December 30, 2021

Title: THE GOAT

Constructors: Rebecca Goldstein & Matthew Stock

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

KID GLOVES (17A: Extreme gentleness, metaphorically)

BILLY PORTER (39A: Fashion icon who won a Tony for "Kinky Boots")

NANNY CAMS (63A: Surveillance devices that might be hidden in teddy bears)

Theme synopsis: We don't just have THE GOAT today, we actually have a trio of GOATs found at the beginning of each theme answer. We have a KID GOAT (juvenile), a BILLY GOAT (male), and a NANNY GOAT (female).

Things I learned:

• ANANDA (45D: Former MTV veejay Lewis) ANANDA Lewis was an MTV veejay from the late 1990s to 2001. More recently, in 2019 she hosted a revival of the TLC and HGTV reality TV series, While You Were Out. In October of 2020, ANANDA Lewis revealed she had stage 3 breast cancer. She shared her story to encourage women to get mammograms. (I'm adding my own encouragement here: if you are a person for whom annual mammograms are recommended, please get them!)

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• COMO (15A: "___ te llamas?") "What is your name?"
• NECCO (34A: Classic wafer brand) I had NILLA first, until I realized 26-Down was likely not LALY.
• AAHED (37A: Oohed and ___) We also saw AAHED in yesterday's puzzle. I appreciate the choice (both days) to clue this answer in a way that indicates the spelling of AAHED, since "aah"  also appears in puzzles spelled "ahh." 
• BILLY PORTER (39A: Fashion icon who won a Tony for "Kinky Boots") In 2013, BILLY PORTER won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for the role of Lola in Kinky Boots. Cyndi Lauper wrote the songs for the musical, which tells the story of Charlie Price. Charlie inherited a shoe factory from his father, and ends up in a partnership with a drag queen named Lola. If you need some positive energy in your day (and who doesn't?!), here's a video of BILLY PORTER and other past Kinky Boots cast members singing the musical's finale "Raise You Up." Honestly, I may listen to this on repeat all day.
• ARIEL (42A: Mermaid who sings "Part of Your World") That's ARIEL from Disney's 1989 animated movie, The Little Mermaid, of course. Jodi Benson, who voiced ARIEL in the movie, sang "Part of Your World." 
• ONO (55A: "Delicious" in Hawaiian) The word "ONO," meaning "delicious" or "good to eat," in Hawaiian, is the name of a fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. The fish is also known as the wahoo. 
• AKITAS (59A: Large Japanese dogs) AKITAS are large, powerful dogs originally from the mountainous regions of northern Japan. The AKITA is the national dog of Japan.
• MIDDLE (3D: Where the star is on a Scrabble board) I always enjoy a Scrabble clue. As Scrabble players will remember, the first word of the game has to cover the star in the MIDDLE of the board.
• HOV (6D: Carpool lane (Abbr.)) In case you've ever wondered, HOV stands for high-occupancy vehicle.
• ROOT BEER (11D: Common soft drink for a float) Just yesterday we saw ROOT BEER float as a theme answer. Floats are the best way to drink ROOT BEER, in my opinion. I like trying new recipes, and on Christmas Day I made ROOT BEER ham. The recipe involves pouring ROOT BEER over the ham, adding shallots and bay leaves, covering the entire pan with foil, and slowly cooking it at a low temperature for several hours. The ROOT BEER liquid is then used to make a glaze for the ham. The ham was good, but it didn't wow me enough the make it again.
• TAMARI (22D: Sauce that becomes a fruit when you add "nd" to the end) TAMARI is a Japanese sauce made from fermented soybeans. It is similar to soy sauce, but slightly thicker (and gluten-free). A tamarind is the fruit of a tree indigenous to tropical Africa. Tamarinds are brown, pod-like fruits with a sweet, tangy pulp. (TAMARI is not made from tamarinds.)
• SNIPE (30D: Wading bird with a long bill) There are about 26 species of wading birds referred to as
  
  SNIPE. As the clue tells us, a SNIPE has a long bill; it also has camouflage plumage that allows it to blend in with its surroundings. If you like learning about birds and/or playing board games, I highly recommend the game Wingspan. My son gave it to me for Christmas, and we have been enjoying it immensely. It features cards with pictures of birds, complete with facts about their diet, habitat, and nesting habits. 
• OREO (40D: Double Stuf cookie) I saw that Dionne Warwick, who was the subject of a puzzle earlier this month, tweeted at OREO yesterday. I'm letting you know this in case this information shows up in a future OREO clue.

Geography review:

• APIA (14A: Capital of Samoa) Samoa is an island country in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. It is located about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. As the clue informs us, APIA is the capital city of Samoa. In fact, APIA is Samoa's only city. 
• SALEM (9D: Capital of Oregon) Oregon's capital city, SALEM, is the second largest city in the state. Portland is Oregon's largest city. SALEM is nicknamed the "Cherry City," and flowering cherry trees have been planted along many streets. The National Arbor Day Foundation has awarded SALEM "Tree City USA" status for its dedication to urban forestry.

It's a matter of opinion which puzzle is the Greatest Of All Time, but this puzzle is definitely THE GOAT. A fun theme with three great theme answers. Some clues I especially enjoyed today were MAZE (44A: Puzzle that a person might walk through), I'M TIRED (12D: Words that often follow a yawn), and PROPER (43D: Like many capitalized nouns). I also liked the answers BEST BUDS and MAKE DO. This puzzle was a delightful way to start my Thursday.