October 24, 2022

Title: FRUITFUL START

Constructor: Bonnie Eisenman

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

PLUMPED UP (17A: Fluffed, like pillows)

FIGHT SCENES (31A: Choreographed sequences in some movies)

PEARL OYSTER (49A: Gem-producing  mollusk)

LIMERICKS (66A: Five-line poems)

Theme synopsis: The name of a FRUIT appears at the START of each theme answer as part of a longer word. Today's FRUITFUL theme answers contain a PLUM, a FIG, a PEAR, and a LIME.

Things I learned:

• IGOR (8A: NHL star Shesterkin) IGOR Shesterkin is a goalie for NHL's New York Rangers. In the 2021-22 season, he was awarded the Vezina Trophy, an honor given to NHL's best goalie. IGOR Shesterkin was born in Moscow, Russia, and previously played for Spartak Moscow, SKA Saint Petersburg, and the Russian national team.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LISA (1A: ___ "Left Eye" Lopes) LISA "Left Eye" Lopes (1971-2002) was a member of the R&B group TLC, along with Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. She also had a solo career. Her nickname was inspired by a compliment from an admirer who told her he was attracted to her left eye (which was apparently slightly larger than her right eye). LISA "Left Eye" Lopes was killed in a car accident in Honduras in 2002. Her TLC bandmates have continued as a duo.
• KOALA (38A: Eucalyptus-loving animal) The KOALA is native to Australia, and is mostly found in woodlands where its diet consists of the leaves of eucalyptus trees. Although there are over 600 types of eucalyptus trees, the KOALA is particular, and will only feast on about 30 of those species. Although eucalyptus trees are native to Australia, there are a lot of blue gum eucalyptus trees in California, where they are considered a moderately invasive species. The California eucalyptus trees were grown from seeds brought over from Australia. There are no KOALAs feasting on the California eucalyptus, however.
• RABE (39A: Broccoli ___ (vegetable also known as rapini) The buds of broccoli RABE resemble small heads of broccoli. Broccoli RABE, also known as rapini, has a somewhat bitter taste.
• ELK (58A: Deer relative that bugles and glunks) Although ELK bugle year round, the sound is often associated with rut, the ELK mating season. A bull ELK will bugle to alert cow ELK they are there and seeking a mate. A glunk is a deep-throated muffled call a bull ELK makes when females are nearby.
• LIMERICKS (66A: Five-line poems) LIMERICKS have been around since the early 18th century. I thought about writing a LIMERICK to share with you, but my creative juices aren't quite flowing yet. If I think of one later I'll drop it in the comments. Feel free to share your own (family-friendly please!) LIMERICK creations if you'd like.
• LAPS (1D: Drinks like a cat) Although Willow LAPS water from a bowl occasionally,

  

  Willow LAPS water from the faucet

  her preferred water source is the faucet. 
• INERTIA (5D: Sleep ___ (grogginess after waking up) "Sleep INERTIA" is such a great term for that just-waking-up grogginess. Sleep INERTIA generally lasts 15 to 30 minutes, but can persist for several hours. (Perhaps that's why I haven't been able to come up with a LIMERICK...)
• MLA (44D: Citation style whose M stands for "Modern") The Modern Language Association (MLA) publishes the MLA Handbook, a style guide used for scholarly writing.
• YELLOW (50D: Color of some watermelon) Although red or pink is the most common color for the inside of watermelon, the fruit can also be orange, YELLOW, green, or white. 
• KIVA (59D: Pueblo meeting space) Many Pueblo KIVAs, used for spiritual ceremonies and political meetings, were large circular rooms. This photo is of the remains for the Great KIVA at Chimney Rock National Monument in Colorado. This KIVA is at the top of a mountain, and it was awe-inspiring to consider the work that went into building it.

  

  Kiva at Chimney Rock National Monument

• MEG (67D: "The Princess Diaries" author Cabot) In addition to writing The Princess Diaries, the series of young adult novels on which the movies have been based, MEG Cabot has written over 80 books for a range of audiences - children, young adults, and adults. Her website bio says she was born "during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign, but learned at an early age that a good storyteller can always give herself a happy ending." I was delighted to see this clue, as I am a MEG Cabot fan!

Geography review:

• USA (9D: Country where German chocolate cake was invented) German chocolate cake - a chocolate cake (sometimes layered) topped with coconut pecan frosting - is one of my favorite types of cake. The cake's name comes not from the country where it was invented (since as the clue informs us, that was the USA), but from the name of the baker who, in 1852, created a type of baking chocolate for Baker's Chocolate Company. The baker's name was Samuel German, and the chocolate was named Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate. Fast forward to 1957 when The Dallas Morning News featured a recipe from Mrs. George Clay as the "Recipe of the Day." (In some sources the baker's last name is given as "Calay." I wasn't able to discover her first name.) The recipe used the chocolate created by Samuel German, and was titled German's Chocolate Cake. The recipe became popular (the 1950s version of going viral, I suppose), and over time the apostrophe S was dropped. 

This FRUITFUL START puzzle is an enjoyable way to START the week! I appreciated that all of the fruit names were contained within words; a nice way to elevate a basic theme type. I like to REARRANGE furniture, so enjoyed that cluing angle (37D: Shuffle around, like furniture). I also liked STRIKE ONE (10D: Call after a swing and a miss) and YEARS AGO (36A: "Back in the day..."). This is Bonnie Eisenman's first solo USA Today puzzle, and I look forward to many more. Thank you, Bonnie, for this puzzle that was a great (dare I say FRUITFUL?) START to my day!