June 12, 2022

Title: CONDESCENDING

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

TACO NIGHT (3D: What Tuesday evening might be)

MUSIC ON HOLD (17D: Tunes that help reduce caller hangups)

RICO NASTY (35D: Rapper with an alter ego named Trap Lavigne)

Theme synopsis: Each vertical (DESCENDING) answer contains the word CON.

Things I learned:

• POTATO (1A: Papa rellena ingredient) Papa rellenas are deep-fried croquettes made of a POTATO dough filled with ground meat, various other ingredients, and spices. Sounds delicious.
• TOFU (19A: Dougan, for example) Dougan is a firm variety of TOFU.
• ATE (4D: Had ham chim peng, for example) Ham chim peng is a deep-fried hollow doughnut made with glutinous rice, five spice powder, and red bean paste. Ham chim peng originated from Southern China.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MOM JEANS (17A: High-waisted denim pants) We have previously seen a reference to MOM JEANS used to clue the word MOM, and I remember that because I wrote, "Well, here I sit in my MOM jeans..." This time I am not wearing my MOM JEANS, but rest assured that I definitely have a couple of pairs in my closet!
• ASL (24A: Language in "CODA") The 2021 movie, CODA, stars Emilia Jones as Ruby Rossi, a hearing "child of deaf adults" (CODA). Sian Heder, who wrote and directed CODA, learned ASL (American Sign Language) while working on the movie, and about 40% of the screenplay was in ASL. Emilia Jones also learned ASL before the filming of CODA started.
• STILTON (42A: Cheese similar to gorgonzola) STILTON and gorgonzola cheeses are both varieties of blue cheese, and have the characteristic smell and taste that results from the addition of Penicillium, an edible mold. (There is a white variety of STILTON that does not have Penicillium cultures added to it.) STILTON is an English cheese made in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire. Gorgonzola is an Italian cheese.
• OLIVES (53A: Tapenade ingredients) Tapenade is a spread made from puréed OLIVES. It's delicious spread on bread or crackers.
• LEGO (56A: Toy brick) When we were in New York City recently,

  

  Driving the LEGO taxi

  my husband and I visited the LEGO store there, and had our photo taken in the LEGO taxi. 
• UNESCO (63A: Org. that designates World Heritage Sites) UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is a specialized agency of the United Nations. UNESCO is headquartered at the World Heritage Centre in Paris and has 53 regional field offices. UNESCO's goal is to promote world peace and security using "education, science and culture to inform, inspire and engage people everywhere to foster understanding and respect for each other and our planet." Audrey Azoulay is the current Director-General of UNESCO, and its second female leader.
• OREO (2D: Cookie with many limited-edition flavors) Earlier this year, OREO released a limited edition Batman OREO that featured a silhouette of Batman imprinted on the cookie. The special OREO release coincided with the release of the latest Batman movie, but...the Batman OREO isn't available in the United States. My favorite limited edition OREO to date was the Cookie Dough OREO (2014) in which the creme filling was cookie-dough flavored. I am both sad and relieved that these cookies are no longer available.
• MOJO (9D: Sauce made with orange juice) Cuban MOJO sauce is made of garlic, olive oil, and a citrus juice - usually orange juice.
• MUSIC ON HOLD (17D: Tunes that help reduce caller hangups) MUSIC ON HOLD is exactly what it sounds like, and we've all heard it. When I filled in this theme answer I thought, "MUSIC ON HOLD sounds more stilted than 'hold music.'" That thought seemed familiar to me, which led me to discover that we've seen MUSIC ON HOLD as a theme answer before. MUSIC ON HOLD has a fun origin story that I wrote about the last time we saw this answer.
• RICO NASTY (35D: Rapper with an alter ego named Trap Lavigne) RICO NASTY's alter ego, Trap Lavigne (inspired by Avril Lavigne), is a "pop-punk princess." Tacobella, another of RICO NASTY's alter egos, is a "vulnerable, sensitive persona." RICO NASTY discusses her alter egos, and much more, in this recent in-depth interview by Kerrang! magazine.
• ESTE (37D: Sister of Danielle and Alana) ESTE, Danielle, and Alana are the Haim sisters, and the members of the pop rock band, Haim. 
• EYES (54D: Spiders can't blink theirs) Most spiders have eight EYES (though some have six), but they don't have eyelids, meaning they can't blink. The takeaway here is, "Don't challenge a spider to a staring contest."

Geography review:

• GEORGIA (14A: The Peach State) GEORGIA is not the state with the largest peach production - that's California. Peaches are not the largest crop produced in Georgia - that would be peanuts. So how did GEORGIA become known as The Peach State? This NPR article takes an in-depth look at that question. The short answer is that after the Civil War, GEORGIA was looking for a new way to brand itself.
• ESTONIA (39A: Republic on the Baltic Sea) ESTONIA is a country in Northern Europe. ESTONIA only shares land borders with two countries, Latvia and Russia. ESTONIA has coastline on the Baltic Sea (as the clue tells us), the Gulf of Finland, and Lake Peipus. The capital of ESTONIA is Tallinn. The historic center of Tallinn, ESTONIA, known as Tallinn Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• EVEREST (65A: World's highest mountain above sea level) Mt. EVEREST, with a snow height elevation of 29,031.7 feet, is located in the Himalayas on the China-Nepal border.

 A fun theme that requires parsing the title in a new way. Rather than CONDESCENDING, it's CON DESCENDING. I appreciated that in addition to descending in each theme answer, CON descends further in the puzzle as you move from left to right. In addition to the answers I've already highlighted, I enjoyed VINEYARD, BRIOCHE, and PAGODA. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was a great way to begin my Sunday.