June 29, 2022

Title: HIGH CHAIRS

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:
POP-UP WINDOW (2D: Web browsing annoyance)
MEET IN THE MIDDLE (5D: Reach a compromise)
CROSS THE AISLE (17A: Cooperate with an opposing party, in politics)

Theme synopsis: The last word of each theme answer is a seat selection on a plane. Which HIGH CHAIR would you like today - WINDOW, MIDDLE, OR AISLE?

Random thoughts and interesting things:
  • SEDER (13A: Feast with maror and charoset) SEDER is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday, Passover. During the SEDER, the story of the Israelites exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt is retold, and the foods eaten have symbolic meaning. Maror are bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness of slavery. Charoset is a sweet mixture of fruit and nuts, possibly representing mortar used by Jewish slaves in Egypt. 
  • TAPAS (15A: Chopitos and empanadillas, for example) Chopitos are battered and fried baby squid. Empanadillas, also known as Puerto Rican beef turnovers, are flaky pastries with a savory filling.
  • IRIS (22A: Flower with a Thornbird variety) The Thornbird is a variety of bearded IRIS.
  • IS IT (30A: Whose Line ___ Anyway?") Whose Line IS IT Anyway? is a TV show of improv comedy. The U.S. show is an adaptation of a British show of the same name. 
  • ARIAL (62A: Plain font whose name becomes plane-related if you add an E) It took a bit for this clue to make sense to me, as I was trying to add the E at the end of ARIAL, even though the clue doesn't specify where the E is added. Adding the E after the first A, results in the word AERIAL, which is not only plane-related, but appropriate for today's theme.
  • PEAS (23D: Vegetable anagram of 35-Down) and APES (35D: Animal anagram of 23-Down) I enjoyed this vegetable/animal anagram pair.
  • AWAY (53D: "Take me ___, a secret place...") "Take me AWAY, a secret place..." is a line from Natasha Bedingfield's 2008 song, "Pocketful of Sunshine."

    Geography review:

    • EAST LA (32A: Chicano Blowouts location) The Chicano Blowouts, or EAST LA Walkouts, were a series of protests in 1968. Chicano students walked out in protest of unequal conditions in Los Angeles Unified School District high schools. (Chicano, or Chicana, is a chosen identity for people of Mexican descent born in the United States.) During the course of the protests, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 high school students walked out of seven schools in EAST LA.
    • MALI (48A: Salif Keita's country) MALI is a landlocked country located in western Africa. Salif Keïta is a singer-songwriter who has been referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa." He is known for blending elements of African music with popular music styles including jazz and R&B. Salif Keïta is a member of the Keita royal family that traces its ancestry to the founder of the MALI Empire. Because of his albinism, considered a sign of bad luck in Mandinka culture, Salif Keita was cast out by his family. In 2005, he established the Salif Keïta Foundation to raise awareness of albinism and advocate for equitable treatment of albinos.
    • OMANI (1D: Like the newspaper Muscat Daily) The OMANI newspaper, Muscat Daily, was started in 2009, and is the largest-selling English language newspaper in Oman. Muscat is the capital of Oman.
    • DES (4D: ___ Moines BCycle) DES Moines BCycle is a bike sharing program in DES Moines, the capital of Iowa.
    • ODESSA (6D: Texas City near Midland) ODESSA, Texas, located in the western part of the state, was founded in 1881, and named ODESSA because the surrounding landscape of shortgrass prairie reminded the founders of similar landscape in ODESSA, Ukraine.
    I had a delightful "Aha!" moment in regards to this puzzle's theme. The title of HIGH CHAIRS made me think the theme would be featured in the upper part of the puzzle. And the theme answers are vertical, which supported that guess. After a few moments of unsuccessfully trying to make a connection between POP, MEET, and CROSS (POP CHAIR? CHAIR MEET?...), I finally spied WINDOW, MIDDLE, and AISLE nonchalantly hanging out in the lower part of the grid. Aha! That HIGH refers not to the location in the puzzle, but the location of these CHAIRS HIGH in the air when a plane is in flight. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to begin my Wednesday.

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