August 23, 2022

Title: SHARING A BED

Constructor: Brooke Husic

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

ICH LIEBE DICH (11A: Affectionate German phrase sometimes abbreviated as "ILD")

MAYBE DON'T (22A: "I feel like you should reconsider that")

TUBE DRESS (42A: Strapless garment)

HERE BE DRAGONS (51A: Phrase indicating uncharted territory on old maps)

Theme synopsis: Two words in each theme answer are SHARING the word BED.

And now a word from our constructor:

Brooke: i built this theme around 51-a. i'm very happy with the 68-word grid!

Things I learned:

• INDYA (11D: "Pose" actor Moore) The drag ball culture of the 1980s and 1990s is the focus of the TV series, Pose. I have previously written about the various houses - communities of support - featured on the show. On Pose, INDYA Moore plays the role of transgender sex worker Angel Evangelista, who leaves the House of Abundance, and joins the House of Evangelista.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• OPERA (9A: "The Sun Dance ___" (musical work with a libretto by Zitkala-Sa)) Zitkála-Šá (1876-1938) was a member of the Yankton Dakota tribe, and a writer, musician, educator, and political activist. She wrote the libretto and several songs for The Sun Dance OPERA, the first American Indian opera. I first learned about Zitkála-Šá and The Sun Dance OPERA from the September 6, 2020 puzzle. If you'd like to learn more, I recommend this article (with beautiful accompanying artwork) by Native American artist Marlena Myles. 
• ICH LIEBE DICH (11A: Affectionate German phrase sometimes abbreviated as "ILD") That year of German I took in college came in handy this morning. ICH LIEBE DICH means "I love you."
• DINO (21A: Ankylosaurus or diplodocus, for short) Ankylosaurus was a species of large armored dinosaur. Its notable characteristics include a wide, armored skull and a large tail club. If you've seen DINO skeletons in any museum, chances are good you've seen a skeleton of the sauropod diplodocus, with its characteristic long neck and long tail. In the early 1900s, Andrew Carnegie donated mounted skeletal casts of "Dippy," a diplodocus skeleton, to several major world museums. The result of this action is that the diplodocus skeleton is the most viewed of any dinosaur skeleton.
• EMUS (44A: Aussie critters) and ROO (52D: Aussie critter, for short) What would crossword constructors do without these two Aussie critters with their helpful word lengths and letter combinations? I appreciated the choice to tie these two answers together with an echoing clue.
• HERE BE DRAGONS (51A: Phrase indicating uncharted territory on old maps) This is absolutely my favorite answer in this puzzle! It's such a fun phrase; uncovering it made me smile. In medieval times, map makers would put illustrations of DRAGONS or sea monsters on uncharted areas to indicate potential dangers. The phrase "HERE BE DRAGONS" appears on two old globes (dating back the the late 1400s-early 1500s), the Ostrich Egg Globe and the Hunt-Lenox Globe.
• DOMEE (54A: "Turning Red" director Shi) I have previously written about DOMEE Shi, and about the movie, Turning Red.
• MRI (7D: Medical test whose "M" stands for "magnetic") MRI stands for "magnetic resonance imaging." MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields  and radio waves to generate images of the body.
• SCOOBY (8D: "___-Doo Where Are You!") The animated TV series, SCOOBY-Doo, Where Are You!, premiered in 1969. It was the first of what has become a franchise of TV shows and movies. 
• BORN (17D: "In West Philadelphia ___ and raised...") "In West Philadelphia BORN and raised..." is a lyric from the theme song for the TV series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
• IRS (34A: Employer of some National Treasury Employees Union members) The National Treasury Employees Union was founded in 1939. The union has over 150,000 members that are employed at 31 U.S. government departments and agencies, including the IRS. 
• LUCID (35D: ___ dreaming) LUCID dreaming refers to a dream in which the dreamer is aware they are dreaming.

Geography review:

• HANOI (13D: World capital in the Red River Delta) HANOI is the capital of Vietnam. As the clue informs us, HANOI is located in the Red River Delta, an area in northern Vietnam where the Red River and the Thái Bình River meet. HANOI is the second largest city in Vietnam, following Ho Chi Minh City.
• DAL (21D: The Wings or Mavericks, on scoreboards) The Wings and Mavericks are basketball teams with their home base in DALlas, Texas. The Dallas Wings are a WNBA team, and the Dallas Mavericks are an NBA team.
• BHARAT (43D: Hindi name for India) In several Indian languages, including Hindi, the name for India is BHARAT. The Constitution of India mentions BHARAT as an another name for the country: "India, that is BHARAT, shall be a union of states."

What a beautiful grid! That was definitely the first thing I noticed when I opened the puzzle. As I was solving, I picked up on a cautionary TALE, beginning with the intersecting pair of MAYBE DON'T and DO BETTER, and topped off by the delightful HERE BE DRAGONS. Thank you, Brooke, for this puzzle that was a great way to begin my Tuesday.