October 13, 2022

Title: MOVE DOWN A ROW

Constructor: Erik Agard

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

ROWING MACHINE (4D: Equipment for a full body workout)

DORO WAT (13D: Ethiopian chicken stew)

BROWN (25D: "If it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life..." orator)

THROWER (37D: Javelin competitor)

THE NEW JIM CROW (18D: Michelle Alexander book about mass incarceration)

Theme synopsis: The word ROW, contained in each vertical theme answer, MOVEs DOWN the grid as the puzzle progresses from left to right.

Things I learned:

• GSW (24A: The NBA's Warriors, on scoreboards) The Golden State Warriors (GSW) are an NBA team based in San Francisco, California. The basketball team was founded in Pennsylvania in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors. In 1962, the team moved to California and became the San Francisco Warriors. The team's current name was adopted in 1971. 
• THE NEW JIM CROW (18D: Michelle Alexander book about mass incarceration) Civil rights lawyer, advocate, legal scholar, and author Michelle Alexander is an opinion columnist for The New York Times. Her 2010 book, THE NEW JIM CROW: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, spurred a national debate about the mass incarceration crisis in the United States. The book has also inspired racial justice advocacy efforts. In the book, Michelle Alexander argues that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." 
• BROWN (25D: "If it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life..." orator) John BROWN (1800-1859) was a leader in the pre-Civil War abolitionist movement in the United States. In 1859, John BROWN led a raid on a federal armory at Harpers Ferry (then in Virginia, now in West Virginia). The raid was unsuccessful, and John Brown was arrested and charged with murder, inciting a slave insurrection, and treason. He was found guilty, and executed. At his trial, John Brown spoke to the court, and his last speech included the words, "If it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments - I submit; so let it be done!"

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MEOW (16A: Cat's comment) and TREE (53D: Willow, for example) Appropriately,
  
  just as I was entering this answer, Willow (the cat not the TREE), entered the room with a comment, "MEOW!" Willow thanks Erik for putting her name in the puzzle (even though he used it to clue TREE rather than cat). 
• NHL (26A: Sports org. with Red Wings and Blue Jackets) The Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets are NHL teams based in Michigan and Ohio, respectively.
• ARM (1D: Body part a starfish can regrow) A starfish can shed its ARM as a means of defense. The ARM is then regenerated, a process that can take several months to a year. Some starfish even have the ability to regenerate a new body from a single arm. Isn't science cool?
• JEEP (2D: Company asked by the Cherokee Nation to change one of its car names) The Cherokee Nation has asked JEEP to stop using the name Cherokee for its SUV. Although JEEP has been using the name since 1974, it briefly stopped using it in 2002, rebranding the SUV as the JEEP Liberty. However, in 2013, JEEP resumed the use of Cherokee.
• DORO WAT (13D: Ethiopian chicken stew) DORO WAT is a traditional dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The stew is made with chicken, a variety of vegetables, spices, and sometimes hard-boiled eggs. 
• ROMEO (48D: "___ + Juliet") The "+" instead of the word "and" here indicates that this clue is referencing the 1996 romantic crime movie, Romeo + Juliet, rather than William Shakespeare's play. Or it could be referencing the 2007 ballet, Romeo + Juliet. Nicely, the answer is inferable even if you haven't heard of the movie or the ballet.
• END (57D: Last part) Satisfying placement for the word END.

Geography review:

• PAPUA (23D: ___ New Guinea) PAPUA New Guinea is located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, and also includes some offshore islands. The capital of PAPUA New Guinea is Port Moresby.

When I read the title of this puzzle, I began imagining what the theme would be. Most of my ideas were complicated, and they all turned out to be wrong. My "Aha!" moment came as I was filling in ROWING MACHINE. Clever! I appreciated that each ROW was spaced two columns apart, and MOVEd DOWN exactly three ROWs with each occurrence. Excellent construction. In addition to the theme, I enjoyed FAIR SHARE, OUTWITTING, and MORE TO COME. Thank you, Erik, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to begin my day.

One more thing: If you're in the mood to solve another puzzle, I constructed today's Universal crossword, titled "Malpractice."