November 20, 2022

Title: CART IN

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Note about puzzle access: Once again, today's puzzle is not (at least at the time of writing) available on the USA Today crossword app or online. I accessed the puzzle on The Puzzle Society site. (A subscription is required.) As I have no official connection to USA Today, I have no inside insight into what is going on. It does make me sad, though, because people are missing out on enjoyable puzzles! Fingers crossed the issue gets resolved soon.

Theme Answers:

SCAR TISSUE (16A: Massage target)

OSCAR THE GROUCH (40A: Muppet who lives in a trash can)

NASCAR TEAM (60A: 23XI Racing, for Bubba Wallace)

Theme synopsis: The word CART is found IN each theme answer.

Things I learned:

• NASCAR TEAM (60A: 23XI Racing, for Bubba Wallace) Bubba Wallace is a stock car racing driver. His NASCAR TEAM is 23XI Racing, and he drives the No. 23 car, a Toyota Camry. Although I needed the help of crossing answers to figure this out, I know of Bubba Wallace. In June 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, Bubba Wallace spoke out about the abuse of Black people by police, leading the involvement of NASCAR racing in the Black Lives Movement. Fun fact: In the 2017 movie, Cars 3, Bubba Wallace voices the character Bubba Wheelhouse.
• CREE (31A: Language of wordle.kiyanaw.net) This is fun! Wordle has become a part of my morning routine. I enjoy the combination of logic and words, and use it as a way to wake my brain up in the morning. It's great that it has been adapted to other languages (and also so many variations...). At wordle.kiyanaw.net, you will find a game titled "Not Wordle - nêhiyawêwin." The "About this game" information says the words are sourced from CREE:Words, and also provides information for customizing the game to other languages.
• ATARI (49D: Video game company whose name is a Go term) Go is a board game that originated in China more than 2,500 years ago. The black and white game pieces are called stones, and players attempt to capture each other's stones. In the game of Go, the term ATARI is used to indicate stones that are in danger of being captured on the next move. These stones are said to be in ATARI. The video game company, ATARI, took its name from the Go term. I did not know the origin of the company's name, but was able to guess ATARI from the "video game company" information.
• MY MAN (50D: Denzel impersonator's phrase) I'm not familiar enough with Denzel Washington movies to figure out this answer without the help of crossing answers. Denzel Washington has played a number of different characters in movies such as American Gangster (2007), Training Day (2001), and The Book of Eli (2010). Many of his characters end up saying the phrase, "MY MAN," at some point. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SHERPAS (24A: Some Nepalis, ethnically) SHERPAS are a Tibetan ethnic group native to the Himalayan mountain areas of Nepal.
• OSCAR THE GROUCH (40A: Muppet who lives in a trash can) It's hard to tell whether my

  

  OSCAR THE GROUCH
  checks out the puzzle

  
  OSCAR THE GROUCH approves of this answer or is mad about it. 
• AMISH (25D: People who follow the Ordnung) The Ordnung is a set of - mainly unwritten - rules followed by the AMISH. Each AMISH assembly maintains its own Ordnung. 
• POSTER (39D: Blog contributor) Oh, hey, it's me...hello!
• LANA (55D: "To All the Boys" star Condor) I just wrote about LANA Condor, (and Anna Cathcart) 10 days ago. 

Geography review:

• OCEAN (30A: Arctic or Atlantic) The Arctic OCEAN and the Atlantic OCEAN are two of Earth's five OCEANs. Time for a (hopefully relaxed-Sunday-fairly-easy) Geography Quiz. Can you name Earth's other three OCEANs? Answer at the end of this blog post.
• ISLE (53A: Belle ___ Park, Detroit) Belle ISLE Park is a Michigan state park owned by the city of Detroit. The park includes Belle ISLE, an island in the Detroit River, and several small islands.
• MARA (64A: Maasai ___, Kenya) Maasai MARA is a national game reserve in Kenya. The park's name honors the Maasai people. Along with the contiguous Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, Maasai Mara is the location of the Great Migration. In September, we saw Maasai MARA used in a clue for Safari.
• RICA (2D: Costa ___) Costa RICA is a Central American country. It is bordered by Nicaragua and Panama, and has coastline along the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The capital of Costa RICA is San José.
• MYRTLE (4D: South Carolina's ___ Beach) MYRTLE Beach is a city on the east coast of South Carolina. MYRTLE Beach is a popular tourist destination, known for its beaches (appropriately) and golf courses (over 90 of them).
• UTAH (52D: State where the first KFC franchise opened) KFC, formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, was founded in North Corbin, Kentucky in 1930. The first KFC franchise opened in 1952, in Salt Lake City, UTAH.

A typical USA Today theme type today. My favorite theme answer, as you might have guessed, was OSCAR THE GROUCH. I also like the answers DON'T PANIC, TOUCHE, and RAT RACE. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was a wonderful way to begin my Sunday.

Answer to Geography Quiz: Earth's five OCEANs are: Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern (also known as Antarctic).