDID IT were nice long Down answers, though I initially had trouble figuring out both of those answers because I had "aha" instead of OHH (8A: "Now I get it!") and "I dunno" instead of NO IDEA (53A: "Couldn't tell ya!") As you can see, I learned a lot of new things from this puzzle. It was a great start to my Wednesday.