September 8, 2022

Title: COFFEE BLENDS

Constructor: Ada Nicolle

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

FACED (20A: Turned toward) and DECAF (22A: Anagram of 20-Across)

MACHO (40A: "___ Man" (Village People hit)) and MOCHA (41A: Anagram of 40-Across)

CAT DOOR (55A: Flap for Whiskers) and CORTADO (58A: Anagram of 55-Across)

Theme synopsis: We have three pairs of words where the first word is an anagram (or a BLEND) of a COFFEE beverage.

Things I learned:

• PAM (43D: Mi'kmaq activist Palmater) The Mi'kmaq are a First Nations people indigenous to parts of northeastern Canada. PAM Palmater is a Mi'kmaq citizen, a lawyer, and a professor. PAM Palmater advocates for social justice for First Nations people, especially on behalf of indigenous women and children. She writes a blog called Indigenous Nationhood, and has authored several books and multiple magazine articles.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TIE (16A: Either blank in the common internet search "how to ___ a ___") This is a fun clue, and, of course, it led me to google "how to TIE a TIE."
• MEI (30A: "Turning Red" protagonist) Rosalie Chiang voices the character of MEI, the protagonist of the 2022 animated movie, Turning Red. MEI is a 13-year-old Chinese Canadian girl who transforms into a giant red panda when she feels strong emotions.
• MACHO (40A: "___ Man" (Village People hit)) Welcome to the latest edition of "Share the Earworm!" Today's offering: the 1978 song, "MACHO Man" by the Village People. Or, if you prefer, here's a version of "MACHO Man," performed by the Muppets. 
• PETCO (47A: Retail chain that owns PupBox) PupBox is a subscription service offering monthly deliveries of items customized for your dog.
• DEMI (53A: Prefix for "girl" or "boy") DEMIgender is a term for nonbinary people that feel a partial connection to a certain gender. A DEMIgirl is a nonbinary person with a partly female identity, and a DEMIboy is a nonbinary person with a partly male identity.
• CAT DOOR (55A: Flap for Whiskers) Since Willow is strictly an indoor kitty,

  

  Willow wanting to be outside with us

  
  she doesn't have a CAT DOOR. There are certainly times when she wishes she did, though!
• CORTADO (58A: Anagram of 55-Across) A CORTADO is a COFFEE drink made by mixing espresso with warm milk in approximately equal portions.
• SHE'S 64A: "I'll have what ___ having") This is a fabulous clue, because it is inferable from context (and perhaps help from crossing answers) even if you do not know the origin of the line. However, for those that do know the origin of this line, it offers a moment of recognition, and probably a chuckle. "I'll have what SHE'S having," is a line from the 1989 movie, "When Harry Met Sally..." The line is said by a Katz's Delicatessen customer (who is played by the mother of director, Rob Reiner) following the iconic scene where Sally (Meg Ryan) fakes an orgasm to prove a point to Harry (Billy Crystal).
• TENET (65A: Palindromic principle) This is not a principle about palindromes (My first thought when I read the clue!), but rather a principle - TENET - that is palindromic.
• HIS (12D: "Spidey and ___ Amazing Friends") Spidey and HIS Amazing Friends is an animated children's TV series that premiered last year on Disney Junior. The show features young versions of several superheroes.
• RAE (26D: Cartoonist Olive ___ Brinker) I learned about Olive RAE Brinker and her webcomic, "RAE the Doe," from the April 8, 2022 puzzle. 
• DASH (56D: Rainbow ___ ("My Little Pony" character)) Rainbow DASH is a Pegasus pony that is light blue with a rainbow-colored mane and tail. 

Geography review:

• RENO (33A: Nevada city) RENO is located on the western edge of Nevada, about 22 miles from Lake Tahoe, which sits on the Nevada-California border. If you are ever in RENO, you could visit "Jackson," a piece of public art on display outside RENO's main transit hub. Donald Lipski created this sculpture out of a 1962 bus and named it after his son. 
• PASO (43A: El ___, Texas) Another city located on the western edge of a state, El PASO, Texas is located on the Rio Grande River, which is the United States-Mexico border. The city is also located on the Texas-New Mexico border. If you find yourself in Texas, you might visit the Casa de Azucar (the Sugar House). This private residence is surrounded by cement decorations that the owner has been chiseling since 1973. 

This is a fun version of an anagram theme. My favorite theme pair was, of course, the CAT DOOR to CORTADO anagram. Other answers I especially liked in today's puzzle: AUDIBLE, PERMEATE, PIE CRUST, and STUFFED ANIMALS. One of the (oh so many!) things I love about the USA TODAY crossword is that we are occasionally treated to an extra bit of theme - a meta, of sorts - with the titles of the puzzle. We have one of those treats this week. We started with the invitation, "LET'S EAT," but then we got IN A PICKLE. Yesterday we discovered some SERVING PLAITS, and today we've moved on to the COFFEE course. It will be fun to see if this theme continues. As always, I'm hoping we get some desert! Thank you, Ada, for this puzzle! Even for a tea drinker, this was a great start to my day.