January 21, 2022

Title: END PIECES

Constructors: Brooke Husic & Rafael Musa

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

DO YOUR FAIR SHARE (17A: Adequately contribute to a group project)

FOR THE MOST PART (37A: With only a few exceptions)

DJ CUCUMBER SLICE (62A: Rock Steady Crew member aka Bobbito Garcia)

Theme synopsis: The END words of the theme answers are ways to describe PIECES of things: SHARE, PART, and SLICE.

And now a word from our constructors:

Rafa: My first published puzzle of 2022 is also my first ever published collab, and I’m beyond honored to be doing it with the one and only Brooke Husic! We had a ton of fun working on this puzzle — I hope you enjoy solving. And, if you do, check out the collab that this puzzle inspired (https://puzzfeed.weebly.com/blog/can-i-git-it-w-brooke) on my blog for another good-vibes solve!

Brooke: From Brooke: I am so grateful to have worked with Rafa on this puzzle! It was extremely fun and I am generally in awe of his filling skillz and clues that make me laugh, especially in his indie puzzles! In this one, I love that we got to name-drop Shania Twain, and my favorite clue is the one for ANY DAY NOW.

Things I learned:

• DJ CUCUMBER SLICE (62A: Rock Steady Crew member aka Bobbito Garcia) In addition to being a member of the breakdancing and hip hop group, Rock Steady Crew, DJ CUCUMBER SLICE is an author, streetball (a variation of basketball)  player, and streetball coach. Another of his aliases is Kool Bob Love. His 2003 book, Where'd You Get Those?: New York City's Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987 documents sneakers during the early days of their popularity. The book has led to collaborations with Puma to release special edition sneakers. Sometimes I fill in an answer which is a person's name and wonder, "Have I heard of them?" In this case, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered this name had I encountered it before. I was grateful for fair crossing answers to help me uncover DJ CUCUMBER SLICE.
• ROSS (19D: "K.C. Undercover" actor Butler) K.C. Undercover is a TV series that aired on the Disney Channel from 2015-2018. The show centers on K.C. Cooper (played by Zendaya), a high school student and math genius who is recruited by her parents to be a spy for The Organization. ROSS Butler had a recurring role on the show as K.C.'s ex-boyfriend who is an enemy spy. ROSS Butler also played the roles of Zach Dempsey on the Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why, and Trevor Pike in the movies To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and To All the Boys: Always and Forever. 
• LIP (50A: ___ kit (tools for creating a pout)) Once again, the lack of time I've spent in the cosmetics aisle meant I did not immediately know the answer here. However, it was inferable with the hint of "pout", which I was grateful for. Here's a fun fact I learned: Kylie Cosmetics, founded by Kylie Jenner, was originally named Kylie LIP Kits. The company's first product, Kylie LIP Kits, contained a LIP liner and a liquid lipstick.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• IMAN (9A: Model Chanel) Chanel IMAN has modeled for Gucci, Versace, Oscar de la Renta, and many others. In 2010 she became a Victoria's Secret Angel. 
• SHALL (23A: "This too ___ pass") This clue/answer pair reminded me of my dad. "This too SHALL pass," is something I heard him say many times. It's possible this saying planted the seed that became my own mantra, "It's a phase."
• ANA (28A: Palindromic suffix for "Hawaii") Hawaiiana is a term used to refer to things related to Hawaii or of Hawaiian origin.
• CAT (35A: Purring pet) Willow is always pleased when CAT appears in the puzzle.
  
  This morning she carefully examined the grid. (If she was looking for the word CAT, she was out of luck, as she was obscuring it with her paw!)
• YOU'RE (67A: "___ Still the One" (Shania Twain)) "YOU'RE Still the One" is a 1998 single from Shania Twain's album, Come On Over. This is not to be confused with the song that popped into my head and became an earworm when I read this clue, the 1975 song, "Still the One," by Orleans. ("We're still having fun, and YOU'RE still the one.)
• NERDS (12D: Sportle quiz makers, perhaps) Sporcle is a trivia website on which users can take quizzes on a range of subjects. If you'd like to pay tribute to the singer Meat Loaf, who died yesterday at the age of 74, you can take a quiz on the things Meat Loaf would do for love, and also a quiz on the things Meat Loaf won't do for love. 
• TALLCHIEF (36D: Prima Ballerina Maria) I learned about Maria TALLCHIEF, the first star of the New York City Ballet, from the May 8, 2021 puzzle. 
• RATS (38D: Rodents that might be "hooded") "Hooded" RATS have white bellies, with coloring on their head and shoulders. The RATS are a strain of black RATS developed from breeding in captivity.
• RAIL (41D: Something a skateboarder grinds on) Here's a video teaching you to grind a RAIL, in case you're so inclined.
• END (66D: Last part) Appropriately, this was the last answer of my solve.

Geography review:

• RIO (2D: Brazil's capital until 1960, for short) RIO de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil. (São Paulo is the largest Brazilian city.) RIO is located in the southeastern part of Brazil, along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. In 1956, a plan was made to move the capital of Brazil to a more central location. The current capital, Brasília, was founded on April 21, 1960 to become the nation's new capital. Brasília is a planned city with sectors designated for specific activities, such as the Banking Sector and the Hotel Sector. Brasilia has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its artistic urban planning.
• PERU (47D: Country bordering Lake Titicaca) Lake Titicaca is a large, freshwater lake in the Andes Mountains. It is bordered by two countries: PERU and Bolivia.

It wasn't just the END PIECES of today's theme answers that were delightful; in each case, the entire theme answer was great! In addition to the theme, I enjoyed the answers INSTINCT, and ANY DAY NOW. (It may be my INSTINCT to point at the clock impatiently and say, "ANY DAY NOW.") I also liked BARE MINIMUM, appearing perpendicularly below and in nice contrast to DO YOUR FAIR SHARE. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to start my Friday.

As a side note, did anyone else notice that the puzzle's title was in ALL CAPS on the USA Today app? In the past, puzzle titles have had only the first letters of words capitalized, and I wondered whether the capitalization was significant to the puzzle's theme. As it appears not to be, I'm wondering if this is a style change (perhaps to align with my style choice - ha!)