August 19, 2022

Title: CODEBREAKERS

Constructor: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

COME OUTSIDE (20A: "It's a beautiful day -- join us)

CHEAT MODE (38A: Video game setting that might give you infinite lives)

COD FISHCAKE (60A: Breaded seafood patty served with tartar sauce)

Theme synopsis: The word CODE is broken (in a different place) by each of the theme answers.

Things I learned:

• ASADO (24A: Churrasco alternative) Another alternative for either churrasco or ASADO is barbecue. Like "barbecue," the terms "churrasco" and "ASADO" are used to refer both to roasted or grilled meat, but also to a gathering where said meat is prepared. Although each term is used in multiple countries, churrasco is often associated with Brazil, and ASADO is often associated with Argentina.
• BAR (9D: Milk ___ (Christina Tosi's dessert chain)) Christina Tosi is a chef, cookbook author, and TV personality. She is also the founder of Milk BAR, a chain of dessert restaurants with stores in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Boston, Las Vegas, and Toronto. Good news for those of us not near those locations: Milk BAR ships worldwide. I see on their website that they even offer next day delivery.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ALOO (16A: ___ gosht (potatoes and meat dish)) I was thankful for the "potatoes and meat dish" hint in this clue. I started to pass over the clue, but then I remembered what I wrote in March of this year: "ALOO is a South Asian term for potatoes, so when you see ALOO in the name of a dish, it likely contains potatoes. Conversely, when you notice that a dish described in a crossword clue contains potatoes, the answer may be ALOO." Today's potato dish, ALOO gosht, is a meat curry ("gosht" means "meat") that originated from India. 
• CHEAT MODE (38A: Video game setting that might give you infinite lives) I liked this clue. Although I am not generally a fan of cheating, I am also not that good at video games. (I like to think this is simply because I don't play them often...) Therefore, I definitely see the appeal of playing in CHEAT MODE. Interestingly, codes that enable CHEAT MODE are often introduced by a game's creator in order to enable playtesting.
• RAW (45A: "As it exists in the beehive," per the National Honey Board) This clue baffled me when I first read it, and then made sense after I revealed the answer with the help of crossing answers. A nice "Aha!" moment. There is no official FDA definition of RAW honey, which is why the National Honey Board makes this clarification. RAW honey has not been heated or filtered during processing.
• RUM (53A: Liquor in a Hotel Nacional) A Hotel Nacional is a cocktail named after a historic hotel in Cuba, the Hotel Nacional de Cuba. The Hotel Nacional cocktail is made with RUM and apricot liqueur.
• CIGAR (57A: "Close, but no ___") I have previously written about the origin of the phrase, "Close, but no CIGAR."
• AGE (59A: Get on in years) When it's nearing your birthday and you come across a reminder that your AGE is increasing as you "get on in years," you have to pause and remind yourself not to take the clue/answer personally. (Or so I've been told...)
• PLAY (67A: "Take Me Out," e.g.) Take Me Out is a PLAY by Richard Greenberg. It premiered on Broadway in 2003, and won a Tony Award for Best Play. The play examines what it would be like if a Major League Baseball player came out as gay during their career. A revival of Take Me Out opened on Broadway earlier this year, and a TV adaptation is in the works. 
• YALE (70A: Angela Bassett's alma mater) A few months ago when we saw the clue [Degree held by Angela Bassett] for MFA, I let you know that that degree was from the YALE School of Drama. 
• LAST (72A: Like this Across clue) I'm always a fan of a self-referential clue.
• EYE (64D: Third ___ chakra) The third EYE chakra is one of seven chakras, focal points used in meditation practices and some spiritual traditions. The third EYE - located in the center of your head, parallel to the middle of your eyebrows - is believed to be linked to perception, consciousness, and intuition.

Geography review:

• OMAHA (65A: Nebraska city) OMAHA is the largest city in Nebraska. It is about 50 miles northeast of Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska.
• ATACAMA (1D: Desert of Chile) The ATACAMA Desert is located along the Pacific coastline of Chile, west of the Andes Mountains. ATACAMA is the largest fog desert in the world, and is known as the driest place in the world. In a fog desert, the majority of moisture needed by plants and animals is provided by fog drip. Average rainfall in the ATACAMA is about 15 mm per year (that's just 0.6 inches). The soil of the ATACAMA has been compared to that on Mars, and NASA has used the desert to conduct tests on instruments used for Mars missions. I read the clue correctly, but then I began to wonder (because I seem to always have dessert on the brain...) what the answer would have been if the clue had read "Dessert of Chile."
• OAHU (5D: Hawaiian island home to Kaneohe Bay) Kāne'ohe Bay is located on the northeast coast of OAHU. It is Hawaii's largest sheltered body of water, covering an area of approximately 17 square miles. 
• ALABAMA (10D: Montgomery bus boycott state) Montgomery is the capital of ALABAMA. In the 1950s, Montgomery was the site of bus boycotts that protested segregation on buses.

I am tempted simply to write NO NOTES! (11D: "It's perfect as-is!") and leave it at that. However, it's not in my nature to be quite that succinct! I enjoyed this take on a classic theme type. In addition to the answers I've already highlighted, I liked DOG PARK, STRAPPY, REGALIA, SAMOSAS, and WE'RE SET. In fact, the columns of longer answers in each corner are all great. Thank you, Enrique, for this puzzle that was a great way to start my Friday.