February 13, 2022

Title: CLAM UP

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editors: Mollie Cowger & Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

FORMAL CONTRACT (3D: Legally binding agreement)

ANIMAL CROSSING (13D: Video game in which players are indebted to Tom Nook)

AMAL CLOONEY (17D: Human rights barrister who has represented Nadia Murad)

Theme synopsis: Reading UP the vertical theme answers, we find the word CLAM.

Things I learned:

• EMMA (7A: "The Crown" actor Corrin) The Crown is a historical Netflix series covering the life of Queen Elizabeth II from 1947, when she married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, through the early 21st century. For her portrayal of Diana, Princess of Wales, EMMA Corrin won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama.
• NAM (19A: Kim ___-joon aka RM) RM is the stage name of Kim NAM-Joon, a rapper, songwriter, and record producer, and the leader of the K-pop group BTS. I am familiar with BTS, having learned about them from a BTS-titled puzzle in October 2020, but am not up on the names of the group's members. 
• LAO (45A: ___ po (Chinese for wife)) Here's a video clip with the Mandarin Chinese characters and pronunciation of LAO po.
• TAI (48A: Hong Kong singer Samuel) One of Samuel TAI's songs, released in the early 1990's, is "999 Roses."

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ALLEN (41A: "Fame" actress and choreographer Debbie) Debbie ALLEN was the principal choreographer for the TV series, Fame, and played the role of dance teacher Lydia Grant. Any mention of Fame results in the lyrics of the theme song popping into my head. "...Remember my name (Fame!)/ I'm gonna live forever/ I'm gonna learn how to fly, high..."
• RED (5D: Gochugaru's color) Gochugaru (as I learned from the April 18, 2021 puzzle) is also known as Korean chili powder. Its vibrant RED color is a result of being made from sun-dried Korean chili peppers.
• ANIMAL CROSSING (13D: Video game in which players are indebted to Tom Nook) In the ANIMAL CROSSING series of video games, players assume the role of a character that explores an island and interacts with anthropomorphic animals. Everything I know about ANIMAL CROSSING, I've learned from crosswords: Sable and Mable Able are hedgehogs. Turnips are sold on the Stalk Market. Dotty is a black and white rabbit with turquoise ears whose eyes go red when she is surprised or shocked. And a raccoon named Tom Nook is a store owner and real estate broker that gives players a no-interest loan to buy a house. Maybe someday I'll play ANIMAL CROSSING!
• AMAL CLOONEY (17D: Human rights barrister who has represented Nadia Murad) AMAL CLOONEY is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, who specializes in international law and human rights. She is also the co-founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice. Her clients include human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad. (I linked to this article even though it made me mad by describing AMAL CLOONEY as George's wife in the headline. She is, but is that important to this article? No. Is she accomplished in her own right? Heck, yes! Okay, stepping off of soap box now...)
• BLUE (25D: Color of some damson plums) Damson plums range in color from BLUE to purple to nearly black.
• ANNE (39D: "Digging to America" author Tyler) Digging to America is a 2006 novel by ANNE Tyler about two families that adopt infant daughters from Korea.
• VERB (53D: Base word of a gerund) In English, the gerund is often commonly referred to as the "-ing" form of VERBs.
• CREE (54D: Like the Nishiyuu Walkers) The Nishiyuu Walkers are a group of CREE youth that walked from Whapmagoostui First Nation in Canada to Parliament Hill in Ottawa - a distance of over 1600 kilometers (994 miles) - in January 2013, in order to draw attention to challenges of First Nations people. 

Geography review:

• ERIE (2D: Lake near Toledo, OH) Toledo, Ohio is at the western end of Lake ERIE. Back-to-back appearances for our crossword-friend ERIE, as we saw it yesterday. 
• ASIA (28D: Xiamen's continent) Xiamen is a city in China, and therefore is in ASIA. Today is one of the few times each year that we get to see our crossword friends ERIE and ASIA hanging out in the same puzzle. The last time they appeared together was December 24, 2021. This has absolutely no significance other than making the data nerd in me really happy.
• SOHO (60D: Manhattan neighborhood near Chinatown) The SOHO neighborhood in New York City derives its name from being SOuth of HOuston Street. The area is home to a number of art galleries, artists' lofts, and shops. There is also a SOHO neighborhood in London's West End.

I wondered if the title of today's puzzle would feature the number six, since we've seen titles counting up the last few days. (THREE, FOUR, FIVE) However, instead our puzzle decided to CLAM UP. A classic theme type with a solid set of theme answers. I especially enjoyed the non-theme answers ME AGAIN and IF EVER. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to begin my Sunday.

Many thanks to Shannon Rapp for guest blogging yesterday! If you haven't yet checked out her post, why not do so now? I'm excited to add Shannon to my fabulous crew of guest bloggers.