November 14, 2021

Title: LEAD BY EXAMPLE

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

EMMA GOLDMAN (17A: Early anarch-feminist)

ELLIE GOULDING (38A: "Love Me Like You Do" singer)

ESTELLE GETTY (57A: She played Sophia Petrillo on "The Golden Girls")

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer is the name of a person whose initials (LEAD letters) are E.G., the abbreviation for "example gratia" that is used to denote an EXAMPLE.

Things I learned:

• ALTAR (1A: A kamidana is a small one) Associated with the Shinto religion an most commonly found in Japan, a kamidana is a miniature household ALTAR.
• LIVE (46A: "The category is...___...Work...Pose!") "The category is...LIVE...Work...Pose!" is from the opening segment of the TV series, Pose. I know of this TV series, which centers on the Black and Latino LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming drag ball culture of the 1980s and 1990s, but I have not seen it, so was not familiar with this phrase. 
• GOAT (9D: Animal with panoramic vision) A GOAT has rectangular pupils. The result is panoramic vision, enabling the detection of predators from various directions. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• EMMA GOLDMAN (17A: Early anarch-feminist) EMMA GOLDMAN was born in a part of the Russian Empire that is now Lithuania in 1869. She emigrated to the United States in 1885, and became a well-known writer and lecturer on anarchist philosophy, women's rights, and social issues. She died in 1940 at the age of 70.
• NBA (20A: Timberwolves' org.) and TEAM (54A: The Minnesota Lynx, for example) A pair of Minnesota basketball clues. The Minnesota Timberwolves are an NBA TEAM based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minnesota Lynx are a WNBA TEAM also based in Minneapolis. Both teams play at the Target Center arena.
• ELLIE GOULDING (38A: "Love Me Like You Do" singer) ELLIE GOULDING recorded "Love Me Like You Do" for the soundtrack album of the movie, Fifty Shades of Grey. The song was also included on her 2015 studio album, Delirium.
• SISSY (48A: "Carrie" actress Spacek) SISSY Spacek played the title role in the 1976 movie, Carrie, the first movie adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 novel. 
• ESTELLE GETTY (57A: She played Sophia Petrillo on "The Golden Girls") The TV series, The Golden Girls, originally aired from 1985 to 1992. ESTELLE GETTY played the role of Sophia, Petrillo, the mother of Dorothy Zbornak, played by Bea Arthur.
• SHERPA (61A: Nepali ethnic group) The SHERPA people are a Tibetan ethnic group native to the mountainous regions of Nepal, Tibet, and the Himalayas.
• TAMALE (3D: ___ pie (Tex-Mex dish)) My first thoughts were taco pie or Frito pie, both of which we've seen as answers previously. When those didn't fit, I remembered TAMALE pie (which we've also seen before). Honestly, I'd be happy to eat any of these pies.
• LOIS (30D: Poet ___ Red Elk) LOIS Red Elk is a member of the Fort Peck Sioux in Montana. Poems in her 2013 book, Dragonfly Weather, are descriptive of life on the Fort Peck Reservation. You can read a sample of her poetry, titled "Game," on the Poetry Foundation website.
• EGOT (59D: Grand Slam of entertainment, for short) EGOT stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.

Geography review:

• FARGO (6A: Twin city of Moorhead, Minnesota) FARGO is the most populous city in North Dakota. It is located on the eastern border of North Dakota, along the North Dakota-Minnesota border. Its twin city, Moorhead, is located on the Minnesota side of the border. 
• TRI (11A: ___-state area) TRI-state area is an informal term that is used to describe a number of places in the United States. There are 62 places in the United States where three states meet. Thirty-five of those points are on land, and are often signified by some kind of marker. The remaining TRI-points are located in an area covered by water. 
• MIAMI (14A: Florida city home to Calle Ocho) Calle Ocho, which means "eighth street" in Spanish, is a roughly seven-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 41 in the Little Havana section of MIAMI. The Calle Ocho Music Festival that occurs in March each year is the largest Hispanic street festival and block party in the southeastern United States. 
• ERIE (38D: Shallowest Great Lake) It's our crossword friend, ERIE, back for the sixth time this month!
• OTTAWA (52D: Canada's fourth-largest city) OTTAWA, located in southern Ontario, is the capital of Canada. The three Canadian cities larger than OTTAWA are Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary.

It took me some time to figure out this clever theme. (I distracted myself by noticing all three theme answers have beginnings that sound like letters, EM-, EL-, and ES-...) This puzzle was a bit of a challenging solve for me. Although all three theme answers were names I am familiar with, I am not good at remembering names, so I needed lots of assistance from crossing answers to help these long answers EMERGE. This puzzle is asymmetrical to accommodate a theme set with 11-, 12-, and 14-letter answers. WHY, YES, I did enjoy this puzzle, and it was a fine way to begin my Sunday.