May 23, 2022

Title: SEASONING MIXES

Constructor: Erik Agard

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

CONTRAIL (14A: Streak in the sky) and CILANTRO (58A: Anagram of 14-Across)

ARROGANT (44A: Like someone who thinks they're better than everyone else) and TARRAGON (23A: Anagram of 44-Across)

PLAYERS (5D: A game of spades needs four) and PARSLEY (41D: Anagram of 5-Down)

Theme synopsis: We have three pairs of theme answers today: three SEASONINGs and their anagrams (MIXES).

Things I learned:

• TAMALES (12A: Food with a Mississippi Delta variety) Mississippi Delta TAMALES differ from Mexican and Central American TAMALES in three ways. They are smaller in size, are simmered rather than steamed, and are made using cornmeal rather than masa. Mississippi Delta TAMALES also tend to be spicier, leading to the other name they are known by, "hot TAMALES." 
• KEV (43A: Comedian ___OnStage) KEVOnStage is the professional name of comedian and content creator, Kevin Fredericks. KEVOnStage's social media accounts on multiple platforms receive millions of views each week. He has leveraged his Internet popularity to endeavors that include a worldwide tour and a production company. In November of last year, KEVOnStage launched a TV series called What's Good, that spotlights local Black-owned restaurants across the country.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MASCOTS (17A: Prowl and Sparky of the WNBA, for example) Prowl and Sparky are the MASCOTS of WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx, respectively.
• MASH (27A: Verb in a fufu recipe) Fufu is a [doughlike food often dipped in soup]. That's how the word was clued when we previously saw it as an answer. A staple food in West and Central Africa, fufu is made by MASHing and mixing cassava and green plantain flour with water.
• NONAME (31A: Rapper with a book club) NONAME is a rapper, poet, and record producer from Chicago. It's been a year and a half since I wrote about NONAME. However, I did learn about the NONAME Book Club at that time. The book club is dedicated to lifting up the voices of authors of color. Two selections are chosen each month, and NONAME encourages readers to purchase the books at local Black-owned bookstores, or to check them out from the library. This month's picks are Anarchism and the Black Revolution by Lorenzo Kem'boa Ervin and Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd.
• VEGAN (37A: Like Tabitha Brown's food) Tabitha Brown is an actress and social media personality. Much of her social media content revolves around promoting and sharing VEGAN food. In 2017, a video of Tabitha Brown talking about a Whole Foods TTLA (tempeh, tomato, lettuce, and avocado) sandwich went viral, eventually leading to Tabitha Brown becoming a brand ambassador for Whole Foods. 
• AVA (50A: "Abbott Elementary" principal) I have previously written about the TV mockumentary, Abbot Elementary. On the show, Janelle James plays the role of AVA Coleman, the principal of the school.
• TANGO (2D: Dance related to candombe) TANGO is a dance that originated in the Rio de la Plata, a region between Argentina and Uruguay. The TANGO combines elements of candombe (a dance that originated in Uruguay), habanera (a Spanish-American dance style), and milonga (a dance style from Argentina).
• ESL (7D: Course hidden in "Wellesley") A nice find to see an ESL (English as a Second Language) course hidden in Wellesley, the name of a women's liberal arts college in Massachusetts.
• LIA THOMAS (10D: Champion swimmer who said, "I just want to show trans kids and younger trans athletes that they're not alone") LIA THOMAS, a student and swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, is the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship. In March of this year, she won the women's 500-yard freestyle event. The quote in the clue is from a Sports Illustrated interview with LIA THOMAS. She goes on to say, "They don't have to choose between who they are and the sport they love."
• NOV (24D: Penultimate month (Abbr.)) I know "penultimate" means "next to last," but every single time I see the word I have to stop and remind myself it does not mean final.
• SALAT (48D: Prayers performed facing the qibla) SALAT are prayers said by Muslims, and the qibla is the direction facing the Kaaba, the most sacred site in Islam. 
• IRA (59D: "Framing Agnes" actor Stephen) Framing Agnes is a 2022 documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The movie takes a look at how stories of trans lives are told, and who tells them. The film features a cast of trans stars, including Stephen IRA, who plays the role of 15-year-old Jimmy.

Geography review:

• WEST (42A: Direction from Kenya to Uganda) Kenya and Uganda are neighboring African countries. Kenya is located in East Africa, with coastline along the Indian Ocean. The capital of Kenya is Nairobi. Uganda is a landlocked country WEST of Kenya. The capital of Uganda is Kampala.
• USSR (53D: Brezhnev's country) Leonid Brezhnev was the General Secretary of the Communist Party, and therefore the de facto leader of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics aka the Soviet Union) from 1964 to 1982. 

The word MIXES in the title, should have tipped me off to an anagram theme, but I think I might not have been fully awake yet when I read it. I began to catch on when I encountered the second "anagram of..." clue. Aha! I enjoyed this theme a lot. (Side note: Anagram themes always remind me my name anagrams to scholarly heels.) Fun to have a straightforward clue for one part of each anagram, and a referenced-clue for each SEASONING. The theme pairs are paired up symmetrically, which I appreciated. It's interesting to have one theme pair vertical, which concentrates the theme material toward the center of the puzzle. This allows for those enjoyable long downs in the northeast and southwest corners: ENTOURAGE, LIA THOMAS, ALTERNATE, and SOUVENIRS. Thank you, Erik, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to begin my Monday.