February 9, 2022

Title: REPEAT BUSINESS

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editors: Mollie Cowger & Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN (17A: Refrain from a 1967 Aretha Franklin hit)

INCH BY INCH (35A: Gradually)

IN CERTAIN CASES (59A: On some occasions)

Theme synopsis: The abbreviation INC (representing an incorporation or BUSINESS) is REPEATed (seen twice) in each theme answer.

Things I learned:

• EGGS (10A: Tamago kake gohan ingredients) Tamago kake gohan consists of rice topped with raw EGGS and soy sauce. The dish is a popular Japanese breakfast food.
• CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN (17A: Refrain from a 1967 Aretha Franklin hit) CHAIN, CHAIN, CHAIN is a refrain from Aretha Franklin's song, "CHAIN of Fools." As I listen to the song, I think it's possible I've heard it before, but I definitely needed the assistance of crossing answers to fill this answer in. When the song was released as a single in 1967, it reached the top of Billboard's Hot Rhythm & Blues chart, and number two on Billboard's Hot 100.
• ROE (41A: Mentaiko pasta ingredient) Mentaiko pasta is a Japanese-style spaghetti dish featuring a spicy sauce made with pollock or cod ROE.
• SIS (58A: Bella, to Gigi, for short) I learned about model Bella Hadid from the July 20, 2021 puzzle. Today I learned Bella has a SIS named Gigi, who is also a model.
• REID (62A: "Foe" author Iain) Foe is a 2018 novel by Iain REID, who described the book as a "philosophical suspense story." Set in the future, Foe centers on a couple living on a remote farm, and a stranger that pays them a visit. Foe is being adapted into a movie starring Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, and LaKeith Stanfield.
• GOALIE (11D: water polo player with a red cap) Another sports thing I've learned from a crossword! All water polo players wear caps to protect their heads and ears. The caps also help identify the players; the home team wears dark-colored caps, and the visiting team wears white caps. The GOALIE for each team wears a red cap.
• PODS (44D: Outer parts of mao dou) I was not familiar with mao dou, but I do know this food by another name, edamame. Mao dou may also be referred to as young soybeans. "Mao duo" translates to "hairy beans," an allusion to the hairy PODS of the soybeans.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• STORE (14A: Strip mall tenant) A nice bonus to have STORE appear in the top corner of a puzzle with a BUSINESS theme. I would have laughed if the answer STORE had been REPEATed in the bottom corner, but I'm sure some people would not have found that duplicate funny.
• EDNA (32A: "The Incredibles" designer ___ Mode) Recently my husband and I have been rewatching some animated movies. We've watched Inside Out and Up, thanks to recent puzzles reminding me of these movies. Now I'm thinking I might add the 2004 movie The Incredibles to our watch list. Superhero costume designer, EDNA Mode was voiced by Brad Bird. 
• PET SAT (46A: Looked after a neighbor's cat, say) Willow has mixed feelings
  
  about this clue and answer. She's always delighted when cats are mentioned in the puzzle, but she is not a fan of the times we have been away and someone has PET SAT. (That being said, she does like our friend, Deanna, who most frequently looks after her when we are gone.)
• OREO (49A: Cookie with an Apple Cider Donut flavor) I knew the answer to this clue must be crossword's favorite cookie, but I was unfamiliar with the Apple Cider Donut OREO. The limited edition OREO flavor was released last August, just in time for fall. 
• DVD (54A: Redbox rental) My response to this clue was, "Is Redbox still a thing?" Apparently, it is. At Redbox kiosks, you can rent DVDs of movies, but as of 2020, you can no longer rent video games at Redbox's nearly 40,000 rental kiosks.
• PALE (64A: The "P" of IPA) IPA = India PALE ale.
• IRIS (4D: "The Flash" character West) IRIS West is a DC Comics character. She was the love interest, and eventually became the wife of Barry Allen, the alter ego of the superhero The Flash. IRIS did not know Barry was a superhero when they married; she discovered this information on their wedding night when he talked in his sleep. In the upcoming movie The Flash (release date November of this year), IRIS West will be played by Kiersey Clemons.
• VAMPIRE (38D: Twilight's Edward Cullen, for one) Robert Pattinson played the role of VAMPIRE Edward Cullen in the Twilight films. The movies were based on the novels by Stephanie Meyer.

Geography review:

• ALPS (20A: Swiss mountain range) Portions of the mountain range known as the ALPS are found in eight European countries: France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia.
• SAHARA (33A: Desert covering over 3 million square miles) Three million square miles is an extremely large area! For comparison, the SAHARA covers 3.6 million square miles, and the area of the United States (all 50 states and Washington D.C.) is just under 3.8 million square miles. The SAHARA is the largest hot desert in the world. It covers 31% of Africa. Eleven African countries contain portions of the SAHARA Desert: Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan, and Tunisia.
• SAO (61D: ___ Paulo, Brazil) SÃO Paulo is located in Southeastern Brazil about 70 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. My daughter and I have been letting each other know when we discover variations of Wordle. There are so many variations! Last night she told me about a geography version called Globle. Each day there is a mystery country, and as you guess, the countries are shaded in on a globe; the darker the shade, the closer your guess is to the mystery country. I have played it twice now, and find it challenging! 

When I filled in the theme answer of CHAIN, CHAIN, CHAIN, I noticed that a CHAIN is a type of BUSINESS, and it was REPEATed three times in the answer. "Aha," I thought, "I've spotted the theme." Nope. The theme answer INCH BY INCH let me know I needed to revise my thinking. That's the point at which I spotted the repeated INCs. Clever. I liked the crossing answers of HARD SELL and SOLD in the lower left corner. Fun to see these theme-related answers crossing. This puzzle was a great way to begin my Wednesday.