December 13, 2022

Title: MULTIDIMENSIONAL

Constructors: Brooke Husic & Malaika Handa

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:

KNEE-LENGTH (16A: A bit shorter than a midi skirt)

SCHENGEN AREA (37A: European region with free movement across borders)

PUMP UP THE VOLUME (63A: Crank a song even louder)

Theme synopsis: The last word of each theme answer is a DIMENSION: LENGTH, AREA, VOLUME.

Things I learned:

• TINASHE (2D: "Bouncin'" singer) "Bouncin'" is a 2021 song off of TINASHE's album, 333. We saw TINASHE as a theme answer earlier this year, on February 12, 2022. However, Shannon Rapp guest blogged that puzzle for me, and although I read her write-up, it apparently didn't stick with me, as I needed the help of crossing answers today. 
• TINSEL (6D: Hair ___ (thin, glittery hair accessories) When I think of TINSEL, I am immediately transported to my childhood, remembering the several years we decorated our Christmas tree with TINSEL. The result was a towering mass of shiny glitter strings...that you would find all over the house for months. Hair TINSEL, which has received a boost of interest from the spread of TikTok videos, appears to be a bit more controlled than the TINSEL of my childhood memories, but just as shiny. Hair TINSEL, also known as "fairy hair," is comprised of sparkly, colorful strings attached to your hair. I'm afraid if I got hair TINSEL, you wouldn't be able to differentiate it from the natural strands of glitter in my hair (aka grey hair)!

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• RAP (61A: Andre 3000's genre) André 3000 was formerly half of the RAP duo, Outkast (with Antwan "Big Boi" Patton). Since 2007, André 3000 has had a solo RAP career. He has also acted in a number of movies and TV shows. André 3000 portrayed Jimi Hendrix in the 2013 movie Jimi: All Is by My Side.
• IRONIC (69A: Like a driving instructor running a red light) This clue made me laugh! I don't remember the names of all of my high school teachers, but today I imagined Dr. Marquardt running a red light...priceless.
• ORG (7D: www.transtexas.___) The Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) is a nonprofit organization working for gender diverse equality in Texas. I recommend taking some time today to visit www.transtexas.ORG and look at some of the Love Letters to Trans People the organization has collected. 
• DOWN (24D: Direction of this answer) I always enjoy a self-referential answer.
• NCAA (33D: Org. with an Emerging Sports for Women program) Emerging Sports for Women is a NCAA program supporting women's collegiate sports that do not (yet) have sanctioned NCAA championships. Current emerging sports include acrobatics and tumbling, equestrian, rugby, triathlon, and wrestling. Sports that were formerly designated as emerging sports which have achieved NCAA Championship status include rowing, ice hockey, water polo, bowling, and beach volleyball.
• ALTO (41A: Celia Cruz's vocal range) I have previously written about the "Queen of Salsa," Celia Cruz.

Geography review:

• SCHENGEN AREA (37A: European region with free movement across borders) Named after the 1985 SCHENGEN Agreement and the 1990 SCHENGEN Convention (which were both signed in SCHENGEN, Luxembourg), the SCHENGEN AREA is a region encompassing 27 European countries. These countries have abolished passports and other types of border control at their mutual borders. SCHENGEN AREA members include 23 of the 27 European Union (EU) members, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
• BAYS (11D: Bodies of water near Mumbai and San Francisco) Back BAY and Mahim BAY are bodies of water off of the Arabian Sea and adjacent to Mumbai, India. BAYS near San Francisco, California include San Francisco BAY, Suisun BAY, and San Pablo BAY.
• TAMIL (55D: One of Sri Lanka's official languages) Sri Lanka is a South Asian island country in the Indian Ocean. The official languages of Sri Lanka are TAMIL and Sinhala. 

I appreciated that the puzzle's DIMENSIONS appeared in order of increasing complexity. I don't know if complexity is the correct term, but basically, the DIMENSION of LENGTH is used to calculate AREA, and LENGTH X AREA = VOLUME. With PUMP UP THE VOLUME as one of the theme answers, it was nice to have some musical clues providing options for PUMPing UP said VOLUME. Are we cranking up "Bouncin'" by TINASHE, "Party" by Beyoncé featuring André 3000, "Don't Start Now" by DUA Lipa, or "La Negra Tiene Tumbao" by Celia Cruz? Choices, choices! Thank you, Brooke and Malaika, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Tuesday.