December 20, 2021

Title: DROP A LINE

Constructor: Kate Chin Park

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

LINEN CLOSET (3D: Place to store towels)

CELINE DION (20D: Quebecoise superstar singer)

TIMELINESS (18D: Relevance to current events)

CRYSTALLINE (24D: Sparkling clear)

Theme synopsis: Each vertical theme answer contains the letter string L-I-N-E. 

And now a word from our constructor:

Kate: I couldn't be happier to have this puzzle be my first solo byLINE. The theme is simple but really satisfying (to me, anyway!); I like that, in addition to the L-I-N-E sequence occurring later in each theme entry (at letter 1, then 3, then 5, then 8), it also starts further south in the grid each time as well (starting at rows 1, 6, 7, and 12, respectively), creating a nice visual. And I had a blast with the cluing; 23A, 55A, 2D (end the MSG stigma!), and 41D are my favorites. I also spent more time than I'd like to admit looking at DAPPER women online to try and use one in a clue (before settling on a straightforward definition).
But the thing that unexpectedly ended up being the most special to me in this puzzle was a single fill entry: HAPA, clued as [Identity for Hawaiians with both Native and non-Native ancestry]. When I first heard the word "hapa," in college, it was described to me as simply meaning "half" (as in, in my case, half Chinese), and it gave me a sense of racial identity and community that I had never experienced before, and to be honest have never experienced since. Some years later, I came to learn that the term was borrowed from mixed-heritage Hawaiians, many of whom would prefer that others not appropriate the word. For that reason I no longer use "hapa" to describe myself, but it still carries meaning for me. There's a great Code Switch piece on this subject that I recommend for anyone interested in learning more.

Things I learned:

• HAPA (1D: Identity for Hawaiians with both Native and non-Native ancestry) As Kate mentioned in her notes, and as the clue indicates, HAPA is a Hawaiian word used to indicate a person of mixed ethnic ancestry. HAPA is a new term for me, and I'm glad to learn about it. I read the article Kate recommended in her notes, and I also recommend it as a way to learn the history of the word's usage.
• ROASTED (43D: Cooked like nyama choma) Nyama choma is ROASTED meat, particularly grilled goat meat. "Nyama choma" means "barbecue meat" in Swahili.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• AMIGO (13A: Another word for "friend") and PAL (30A: Another word for "friend") Well, this is a friendly puzzle, isn't it?
• LIONEL (32A: Commodores singer Ritchie) LIONEL Ritchie was one of the lead singers of the Commodores from 1968 to 1982 before leaving the group to pursue a solo career. Two of the number one hits LIONEL Ritchie recorded with the Commodores (and also wrote) were the 1978 song "Three Times a Lady," and the 1979 song, "Still." 
• KYRA (34A: Name hidden backward in "Mary-Kate") I received a great amount of joy from this clue and answer. When I first read the clue, I thought, "Oh, that clever Kate; she managed to work her name into a clue." I was even more delighted when I realized what the answer was, because KYRA is my sister's name. I, of course, interrupted my solve to send KYRA a screenshot of the clue. Her response, "That's great. My name is mainstream now." We both acknowledge that she can thank KYRA Sedgwick and KYRA Phillips for that. (Hi, Seester!)
• ONEIDA (47A: Haudenosaunee nation) The Haudenosaunee are an indigenous confederacy comprised of Six Nations: the Mohawk, Onondaga, ONEIDA, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora peoples.
• TAOISTS (53A: Priests of "the way") TAOISTS follow a philosophical and spiritual tradition that emphasizes living in harmony with the natural order of the universe, a principal referred to as "Tao" or "the way."
• SASHA (8D: Pro-wrestler Banks) SASHA Banks is a professional wrestler with WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.) where she is a member of the SmackDown Brand. According to Bleacher Report, SASHA Banks is the third most-tweeted-about female athlete of 2021 (behind Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka).
• CELINE DION (20D: Quebecoise superstar singer) CELINE DION was born in Charlemagne, Quebec (15 miles northeast of Montreal). She is the best-selling Canadian recording artist of all time, and has won five Grammy Awards. If you'd like to listen to some CELINE DION to your day, you have a lot of choices, but perhaps you'd choose "My Heart Will Go On" (the 1997 song from the Titanic soundtrack), the 2002 song, "A New Day Has Come," or the 2003 song "Have You Ever Been in Love."

Geography review:

• KOREA (25D: Birthplace of Son Heung-min and Kim Yuna) Son Heung-min is a professional football player (soccer in the United States). He plays for Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and is the captain of the South KOREA national football team. Kim Yuna is a retired competitive figure skater. Representing South KOREA, she won an Olympic gold medal in ladies' single skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Not only did each theme answer DROP A LINE, since they were all Down answers, but the LINE DROPs progressively farther down in the puzzle as you move from left to right. I appreciated this added touch. Enjoyable cluing today - shoutouts to ESCROW (28A: Financial arrangement that sounds like a letter plus a bird), PLAN ((56A: It might be hatched or foiled), and CLATTER (41D: Sound of dropping Scrabble tiles). This puzzle was not SO BAD, (it wasn't at all bad) and I'm not just saying that out of a NEED to be NICER! In fact, to Kate I say, "YOU ROCK! Congrats on your solo byline!" This puzzle was a delightful way to begin my Monday.