March 3, 2022

Title: ALL OF IT

Constructor: Ada Nicolle

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

HALL OF FAME (20A: Greats are inducted into it)

MALL OF AMERICA (36A: Home to the busiest transit station in Minnesota)

BALL OF FIRE (53A: Incredibly lively person)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer has ALL OF in IT.

And now a word from our constructor:

Ada: Few things:
1) The seed entry was WALL OF TEXT but I forgot to include it LOL
2) Shout-out to my trans sisters NAT Puff, MIA Mulder, and SIS. Three letter names are where it's at.
3) I have more puzzles on my Patreon, and also follow me on Twitter!
Thanks for solving!!!

Things I learned:

• DATE (16A: "Play ___" (Melanie Martinez hit)) Melanie Martinez's song, "Play DATE" was released in 2015, but its popularity became much more widespread in April 2020 when it began to be widely used on TikTok. Although I did not know this song, it was inferable with a couple of letters from crossing answers since "play date" is a common phrase. I'm always a fan of using song titles for clues.
• ELIOT (18A: "Information" musician Sumner) Information is the title of ELIOT Sumner's 2016 album. In addition to being a musician, ELIOT Sumner is also an actor. They have a role in the upcoming Showtime TV series, Ripley. 
• MIA (27A: Video essayist Mulder) MIA Mulder has over 95,000 followers on her YouTube channel, where she posts video essays on historical, social, and political topics. MIA Mulder was born in Sandhult, Sweden.
• SIS (28A: Actress who organized the Trans March on Broadway in 2021) The Trans March on Broadway, organized by actress and activist SIS, was held on September 6, 2021. The March was held to call attention to erasure of trans bodies in the theatre and entertainment industry. 
• CHEF (5D: Dominique Crenn, for example) Dominique Crenn is the CHEF owner of Atelier Crenn, Petit Crenn (currently closed due to the Covid pandemic), and Bar Crenn in San Francisco. She is also advocates for multiple causes including women's rights, workers' rights, sustainable practices, and the LGBTQ+ community. CHEF Dominique Crenn was awarded The World's 50 Best Restaurants' 2021 Icon Award. 
• NAT (40D: Singer Puff, aka Left at London) Left at London is the stage name of singer, songwriter, comedian, and internet personality, NAT Puff. According to her website, her lyrics "often delve into topics on mental health, relationships, & what it means to navigate the current political world as a queer person."

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TOES (59A: Parts of cats where "beans" can be found)
  
  In this photo, Willow is helpfully demonstrating what cat's TOES look like (or she might be raising her paw to ask a question...). "Toe beans" is the adorable name for the squishy pads on a cat's paws.
• SHE/HIM (1D: Pronouns used by some bigender people) A bigender person is one that identifies as both male and female. A gentle reminder: Using a person's preferred pronouns is kind and respectful.
• TESLA (4D: Inventor Nikola) One of Nikola TESLA's inventions was the TESLA coil, which I've written about previously.
• ATOMIC (8D: ___ number (periodic table figure)) An element's ATOMIC number refers to the number of protons found in each of that element's atoms. 
• IPOD (29D: Music device referenced in Iyaz's "Replay") "Replay" is the title track of the 2010 studio album by R&B artist Iyaz. "It's like my IPOD stuck on replay..." Even if you are not familiar with this song, the clue provides a nice hint with "music device."
• SLEEPLESS (33D: "___ in Seattle") It has been almost 29 years since the movie Sleepless in Seattle was released. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan star in the 1993 rom-com directed by Nora Ephron.
• DALEY (49D: Name that sounds frequent) and OFTEN (51D: Frequently) Although these two answers aren't related, the repeated use of "frequent" in the consecutive clues makes them feel like they are, and that was fun.

Geography review:

• CAL (52A: ___ Poly (school in San Luis Obispo)) California Polytechnic State University, or CAL Poly, is, as the clue tells us, in San Luis Obispo. The technologically focused university was established in 1901. CAL Poly alumni include Ozzie Smith and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
• AZALEA (3D: Flower that Valdosta, Georgia is known for) Valdosta, Georgia, located in the southern part of the state, is called the "AZALEA City" because of the abundance of AZALEAs that grow there. Valdosta hosts an AZALEA Festival each year in March. This year's festival is March 12th and 13th.

This is a delightful puzzle and I enjoyed ALL OF IT! It hasn't quite been a month since Ada Nicolle made her USA Today debut, and it's nice to see another puzzle from her. I enjoyed ALL OF the theme answers today. I also appreciated the mention of SIPPY cups and CREASES in origami, as well as the answers WAIT A SEC, ETCETERA (fun to see this spelled out), ANIMATED, and MOLECULE. This was a great way to begin my Thursday.