December 18, 2022

Title: CROSSCUT

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

CRIME BOSS (16A: Person in control of a racket)

CROWN PRINCESS (27A: Royal heir apparent)

CHARLOTTE ROSS (56A: Actress who originated the role of Eve Donovan on "Days of Our Lives")

Theme synopsis: In each theme answer, the word CROSS is CUT, with some of the letters appearing at the beginning of the answer, and the rest of the letters at the end.

Things I learned:

• AMISH (225A: People in "Inside the Simple Life") Susan Hougelman is the owner of Simple Life Tours, a company in Pennsylvania that offers tours to AMISH farms and businesses in the area. Earlier this year, she published a book titled, Inside the Simple Life: Finding Inspiration among the AMISH.
• REN (51A: People, in Chinese) Although I needed to rely on crossing answers to discover REN, I enjoy that the USA Today puzzle does a good job of including a range of languages. I'm always up for learning something new.
• CHARLOTTE ROSS (56A: Actress who originated the role of Eve Donovan on "Days of Our Lives") This is the third time this year I've written about the NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives, as I mentioned it in April and August. Each time, like today, the mention has been in the "Things I learned" section! I'm sure there's a lot I still don't know about Days of Our Lives, but now I know that CHARLOTTE ROSS played the role of Eve Donovan from 1987 to 1991. (From 2014-2020, the character of Eve Donovan was played by Kassie DePaiva.) In addition to her role on Days of Our Lives, CHARLOTTE ROSS played the role of Detective Connie McDowell on the TV series, NYPD Blue.
• SET (63D: Qinqiang backdrop) Qinqiang is a genre of Chinese opera. I was thankful for the "backdrop" hint in the clue.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MARA (40A: "Matilda" actress Wilson) MARA Wilson was a couple of years older than the 6-year-old title character, Matilda, when she portrayed her in the 1996 movie. Before Matilda, MARA Wilson  appeared  in the 1993 movie, Mrs. Doubtfire, as Natalie Hillard, and in the 1994 movie, Miracle on 34th Street, as Susan Walker. In 2000, MARA Wilson took a hiatus from acting to focus on writing. Since 2012, she has acted in a number of web series, and continues to write.
• AESOP (41A: Skin care brand named after an ancient Greek storyteller) When Dennis Paphitis named his beauty brand AESOP in 1987, he did so as a way of gently mocking the often outlandish claims of beauty companies. Headquartered in Australia (but now owned by the Brazilian company, Natura & Co), AESOP is known for its unique stores designed specifically for each location. I learned about AESOP from the August 25, 2021 puzzle, but I was still thankful for the storyteller hint in the clue.
• MEMOIR (4D: Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home," for example) Alison Bechdel's MEMOIR, Fun Home, is a graphic novel which has been adapted into a stage musical.
• EEL (8D: Fish whose heaviest species is the European conger) After two days (Friday and Saturday) of the word "fish" pointing to the plural EELS, today it points to a singular EEL. A European conger EEL can be around 7 feet long and weigh around 150 pounds.
• PIECE (33D: Jigsaw puzzle part) If you enjoy jigsaw puzzles, or if you are in need of a gift

  

  Complaining chickens puzzle

  for a jigsaw puzzle lover, I recommend the puzzle my sister gave me for Christmas this year. (We celebrated early, so I've already received it.) It's called Puzzle Complaints, and it features complaining chickens. Illustrated by Sandra Boynton (who else?!) the puzzle had me chuckling over and over again as I put it together, particularly when several people that helped put the puzzle together started echoing the chickens' complaints.
• PEPE (45D: Cacio e ___ (pasta dish)) Cacio e PEPE means "cheese and pepper" in several Italian dialects, so it's appropriate that the pasta dish is made with grated Pecorino Romano cheese, black pepper, and pasta.

Geography review:

• OHIO (13A: State east of Indiana) If you travel east from most places in Indiana, you will eventually find yourself in OHIO. If you begin your journey near the northern border of Indiana and travel east, you will find yourself in Kentucky.
• TWO (22A: Number of colors on Poland's flag) The TWO colors on Poland's flag are white and red. The top half of the flag is white, and the bottom half is red.
• ASIAN (62A: Korean or Mongolian) Korea is an ASIAN region that is comprised of North Korea and South Korea. Mongolia is a landlocked ASIAN country whose neighbors are Russia and China.
• CARSON CITY (27D: Capital home to the Nevada State Capitol) Appropriately, the Nevada State Capitol is located in the state's capital, CARSON CITY. Located in western Nevada, CARSON CITY is near Lake Tahoe, and the Nevada-California border.
• SOCHI (54D: 2014 Winter Olympics host city) SOCHI is located in the southwestern part of Russia, along the Black Sea, and has a subtropical climate. In 2014, SOCHI hosted the Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Winter Games. 

My favorite answer in today's puzzle is ALL THE RAGE. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle, that was an enjoyable way to begin my Sunday.