July 29, 2022

Title: LOWER CASE

Constructor: Brooke Husic

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

YOU'RE THE BEST (8D: "Thanks SO much")

BRAILLE DISPLAY (12D: Computer attachment with raised dots)

EYEBROW PENCIL (13A: Cosmetic that creates definition)

Theme synopsis: The LOWER word of each theme answer can be paired with the word CASE, giving us BEST CASE, DISPLAY CASE, and PENCIL CASE.

And now a word from our constructor:

Brooke: i love all of this puzzle's theme answers! and i love cluing STL.

Things I learned:

• OFADA (41A: ___ stew (West Nigerian dish) OFADA stew originates from the Yoruba region of Western Nigeria, and is commonly eaten with a locally grown variety of rice known as OFADA rice. OFADA stew is a spicy dish; some recipes I found called for 40 habanero peppers. 
• BOY (44A: "___ with Thorn" (Rickey Laurentiis collection) BOY with Thorn is a 2015 collection of poetry by Rickey Laurentiis. In 2018, Rickey Laurentiis received a Whiting Award, an honor given each year to emerging writers.
• DIXON (63A: Director Ivan) Ivan DIXON (1931-2008) directed many popular TV series, including The Waltons, The Rockford Files, The Bionic Woman, Magnum P.I., and The A-Team. (So essentially he directed the TV shows of my childhood!) He also directed The Spook Who Sat by the Door, a 1973 movie based on Sam Greenlee's 1969 book of the same name. Also an actor, Ivan DIXON played the role of Staff Sergeant James Kinchloe on the first five seasons of the TV series, Hogan's Heroes.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• POETS (14A: Sina Queyras and Mary Lambert, for two) I'm probably beginning to sound like a broken record as I repeat this viewpoint often, but I am a fan of clues that provide two examples, allowing more solvers an opportunity to be successful, and perhaps an opportunity to learn something knew. I recognized Mary Lambert as a POET, and now I have been introduced to Sina Queyras. Mary Lambert was the spoken word artist featured on the song, "Same Love," by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Her collection of poetry, Shame is an Ocean I Swim Across, was published in 2018. Sina Queyras is a writer and educator; they are a senior lecturer in English at Concordia University in Montreal. Their collection of poetry, My Ariel, was published in 2017.
• ILE (23A: "Almadura" singer) ILE, stylized as iLe, is the nickname of Ileana Mercedes Cabra. Almadura, which translates to "strong soul," is her second album, released in 2019. I learned about ILE from one of Brooke's puzzles earlier this year.
• CAT-COW (29A: Yoga sequence named for two mammals) and TOYS (69A: Plush animals, e.g.) CAT-COW is a yoga sequence that alternates between CAT Pose and COW Pose. I could not get

  

  CAT and COW

  Willow to illustrate the CAT-COW yoga sequence for me, but I did find this picture of her doing the "sleeping CAT stretch" (not a real yoga pose...) near a plush animal...oh, look, it's a COW.
• EGOT (34A: Showbiz acronym hidden in "she got all the awards") This is a clever and apt hidden word clue. EGOT refers to those who have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. Seventeen people have won this designation. Earlier this year, Jennifer Hudson became the fifth woman to join this group of multi-award winners. 
• BTS (51A: "BE" K-pop group) BE is a 2020 album by the K-pop group, BTS.
• IFTAR (66A: Ramadan meal) IFTAR is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily fast during the month of Ramadan.
• I'LL (68A: "Reach Out ___ Be There" (Four Tops hit)) "Reach Out I'LL Be There" is a 1967 song from the Four Tops. Earlier this year, the song was selected by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Recording Registry.
• BRAILLE DISPLAY (12D: Computer attachment with raised dots) A BRAILLE DISPLAY translates text on a computer monitor into BRAILLE to be read by the user. 

Geography review:

• STL (17D: City home to Crown Candy Kitchen, for short) Opened in 1913 by Harry Karandzieff and Pete Jugaloff, Crown Candy Kitchen in St. Louis, Missouri (STL, for short) is known for its soda fountain, chocolate candy, vintage jukebox, and collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia. Crown Candy Kitchen is also known for its "5 Malt Challenge." Anyone that drinks five malts (or shakes) in thirty minutes receives the malts free, gets a t-shirt, and has their name added to the Wall of Winners. In over a hundred years, fewer than 100 people have successfully completed the challenge. The record for the 5 Malt Challenge is 2 minutes 29 seconds; I got brain freeze just watching Randy Santel drink those malts that fast!

A delightful set of theme answers making their CASE today. My favorite of the bunch was YOU'RE THE BEST. A couple of clues I especially liked today: LEAK (67A: Problem for a bounce house) and RID (50D: "Don't get ___ of that!") Like yesterday's puzzle, today's grid is just slightly asymmetric. There are just two asymmetric black squares enabling the theme answers YOU'RE THE BEST and BRAILLE DISPLAY to be of different lengths. Thanks SO much, Brooke, for this puzzle that was a fantastic way to start my Friday.