April 30, 2022

Title: SHAKE IT!

Constructor: Rachel Fabi

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

HEAD HONCHO (18A: Top banana)

HAND ME DOWNS (26A: Clothes from older siblings)

BUTT OUT OF IT (43A: "Mind your own business!")

LEG WARMERS (54A: Fad '80s accessories worn around the shins)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer is a body part you can SHAKE: HEAD, HAND, BUTT, and LEG.

Things I learned:

• BREAM (5A: Fish only caught after 6 p.m. in Stardew Valley) Stardew Valley is a role-playing video game first released in 2016. Players assume the role of a character taking over their grandfather's farm in Stardew Valley. Players can socialize with townspeople, grow crops, raise livestock, and participate in activities such as cooking, crafting, and fishing. There are a variety of fish that can be caught in the game, each with specific characteristics. As the clue informs us, BREAM can only be caught after 6 p.m. I learned from a Stardew Valley Wiki that BREAM can be caught by fishing in the river between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. (Other fan pages informed me that BREAM can be caught at any time using magic bait, and that the fish are sometimes found in garbage cans.) Once caught, BREAM can be eaten to regain health, exchanged during various quests, or used as a blue dye. When I read this clue, I realized it contained a specific reference I didn't know. This happens almost daily, so it didn't bother me, but I wanted to talk about how I approach such clues. After all, everyone has different spheres of knowledge, so it's likely a solver will encounter unknown references. When I see a clue such as this, I rely on crossing answers, of course, but also focus on the parts of the clue that give me information I do know. In this case, I knew I was looking for a fish, and so a couple of letters filled in from crossing answers allowed me to fill in BREAM, a type of freshwater fish. Then I was curious to learn more about Stardew Valley where BREAM can only be caught after 6 p.m.
• CLEO (58A: Artist and poet Wade) CLEO Wade is the author of Heart Talk: Wisdom for a Better Life (2018). She has also created several large-scale art installations including "Show Love, Spread Love" in Los Angeles. Her poetry and art feature themes of female empowerment, affirmation, activism, and inspiration.
• ALEXA (27D: Actress Mansour) ALEXA Mansour played the role of Hope Bennett in the horror drama TV series, The Walking Dead: World Beyond.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MERE (17A: "It's a ___ formality") and LIVER (23A: "What am I, chopped ___?") and BUTT OUT OF IT (43A: "Mind your own business!") and SET IN (38D: "Nothing is ___ stone") I am a fan of conversational clues - clues in quotation marks. This puzzle features several fabulous examples. "What am I, chopped LIVER?" made me laugh out loud. 
• CAT (34A: Roommate who uses a litter box) My feline roommate, Willow,
  
  is always happy to see a CAT reference in the puzzle. 
• REVUE (36A: "Ziegfeld Follies" performance) The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of REVUE shows on Broadway from 1907 to 1936. The extravagant shows were named after their creator and producer, Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.
• SKY (37A: 2021 WNBA Championship team) The Chicago SKY won their first WNBA title in 2021.
• SCOOB (47A: Shaggy's pup, for short) SCOOB, short for Scooby-Doo, is the animated Great Dane who is the companion of amateur detective, Shaggy Rogers. A 2020 movie about Shaggy, Scooby-Doo, and the rest of the crew, was titled SCOOB! 
• LEG WARMERS (54A: Fad '80s accessories worn around the shins) As a teenager of the '80s, I knew this answer immediately. My actual verbal response to this clue was, "Oh wow, we were really something, weren't we...?" 
• STEEL DRUM (4D: Pannist's instrument) A STEEL DRUM, also known as a steelpan, is an instrument that originated from Trinidad and Tobago. STEEL DRUMs are pitched percussion instruments made from 55 gallon industrial shipping drums. As the clue informs us, a STEEL DRUM player is called a pannist. STEEL DRUM music is beautiful - here's an example. 
• ROCKETS (24D: Saturn I and Falcon 9, e.g.) and MAE (56D: Astronaut Jemison) A nice pair of space-related clues. Saturn I was a NASA ROCKET, and Falcon 9 was designed by Space X. Former NASA astronaut, MAE Jemison, was a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Endeavor. 
• CHIEF (30D: Chuck Hoskin, for the Cherokee Nation) Chuck Hoskin, Jr. has been Principal CHIEF of the Cherokee Nation since his election in 2019.

Geography review:

• SENEGAL (20A: Dakar's country) Dakar is the capital and largest city of SENEGAL. Dakar is located on Cap-Vert, also known as the Cape Verde Peninsula, the westernmost point on the African continent.

If you need some dance inspiration, perhaps this puzzle will convince you to SHAKE IT! A fun set of theme answers. I appreciated the extra elegance of the SHAKE-able body parts progressing in order from HEAD to LEG. Enjoyable cluing all around today. This puzzle was a delightful way to start my Saturday.