Title: FILL OUT
Constructors: Scott Earl & Brooke Husic
Editor: Anna Gundlach
Theme Answers:
FIRST OF ALL (18A: "Number one...")
FIGHT LIKE HELL (39A: Battle with all one's power)
FINGER SPELL (60A: Share your name in ASL, for example)
Theme synopsis: The word FILL is found at the OUTside edges of each theme answer.
And now a word from our constructors:
Scott: I am super excited for my first collaboration with Brooke! Her playfulness with grid shapes & the joy she brings to cluing helps me grow as a constructor. I always love her fresh fill (38-Down is now a lovely addition to my wordlist!) and am awed by her ability to write fresh clues so concisely. I smiled seeing Brooke's clue for 15-Across as our text thread is a fun mix of crosswords and running. Can't wait for more bylines - and to cross some race finish lines - with Brooke in the future!
Brooke: I was absolutely blown away by Scott's last New York Times puzzle, so it's a major fangirl moment to collaborate with him, hopefully for the first of many! As we were passing this grid back and forth I was continually amazed by all the long stuff he was able to run through the middle of the grid as we were closing in on it, and I love his clues for 35-Across and 3-Down. The best part of the collab, though, has been getting to know Scott better as a fellow runner and friend!
Things I learned:
- ANNA (50A: "To All the Boys" actress Cathcart) I have previously written about To All the Boys I've Loved Before, the 2018 movie based on Jenny Han's 2014 novel of the same name (which I've also written about). Apparently I didn't pay enough attention to the cast, however. ANNA Cathcart plays the role of Kitty, the younger sister of the main character, Lara Jean (played by Lana Condor). ANNA Cathcart reprised her role for the second and third installments, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020), and To All the Boys: Always and Forever (2021). A spin-off TV series based on ANNA Cathcart's character, titled XO, Kitty, is in the works.
- SONYA (53D: "General Hospital" actress Eddy) Since 2006, SONYA Eddy has played the role of head nurse Epiphany Johnson on the daytime soap opera, General Hospital. Two fun facts: 1) General Hospital is the oldest American soap opera; it premiered on April 1, 1963. Its 15,000 episode aired in June of this year. 2) When I was in pharmacy school, I was a pharmacy intern at a General Hospital. My General Hospital was located in Des Moines, Iowa.
- SETHE (26D: "Beloved" protagonist) Beloved is the 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Toni Morrison that was adapted into a 1998 movie of the same name. This much I knew, but I needed the help of crossing answers to remember the name of the novel's protagonist. Beloved tells the story of SETHE, a formerly enslaved woman, and her family. The role of SETHE was played by Oprah Winfrey in the movie.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
- YURI (14A: "___!!! on Ice" (anime series)) I learned about the anime series Yuri!!! on Ice from the May 13, 2022 puzzle.
- AGED (31A: Like manchego but not paneer) I liked this clue. Manchego and paneer are two types of cheese. Manchego is generally AGED between 60 days and two years, while paneer is a fresh cheese.
- PURR (35A: [I'm a happy cat]) Willow is a huge fan of this clue,
and she is definitely a happy cat! Sometimes her PURR is so loud it can be heard across the room.
Willow - ALI (43A: Boxer Laila) Laila ALI is a retired professional boxer. She retired undefeated in 2007.
- SOUS-CHEF (2D: No. 2 person in a kitchen) "SOUS" is the French word for "under." A SOUS-CHEF is under the command of the head CHEF, and is often in charge of overseeing line cooks. A SOUS-CHEF may also handle administrative tasks such as overseeing inventory and equipment maintenance.
- POLES (56D: Hiker's supports) I enjoy hiking a lot, but I am also an extremely clumsy person. I often take photos, such as this one taken in the Grand Canyon, that I title, "Ode to my hiking POLES." I (and my family!) are extremely grateful for my hiking POLES, as they have saved me from falling more than once.
Ode to my hiking POLES - LIN (63D: Architect Maya) I have previously written about some of Maya LIN's works: The Wave Field, Ghost Forest, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Civil Rights Memorial.
Geography review:
- CUBA (17A: Ana de Armas' country of birth) Ana de Armas, who played Mara Cabrera in Knives Out (2019) and Marilyn Monroe in Blonde (2022), grew up in a small town in CUBA, Santa Cruz del Norte. At the age of 18, she moved to Spain and began her acting career. She moved to Los Angelos in 2014, and began acting in Hollywood.
- ARI (64A: The Diamondbacks, on scoreboards) The Arizona Diamondbacks (ARI) have been playing their home games in Phoenix, Arizona since the team was established in 1998.
- UNC (1D: Chapel Hill school (Abbr.)) The University of North Carolina (UNC), founded in Chapel Hill in 1789, is one of the oldest public universities in the United States. The UNC sports teams are known as the Tar Heels, a reference to North Carolina's prominence as a producer of tar and pitch in the 18th century. The UNC mascot is a ram named Rameses.
FIRST OF ALL, this is a delightful puzzle; an enjoyable take on a classic USA Today theme type. No need to FIGHT LIKE HELL to get me to say nice things today. (I'm normally so cynical, you know...) Okay, it's harder to make FINGER SPELL fit in to comments about the puzzle, but I do know how to FINGER SPELL my name in ASL. PLANT DADS (38D: Dudes who nurture succulents) made me chuckle, and I also liked the punny clue for PUB TRIVIA (3D: Event where "Know It Ales" is an apt team name). Thank you, Scott and Brooke, for this puzzle that was a wonderful way to start my Thursday.
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