Title: Last Dance
Constructor: Wendy L. Brandes
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Guest Blogger: Erica Hsiung Wojcik
Theme Answers:
REGULAR FOLK (17A: Ordinary people)
CATCH A BREAK (29A: Finally come into some good luck)
IN FULL SWING (45A: At the peak of activity)
LEMON SQUARE (60A: Tart dessert bar)
Theme synopsis:
The last word in each theme answer completes the phrase "X dance" (folk dance, break dance, swing dance, square dance)
And now a word from our constructor:
Wendy: This puzzle was a fun one to put together. I loved the positivity in 29-Across. I thought it would be fun to share my absolute favorite recipe for 60-Across. I have baked these with my daughter and they are easy and fun to make.
Many thanks to Erik and Amanda for their support and for their great edits. A special shoutout goes to Amanda for including WINGSPAN (my new board game obsession) in the clue for 68-Across!
- WELSH (1A: ___ corgi (short-legged dog) Dog breeds always get me! I'm not an animal or a pet person. I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't like watching cute animal videos on the internet? I know. I'm sorry. I did watch seasons 1 & 2 of "The Crown", so I shoulda known this one.
- INES (25A: Poet Juana ___ de la Cruz) A poet from the 17th century! A protofeminist! (According to Wikipedia). Solid clue angle for the crossword grid-friendly INES.
- Kato (52 A: The Green Hornet's partner) Here's Bruce Lee portraying him in the short-lived 1960s TV series.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
- REGULAR FOLK (17A: Ordinary people) "Folk" is one of those words that has two plural forms: with and without the s ("folk" and "folks" are both acceptable). I was trying to think of more as I was writing this. I consulted the internet but it's a hard thing to Google. Then I realized there's one in the grid: ELKS! If you know any more, put 'em in the comments!
- INSIDE (45D: "Use your ___ voice!") I love evocative clues like this. Immediately thought of my kids screaming in a museum. Apologies in advance, future museum-goers.
- NESTS (68A: Homes on Wingspan cards): I love clues like this! If you know the game Wingspan, it's a fun gimme, and if you don't, the answer is inferable. Also, I agree with Wendy- Wingspan is great.
Geography review:
- NEPAL (44A: Only country with a nonrectangular flag) I will never remember this fact.
- IRAN (24D: Country that's the only remaining home of the Asiatic Cheetah) : (
Hi! Erica here, subbing in for Sally. I'm a constructor and the moderator of the Expanded Crossword Name Database. Happy to be back on the blog! Thanks to Wendy for a delightful weekend solve. It has all the features that I come to expect form a USAT puzzle: zingy theme answers, precise cluing, and a buttery smooth solving experience. I particularly like that the 4 theme answers really do capture the most common "X dance" words. I'm sure I could come up with some more examples of dances that are commonly named with the word dance (you'll rarely say waltz dance, for example), but it would take me a while.
The grid shape allows for some nice 6-8 length bonus answers (BIG ASK! GALORE! SPACE AGE!). Nice one, Wendy! Glad I got to spend some more time with it this morning.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Happy Lollapuzoola to those who are participating. I test solved the puzzles and they are fab.
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