February 14, 2022

Title: THE CATEGORY IS...

Constructor: Rebecca Goldstein

Editors: Mollie Cowger & Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

LIVE ON THE EDGE (15A: Take extreme risks)

WORK SPOUSES (35A: Colleagues with an extra-close relationship)

POSE A QUESTION (58A: Start a discussion in a seminar, maybe)

Theme synopsis: The first words of the theme answers complete the phrase, "THE CATEGORY IS...LIVE...WORK...POSE!"

Things I learned:

• DELI (1A: 2nd Ave ___ (kosher restaurant)) This is a great clue; it gives a shoutout to a particular restaurant, but is easily inferable even if you, like me, are unfamiliar with this particular DELI. The 2nd Ave DELI opened in New York City in 1954, at the corner of Second Avenue and East 10th Street. The DELI has since relocated, and now has two locations. The DELI was founded by Abe Lebewohl, who sadly was murdered in 1996. It is now operated by Abe's newhews, Josh and Jeremy.
• STEVEN (40A: "Minari" actor Yeun) Lee Isaac Chung's semi-autobiographical movie, Minari, released in 2020, follows a South Korean family who immigrate to the United States in the 1980s. STEVEN Yuen plays the role of Jacob Yi, the father of the family.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• NATURE (19A: Scientific journal in which the existence of neutrons was first proposed) NATURE is a weekly scientific journal that has been publishing peer-reviewed research since 1869. In 1932, NATURE published a paper by physicist James Chadwick titled, "Possible Existence of a Neutron." In 1935, Chadwick was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery. There are many ways to clue the word NATURE, and the scientist in me thoroughly enjoyed this clue.
• I TO (25A: "Who am ___ judge?") Although (full confession) I've never seen an episode of POSE, I know there's judging involved, so I'm calling "Who am I TO judge?" bonus theme content.
• WORK SPOUSES (35A: Colleagues with an extra-close relationship) Possibly because I've worked from home for many years, I've never had a friend I've referred to as a WORK SPOUSE. I've heard the term, however, and easily filled it in. I thought I'd link to an article that talked about WORK SPOUSES, for those that might not be familiar with this term, but many of the articles I found were fairly cringe-inducing (heterosexist and patriarchal). Although not perfect, this article from The Cut, gives an overview of the history of WORK SPOUSES, terminology that's been around since at least the 1930s.
• HMM (48A: "Interesting...") and OOH (54A: "Interesting!") What a fun pair of clues! I enjoyed the contrast in meaning provided by a slight change of punctuation, and liked that HMM and OOH appear stacked in the grid.
• ARCADE (52A: "Wreck-It Ralph" setting) Wreck-It Ralph is a 2012 Disney animated movie about an ARCADE game villain who dreams of being a hero. John C. Reilly voices the title character.
• IRON (63A: Element transported in hemoglobin) IRON is an essential component of hemoglobin, an oxygen-transporting protein found in red blood cells. IRON is also a component of myoglobin, a protein that can store oxygen in muscle tissue. (I am refraining from giving a highly technical description of the role of IRON in hemoglobin, though I personally find it fascinating.)
• EPA (65A: Government org. concerned with AQI) AQI = Air quality index, a concern of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• GOTTA (6D: "___ catch 'em all") "GOTTA catch 'em all," is the theme of the Pokémon franchise
• SWEATER (11D: A grandpa cardigan is one) I was actually unfamiliar with the term "grandpa cardigan," a term used to describe a classic, warm, slightly oversized cardigan. However, the meaning of the term is inferable, and the clue made me chuckle because I happen to be wearing such a SWEATER today. The grandpa cardigan I'm wearing was knit by a family friend for my dad (my kids' grandpa!) After my dad died, my mom asked me if I wanted the SWEATER, and, of course I said, yes. The SWEATER is my dad's favorite color, and as it's one of the few red pieces of clothing I own, I often wear it on Valentine's Day.
• TIN (60D: Sn on the periodic table) The chemical element TIN has an atomic number of 50, and its symbol is Sn. Another science clue - yippee!
• ERIC (17D: Ncuti Gatwa's "Sex Education" role) Sex Education is a TV series about Otis, a teenager who, with a fellow classmate, sets up a sex advice business. ERIC, Otis's openly gay best friend, comes from a religious Ghanian-Nigerian family Ncuti Gatwa has won multiple awards for his portrayal of ERIC.
• LOEB (33D: Singer-songwriter Lisa) Lisa LOEB's 1994 song, "Stay (I Missed You)" (from the Reality Bites movie soundtrack) was a number one hit, and made Lisa LOEB the first artist without a recording contract to have a number one hit.
• WORMHOLE (35D: Theoretical tunnel through space-time) A WORMHOLE, also referred to as an "Einstein-Rosen bridge," is a speculative tunnel connecting two points in spacetime. Although consistent with the general theory of relativity, the existence of WORMHOLEs has not been confirmed. Bring on the science!
• IMHO (38D: "if u ask me") "OMG! IMHO, this xw is srsly lit!" (Translation: "Oh my god/goodness/gosh! In my humble opinion, this crossword is seriously fabulous!")
• REM (47D: "Nightswimming" band) "Nightswimming" is a 1993 song by REM about a group of friends going skinny dipping. (The song features a prominent oboe in the latter part of the piece, in case any constructors reading this are in need of an oboe clue.)
• LENA (56D: Tony winner Hall) LENA Hall won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for the role of Yitzhak in the 2014 revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Geography review:

• DOHA (43D: Qatar's capital) The country of Qatar is located on the Qatar Peninsula, a portion of the Arabian Peninsula that extends into the Persian Gulf. DOHA is Qatar's capital and most populous city.
• CAIRO (53D: Egypt's capital) Egypt is located in northeast Africa. A portion of the country, the Sinai Peninsula, forms a land bridge to the southwest corner of Asia, making Egypt a transcontinental country. CAIRO, located near the Nile River delta, is the capital of EGYPT, and the largest city in the Arab world.

The TV series, POSE, is centered on the Black and Latino LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming drag ball culture of the 1980s and 1990s. Although, as I mentioned above, I haven't seen POSE, I learned the phrase from the opening credits, "THE CATEGORY IS...LIVE...WORK...POSE!" from the November 14, 2021 puzzle. The phrase makes for an enjoyable theme. As I noted above, I particularly enjoyed all of the science content Rebecca wove into the puzzle. This puzzle was a delightful way to begin my Monday. Whether or not you observe Valentine's Day in any way, I hope you feel loved today (and every day).