June 9, 2022

Title: RAIN DOWN

Constructor: Neville Fogarty

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

BRAINCHILD (3D: Idea of your own creation)

MIRAI NAGASU (10D: First American woman to land a triple axel at the Olympics)

EXTRA INNINGS (22D: Tiebreaking periods in baseball)

Theme synopsis: Each vertical (DOWN) theme answer contains the word RAIN. 

Things I learned:

• MIRAI NAGASU (10D: First American woman to land a triple axel at the Olympics) It was at the 2018 Olympics, during her free skate, that MIRAI NAGASU landed a triple axel, becoming the first American woman to do so at the Olympics. That year Team USA won a bronze medal. Outside of skating, MIRAI NAGASU competed on season 26 of Dancing with the Stars, and was a HouseGuest on the third season of Celebrity Big Brother. She has also been a guest judge on an episode of RuPaul's Drag Race.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• CHATS (27A: Uses Discord) Discord is a platform that allows users to communicate via voice calls, video calls, and instant messaging. Communities on Discord are organized into channels called servers. My son introduced me to Discord for the purpose of family game nights during the pandemic, but I admit I haven't explored it much. I do know there is a Crossword Discord Server, but I haven't checked it out. (Add that to my "To Do" list.)
• RENE (35A: "Thor" actress Russo) RENE Russo portrays Frigga, the mother of Thor, in the movies Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
• QUINTA (38A: "Abbott Elementary" creator/star Brunson) QUINTA Brunson's show, Abbott Elementary, is a mockumentary that focuses on a group of educators in the Philadelphia public school system. We saw QUINTA Brunson as a theme answer in April. 
• WAP (61A: 2020 Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion hit) Speaking of theme answers (and such), we saw "WAP" as the title of a puzzle recently.
• OKRA (68A: Bamia vegetable) Bamia is a stew whose main ingredients are lamb, OKRA, and tomatoes. The name "bamia" is derived from the Arabic word for OKRA.
• SID (70A: Name hidden inside "inside") Where's SID? As I've mentioned before, I enjoy hidden word clues. This was a fun one. Shout out to Sally's Take guest blogger, SID Sivakumar!
• RAP (4D: Genre for Queen Latifah's "U.N.I.T.Y.") Queen Latifah's 1993 hit, "U.N.I.T.Y." won a Grammy Award for Best RAP solo performance. 
• ALTHEA (5D: Tennis champ Gibson) When ALTHEA Gibson won the French Tennis Championships in 1956, she became the first Black person to win a Grand Slam Title. There is a statue of ALTHEA Gibson at Flushing Meadows, the site of the U.S. Open. An inscription on the statue features a quote from ALTHEA Gibson, "I hope that I have accomplished just one thing: that I have been a credit to tennis and my country."
• MALAISE (6D: Unexplainable crummy feeling) When I was in pharmacy school, and learning about diseases (I don't remember the name of the specific class...that was a few years ago), I discovered that MALAISE is listed as a symptom of many different diseases. Not particularly helpful in making a diagnosis, but a helpful term when you're just not feeling quite right.
• HEN (28D: Mother clucker) Ha! I missed this clue while solving, as I must have filled in HEN from crossing answers. When I was reviewing the puzzle I laughed out loud. 
• MAORI (52D: Like whakairo carvings) Whakairo is a traditional MĀORI art of carving in wood, stone, or bone. The MĀORI are indigenous people of New Zealand.
• VEIL (57D: Hijab or litham, e.g.) A hijab is a head covering, or VEIL, worn by Muslim women. A litham is a VEIL covering the mouth. The litham has traditionally been used by the Tuareg people (an ethnic group inhabiting the Sahara Desert) and other nomadic people. Often worn by men, the litham serves as a protection from dust and extreme temperatures.

Geography review:

• TRI (26A: ___-State area) There are 62 places in the United States where three (and only three) states meet. TRI-State area is an informal term that encompasses those places, but also other areas where a populated area lies across three states. 
• MYANMAR (29A: Chinlone is its national sport) Chinlone is a non-competitive sport played with a ball made from handwoven rattan. Teams of six players form a circle, with one person in the center, and attempt to pass the ball back and forth - without using their hands and without letting the ball touch the ground. There is also an emphasis on creativity and fluidity, making chinlone fun to watch. Also known as cane ball, chinlone is the national sport of MYANMAR, a country in Southeast Asia.
• HAITI (37A: Country that celebrates Dessalines Day) Dessalines Day, commemorating the death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, is celebrated in HAITI on October 17. Jean-Jacques Dessalines was a leader in the Haitian Revolution, and became the first Emperor of HAITI in 1804. He ruled until his assassination on October 17, 1806. 

Let the RAIN come DOWN! The title of today's puzzle let me know exactly what to expect, and I was not disappointed. All three theme answers were great, but BRAINCHILD is my favorite. There's plenty of enjoyable fill in addition to the theme: LET IT RIDE, HIATUS, ZIG ZAG, PONYTAIL, OSCAR NOD. Thank you, Neville, for a puzzle that was a delightful way to begin my Thursday.
Today is this blog’s birthday – SALLY’S TAKE is two years old! As I did last year, I’ve compiled some thoughts and data to share with you to celebrate my second year of blogging.

The second year of SALLY’S TAKE by the numbers:

• 3 = Goals. This number hasn’t changed from the first year. Since the beginning, my goals for the blog have been for it to be Informational, Conversational, and Kind. Yes, these are my ICK goals – the acronym was unintentional, but when I realized it I was amused, so now I try to avoid being ICK by adhering to my ICK goals! 
• 365 = Puzzles. The 365 USA Today crosswords during the second year of SALLY’S TAKE were constructed by 58 different constructors. (That’s an increase from the 39 constructors that made the puzzles during the blog’s first year.) Of those 58 constructors, 30 of them made their USA Today crossword debut in this past year. Of the 365 puzzles, 70% were made by women and nonbinary constructors. We continue to enjoy two puzzles a week by Zhouqin “C.C.” Burnikel, meaning she constructed an impressive 104 puzzles for USA Today this past year (in addition to the puzzles she constructs for other venues). There were 67 puzzles this past year that were collaborations by two constructors – 18% of the total puzzles. (This is an increase from 39 collaborations during the first year of SALLY'S TAKE.) Brooke Husic maintained her title as the “Queen of Collaboration,” as she was one of the constructors on 44 of the 67 co-constructed puzzles. I’m grateful to all 58 constructors for making puzzles that are delightful to write about!
• 5,154 = Answers highlighted. The 5,124 unique answers I’ve highlighted during the past year range alphabetically from A GOOD DEAL to ZORRO. Apparently I’ve found more to write about during this second year, as this number increased from the 4,721 unique answers I highlighted in the first year.
• 112 = CAT mentions. Even occasional readers of the blog will likely have noticed I talk about

  

  Willow

  CATS frequently. My CAT, Willow, and I have a deal that requires me to highlight the word CAT anytime it appears in the puzzle – either as an answer or as part of a clue. Other times, I simply manage to talk about CATS because I like them. CAT has been mentioned in some manner in 31% of posts during the past year. This is an increase from 13% of posts the first year. Thank you to constructors that have increased the number of CAT-related clues and answers!
• 45 = ERIE appearances. Once again, our crossword friends ERIE and ASIA have been the definite leaders in blog/puzzle appearances. ERIE appeared 7 more times this past year than in the first year of SALLY’S TAKE. ASIA, on the other hand, appeared one fewer time this year than in the first year. Since I have a Geography Review section of the blog, geography answers have an edge because I highlight them every time they appear in a puzzle. I was curious which non-geography answer I highlighted the most during the past year. The answer will likely not surprise any crossword solver. It was OREO, which I wrote about 25 times this past year.
• 16 = Posts by guest bloggers. Although writing this blog brings me great joy, everyone needs a day off now and then. I am extremely grateful for my excellent guest bloggers: Mollie Cowger, Enrique Henestroza Anguiano, Erica Hsiung Wojcik, Brooke Husic, Will Nediger, Shannon Rapp, Sid Sivakumar, and Matthew Stock. Not only have I expanded the slate of guest bloggers during the last year, I have also been able to start paying these folks (a little bit anyway!) for their time. Thank you to those of you that financially support the blog, making this possible.
• Too many to count = Moments of joy. If I'm honest (and I usually am), there have been a handful of times over the last two years when I felt like I was writing into the void and wondered why I keep writing the blog. Those moments are far outnumbered by the moments of joy writing this blog brings me, and so I keep showing up and writing about the USA Today crossword every day. I continue to enjoy learning from the puzzle and from the research I do while writing (and the occasional rabbit hole I go down…). I also learn from those that read the blog. Thanks to those of you that have gently pointed out mistakes I’ve made or things I’ve missed so I could correct them, and to those that have helped me brainstorm when I couldn’t identify a puzzle’s theme.

Special thanks to the editors of the USA Today crossword. I have no official ties to USA Today, yet Erik Agard and Amanda Rafkin are always gracious and supportive.
As always, my biggest thanks go to you, the readers! Whether you read the blog daily, or just occasionally, I’m grateful. I love hearing from you, so feel free to reach out at any time, whether it’s in the comments, on Twitter, or by email.
Last year my husband asked me how we were going to celebrate the first year of SALLY’S TAKE. Honestly, it may have just been a ploy to get me to make some dessert, but it worked, and so we started a tradition of celebrating the blog’s birthday. We’re big on celebrations around here. This year we’re celebrating with a B(lackberry) LOG roll cake. Happy 2nd birthday, SALLY’S TAKE!