November 7, 2022

Title: PARTY OF FIVE

Constructor: Sara Cantor

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:

BALL IS LIFE (18A: "Hoops means everything to me")

SOCIAL WORK (24A: Advocacy and community organizing, for example)

GATHERING DUST (35A: Unused and forgotten)

RAVE REVIEWS (51A: Enthusiastic critiques)

GALA APPLE (57A: Reddish-orange cider fruit)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each of the FIVE theme answers is a synonym for PARTY: BALL, SOCIAL, GATHERING, RAVE, and GALA.

Things I learned:

• PALPS (46D: Fan nickname for the evil "Star Wars" emperor) A week ago I wrote about Sheev Palpatine, whose Sith name is Darth Sidious. In the original Star Wars trilogy, he is the Emperor of the Galactic Empire, and he is the title character of the 1999 movie, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. So I knew the answer was a nickname for Sheev Palpatine, but I am not up enough on the Star Wars fandom to know the answer without the help of crossing answers. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MASHUP (16A; Song made of other songs, like DJ Earworms "United State of Pop") A MASHUP is exactly what it sounds like. Two or more pre-recorded songs are blended together by superimposing the tracks and adjusting the tempo as needed. DJ Earworm is a MASHUP artist from San Francisco, California. Since 2007, he has created a year-end MASHUP of the top songs of the year based on Billboard's charts. His 2007 MASHUP was titled "United State of Pop," and that title is now used to refer to the series of year-end MASHUPs. 
• BALL IS LIFE (18A: "Hoops means everything to me") I've heard the phrase "BALL IS LIFE," used by basketball fans, but I've never thought about the origin of the saying...until today. Dictionary.com provides an informative overview of the history of the phrase.  Although not necessarily the originators of the phrase, the website BALLISLIFE.com, which provides coverage of high school basketball, as well as of the sport as a whole, are credited with increasing its popularity.
• NOT (34A: "I Am ___ Okay With This") I Am NOT Okay With This is a graphic novel by Charles Forman. A Netflix TV series of the same name is based on the graphic novel. The TV series originally aired in February of 2020. On the TV show, Sophia Lillis plays the role of Sydney Novak, a 17-year-old girl coming to terms with her family, her sexuality, and telekinetic powers.
• CATNAP (44A: Quick doze) Although Willow's favorite place to CATNAP is on my lap, when

  

  Willow is a CATNAP pro

  that's not an option she'll make do with other napping venues, such as on my desk, close to me so she can keep track of my activity. I was out of town this weekend, and my husband said it took until the third night for Willow to lay on his lap. Apparently, it's just not the same as mine - ha! She is quite happy to have me (and my lap) home again.
• GALA APPLE (57A: Reddish-orange cider fruit) Although the GALA APPLE cultivar has been around since the 1930s when it was propagated in New Zealand, it has gained popularity recently. As of 2018, the GALA APPLE is the APPLE with the highest production in the United States. The first GALA APPLE tree resulted from a cross between Golden Delicious and Kidd's Orange Red APPLE varieties.
• TAP WATER (39D: Source of fluoride, often) Fluoride is naturally present in WATER in varying levels. In the 1940s, scientists discovered that people who lived in areas where the fluoride level in the TAP WATER was equal to or greater than 1 part per million had significantly fewer cavities than people living in areas where the TAP WATER had lower fluoride levels. In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan was the first U.S. city to add fluoride to its WATER supply. The CDC recommends the addition of fluoride to TAP WATER, and considers WATER fluoridation to be one of the Ten Great Public Health Achievements of the 1900s. You can check the fluoride level of your TAP WATER on this CDC site. 
• GEM (57D: Crystal ___ ("Steven Universe" alien)) I have previously written about the animated TV show, Steven Universe, and the magical alien warriors known as the Crystal GEMs. 

Geography review:

• COSTA (56A: ___ Rica) COSTA Rica is a country in Central America. Its neighbors are Nicaragua (to the north) and Panama (to the southeast), and it has coastline along the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The capital of COSTA Rica is San José.
• THAI (14D: Bangkok language) Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The official language of Thailand is THAI.
• STAN (32D: Country name suffix that means "land of") There are seven countries that end with the suffix -STAN. It's been just under three weeks since we had a Geography Quiz on this subject, so let's review. Can you name the seven countries whose name ends with -STAN? I managed to improve my score. Today I was able to name six of them. How did you do? The answer to this Geography Quiz Review is found here. 
• GUAM (35D: Largest Micronesian island) Located in the western Pacific Ocean, Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania composed of about 2,000 small islands. As the clue informs us, the largest island in Micronesia is Guam. 

I have often said that one of my family's mottos is "Any excuse for a PARTY," so I am definitely a fan of beginning the week with not one, not two, but FIVE PARTY synonyms. An excellent set of theme answers in this PARTY OF FIVE. My favorite is GATHERING DUST. I would be telling a FIB (4D: Untruth) or a LIE (59D: Untruth) if I said nothing in my house is currently GATHERING DUST. I also enjoyed the answers SWEET TEA, WALDO, ARTICLES, and MUFFLE. Thank you, Sara, for this puzzle that was a festive way to start my Monday.