November 14, 2022

Title: AT AN END

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

WHEAT BRAN (16A: Ingredient in some cereals)

CAT OSTERMAN (27A: One of the greatest pitchers of all time)

MUSCAT, OMAN (60A: Capital city home to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer ENDs with -AT, and the second word of each theme answer ENDs with -AN.

Things I learned:

• CAT OSTERMAN (27A: One of the greatest pitchers of all time) CAT OSTERMAN is a retired softball player. She is a three-time Olympic medalist (one gold and two silvers), pitching for Team USA, and is considered to be one of softball's greatest players. Two days ago, CAT OSTERMAN was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame. I'm not surprised I didn't know this sports-related answer, but I'm happy to have now learned about CAT OSTERMAN. 
• ARIAS (35A: Songs like "Casta diva") "Casta diva" is an ARIA from the Vincenzo Bellini opera, Norma. 
• SEA (51D: Mazu's realm) The Chinese SEA goddess, Mazu, is the deified form of Fujianese shamaness, Lin Mo. Mazu is revered as a protector of fishermen and sailors. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MAPLE (13A: Wood for bowling pins) Bowling pins need to be able to endure a great deal of impact, both from bowling balls, and from automatic pin setters. Although bowling pins used to be made of solid blocks of MAPLE wood, once automatic pin setters became commonly used, the solid pins were easily damaged and cracked. For the last 60 years, bowling pins have been constructed of layers of hard MAPLE wood. Specifically, that MAPLE wood is required to be from trees grown above the 45th parallel. (The lower mineral content of these trees results in denser wood.) The wooden pins are then coated with a plastic material. 
• DONUT (64A: Food in a "cake vs. yeast" debate) Which side of this DONUT debate are you on? Here's a fun video that explains the science of the differences between cake and yeast DONUTs. 
• TET (5D: Holiday on which black and white outfits are avoided) TET is the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, one of the most important celebrations in Vietnamese culture. Colorful clothing is worn during the celebration of TET. Black and white are considered funeral colors in Vietnam, and wearing them during TET is considered unlucky. 
• GIRL (6D: "Brown ___ Dreaming" (Jacqueline Woodson novel) Brown GIRL Dreaming is the 2014 memoir of Jacqueline Woodson. The book is written in verse, and won multiple awards, including the National Book Award and an NAACP Image Award. I recommend taking a couple of minutes to read Jacqueline Woodson's bio on her website, where she muses about going from telling lies as a child to writing lies on the page. 
• GATO (38D: 47-Down in Spanish) and KITTY (47D: Litter box visitor) Not one,

  

  Willow approves of CAT content

  but two CAT clues today (plus a theme answer whose name is CAT)! Willow is delighted. (Can you tell?)

Geography review:

• ELM (20A: Massachusetts state tree) Specifically, the state tree of Massachusetts is the American ELM, "commemorating the fact that General George Washington took command of the Continental Army beneath an American ELM tree on Cambridge Common in 1775." Massachusetts is one of only two states with ELM as its state tree. The American ELM is also the state tree of North Dakota.
• MUSCAT, OMAN (60A: Capital city home to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque) Located in MUSCAT, OMAN, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in OMAN, and it is also the country's tallest structure. . The mosque is named for Qaboos bin Said al Said, who was the Sultan of OMAN from 1970 to 2020. In 1992, he declared that OMAN should have a Grand Mosque. Construction on the mosque was completed in 2001. The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is home to the world's largest chandelier and the world's largest carpet. 
• OAHU (2D: Honolulu's island) OAHU is the third largest of Hawaii's eight major islands, and is home to over two-thirds of Hawaii's population. Honolulu, the state's capital, is located on OAHU's southeast coast, and is the westernmost and southernmost of any major U.S. city.
• ERIE (26D: Great Lake near Cleveland) Our crossword friend, ERIE, is making its third appearance this month.

We generally see puzzles by Zhouqin Burnikel on Sundays and Wednesdays, but every so often the schedule changes, and I've found there's generally a reason for those changes. If you missed yesterday's puzzle, I encourage you to check out IT'S A START, to more fully appreciate that today we are AT AN END. Some nice long down answers, two of which would provide good words to live by: OPEN TO ALL and NO HARM DONE. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was a great way to start my Monday.