November 25, 2022

Title: TWO TIGHT

Constructor: Erik Agard

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

NIKKI GIOVANNI (20A: Author of the poem "Allowables")

COOKIE CUTTER (38A: Baking tool that might be star-shaped)

DOUBLE KNOT (58A: Shoelace-securing strategy)

Theme synopsis: Each of the first two theme answers contain TWO sets of DOUBLE letters, which, when read in order, spell the word KNOT. That gives us, as the third theme answer reveals, a DOUBLE KNOT. 

Things I learned:

• NIKKI GIOVANNI (20A: Author of the poem "Allowables") I could tell you about NIKKI GIOVANNI, but instead, I want you to take a couple of minutes and read the biography she wrote. I'll wait... Wasn't that wonderful? I particularly liked, "I highly recommend old age; it's fun." Now I'm going to send you to read NIKKI GIOVANNI's poem, "Allowables." I'll wait again, it'll just take a minute... When I looked up the poem, I realized I'd read it before. It's quite powerful, isn't it? I'm glad to have been reminded of it and of NIKKI GIOVANNI.
• AFRICA (2D: "How Europe Underdeveloped ___" (Walter Rodney book)) Walter Rodney's 1972 book, How Europe Underdeveloped AFRICA, describes the exploitation of AFRICA and the repercussion of European colonialism. Walter Rodney (1942-1980) was a historian and activist from Guyana. He was assassinated by a car bomb in 1980 at the age of 38. 
• GUAVA (8D: Goiabada fruit) Goiabada is a jam-like purée of GUAVA and sugar that originated from Brazil. Thicker than jam, it is sliced for serving, and may be paired with soft cheeses. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MCAT (9A: Future physician's exam) and DRS (63A: Physicians (Abbr.)) Oh, look, in the time it took to get from the upper right corner of the grid to the lower left, our future physicians have become physicians.
• INUK (15A: Singular form of "Inuit") The Inuit are a group of indigenous peoples in Northern Canada and Alaska. As the clue reminds us, the singular form of Inuit is INUK.
• IHS (54A: Org. providing health care to tribal members) The Indian Health Service (IHS) is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (HHS). The agency is responsible for providing culturally appropriate and accessible health services to Native Americans. In September of this year, Roselyn Tso became the director of the IHS. 
• NEALE (62A: Zora ___ Hurston) I have previously written about writer and anthropologist, Zora NEALE Hurston (1891-1960). 
• CATNIP (1D: Metaphor for something irresistible) and CATNAP (44D: Short sleep) It delighted me (and Willow, of course!) to see these two words, that differ only by one letter, in opposite corners of the grid. Willow is a fan of CATNIP, and it often leads to her taking a CATNAP. Of course, she's always taking CATNAPs whether or not she's had CATNIP. Yesterday I took this photo of Willow

  

  Willow

  looking particularly lovely.
• THE (12D: Most common word in English) According to one study of English usage by the Oxford English Corpus, the five most commonly used words in English are: THE, be, to, of, and.
• PAST (30D: A thing of the ___) and SAKE (31D: For old times' ___) The center of the grid is taking us on a trip down memory lane.
• CROWN (38D: "SHE WORE A ___ AND SHE CAME DOWN IN A BUBBLE, DOUG") "SHE WORE A CROWN AND SHE CAME DOWN IN A BUBBLE, DOUG," is a quote from a video that went viral in 2018. The video shows two people arguing over whether The Wizard of Oz character, Glinda the Good Witch, is a princess or not.  
• ORIOLE (45D: Bird with orange plumage) Ooh, two days in a row we've had an ORIOLE sighting in the puzzle (although yesterday we had more than one ORIOLE). This reminds me of a quote by comedian Jesse Case that I read to my husband yesterday, "As you age, it's ridiculous how fast bird-watching creeps up on you. You spend your whole life being 100% indifferent to birds, and then one day you're like 'damn is that a yellow-dumped warbler?'" It's me...I've reached the age of having multiple bird feeders and sitting in my kitchen for hours watching the birds. 

Geography review:

• TOGO (5A: Country between Ghana and Benin) TOGO is a country in West Africa. As the clue tells us, TOGO is located between Ghana and Benin. Ghana, which lies to the west of TOGO is approximately 70 miles from Benin, because TOGO is a narrow country. To the north, TOGO borders Burkina Faso, and to the south it has coastline along the Gulf of Guinea. The capital of TOGO is Lomé.
• EURO (61A: Currency in France and Spain) France and Spain are neighboring countries in Europe, and are two of the 19 countries that use EURO as their currency.
• STL (50D: Missouri city, for short) St. Louis (STL) is on the eastern border of Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Here's a bit of St. Louis sports info: St. Louis CITY SC is a Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion team that is expected to begin playing next year. 

Internal dialogue while solving this puzzle: "[Baking tool that might be star-shaped] - COOKIE CUTTER, probably. Oh, hey, it fits. Hmm, COOKIE TIGHT? TIGHT CUTTER? Nope. [Shoelace-securing strategy] - Is that a DOUBLE KNOT? Oh, hey, looks like it is. Hmm, what does that have in common with COOKIE CUTTER?" And then as I was filling in 20-Across with the help of crossing answers, I suddenly started laughing out loud. "Oh, that's brilliant!" Such a creative and clever theme. Note that an added touch of elegance is that the KK-NN-OO-TT are the only DOUBLE letters in the grid. Thank you Erik, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Friday.