March 14, 2022

Title: FALL BACK

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

VANILLA FUDGE (20A: Classic cubed confection)

ELLA FITZGERALD (39A: "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" singer)

PULL A FAST ONE (56A: Be deceitful)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer contains the word FALL BACKward.

Things I learned:

• LOVE (14A: Qixi Festival sentiment) The Qixi Festival, sometimes referred to as Chinese Valentine's Day, is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunisolar month in the Chinese calendar (August 4 on the Gregorian calendar this year). The festival celebrates the LOVE of two characters in a Chinese folk tale, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
• ARIAS (26D: Solos for Rosa Feola) Rosa Feola is an Italian operatic soprano. Her signature role is Gilda in Rigoletto, which she has performed at Opernhaus Zürich, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and The Metropolitan Opera.
• HOMIE (53A: 2020 Danez Smith book) HOMIE is a collection of poems by Danez Smith. This review of HOMIE, written by Amanda Gorman, is an interesting read. It discusses the real title of the book, provides samples of Danez Smith's poetry, and notes that "HOMIE heralds the redemptive power of black friendship."
• LION (58D: Guardian ___ (stone animal in Chinese architecture)) Guardian LIONs are a traditional Chinese architectural element. They have traditionally stood in front of Imperial palaces and tombs, as well as in front of government offices and temples.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• IRENE (15A: Red Velvet singer) You'll note that Red Velvet is not in quotation marks, indicating it is not the name of a song or album. Rather, Red Velvet is the South Korean girl group that I first learned about from the May 23, 2021 puzzle. The members of Red Velvet are IRENE, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy, and Yeri. Red Velvet's music has been described as having a "Red" side - pop, hip-hop, and funk - and a "Velvet" side - R&B and ballads.
• LEAD (19A: Element with the symbol Pb) The chemical symbol of LEAD is derived from the Latin word, "plumbum." Always happy to see science clues in the puzzle.
• DOSA (29A: Pancake made on a tava) A DOSA is a thin pancake in South Indian cuisine made from a fermented batter of lentils and rice. A tava is a round, slightly concave pan with many uses, including cooking DOSA.
• ELLA FITZGERALD (39A: "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" singer) "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" recorded in 1938, was ELLA FITZGERALD's breakthrough hit. The singer embellished the traditional nursery rhyme and turned it into a jazz piece.
• EMMA (39D Actress Bones or Stone) EMMA Bones plays the role of Gry in the Netflix TV series inspired by Norse mythology, Ragnarok. EMMA Stone has numerous film and TV credits, including the title role in the 2021 movie, Cruella. 
• AWARDS (49D: The Palme d'Or and the Queer Palm, for example) The Palme d'Or and the Queer Palm are AWARDS given at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2021, the French-Belgian movie, Titane, won the Palme d'Or, often considered one of the film industry's most prestigious AWARDS. The Queer Palm honors the best LGBT-related film at the festival; in 2021 it was awarded to the French movie, The Divide.

Geography review:

• HARSH (51A: Like Mongolian winters) Mongolia is a landlocked country in Asia, bordered by Russia to the north, and China to the south. The capital of Mongolia is Ulaanbaatar, where the annual average temperature is 29 °F. Mongolia. During Mongolia's HARSH winters, the average temperature is -22  °F. Mongolia's HARSH climate occasionally results in a disaster known as zud, when large numbers of the country's livestock die from starvation, freezing temperatures, or both.
• THAI (Sukhumvit Road traveler) Sukhumvit Road is named after Phra Bisal Sukhumvit, a former chief of the Department of Highways in THAIland. It is one of four major highways in Thailand, and follows a coastal route from THAIland's capital city, Bangkok, to Koh Kong, Cambodia.
• OMAN (65A: Salalah Tourism Festival's country) The Salalah Tourism Festival is an annual celebration in OMAN. The festival takes place in July and August, and coincides with the Khareef (monsoon) season.
• RICO (68A: Puerto ___) Puerto RICO is a Caribbean island approximately 1,000 miles southeast of Miami, Florida. San Juan is the capital of Puerto RICO.
• SLAVS (1D: Croats or Serbs) SLAVS are people that speak any of the Slavic languages. SLAVS are the largest ethnographic-linguistic group in Europe.
• RENO (55D: Nevada City) RENO, Nevada is near the Nevada-California border, about 22 miles from Lake Tahoe.

In a fitting follow-up to yesterday's SPRING FORWARD, today we FALL BACK. I smiled when I opened the puzzle and saw the title. Three interesting theme answers today. I wasn't able to fill any of them in without some assistance from crossing answers, but - TRUE STORY - they all became readily apparent once I had a few letters filled in. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to begin my Monday. 

Oh, and Happy Pi Day! I'm a fan of a holiday that involves celebrating math and eating pie. Cherry pie is our celebratory dish this year. How about you? Are you eating pie today?