December 4, 2022

Title: WINDFALL

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

YOGA LESSON (3D: Session in which Bhujangasana might be taught)

GETTING A LEG UP ON (19D: Gaining an advantage)

STAYING ALERT (21D: Remaining vigilant)

Theme synopsis: The word GALE - a strong WIND - is found FALLing in each vertical theme answer.

Things I learned:

• TAI (24A: Brittany Murphy's character in "Clueless") Clueless is a 1995 movie loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel, Emma. This much I knew. However, having never seen Clueless, I did not know that TAI is the name of Brittany Murphy's character. In Clueless, TAI Fraser is a high school transfer student who becomes the "project" of popular girl, Cher (played by Alicia Silverstone). Add Clueless to the ever-growing list of movies I really should watch someday! On a related note, my husband and I finally watched the 2003 movie, Elf, last night. It's one our kids have been telling us to watch for many Christmas seasons.
• LO MEIN (8D: Dish similar to pancit canton) Pancit canton refers to various traditional noodle dishes in the Philippines.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• DAYS (1A: There are 354 or 355 in an Islamic calendar) The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar comprised of a year of 12 lunar months. A lunar month is 29 or 30 days long, and, as the clue informs us, the Islamic calendar has 354 or 355 days. In most countries where Islam is the predominant religion, the Gregorian calendar is used as the civil calendar, while the Islamic calendar is used to determine holidays and rituals. 
• HER (16A: "Fight for You" singer) I wrote about H.E.R.'s song, "Fight for You," in December of last year. 
• IBIS (41A: Bird closely related to the spoonbill) The IBIS and the spoonbill are both long-legged wading birds. The spoonbill, as you might expect, is named for the shape of it bill, which is long, flat, and spatulate (shaped like a spatula). The IBIS has a long bill that curves downward.
• SEAL (53A: Animal similar to a sea lion, but quieter) One of the differences between SEALs and sea lions is their vocalization habits. SEALs vocalize using soft grunts. Sea lions, as you know if you've ever been to Pier 39 in San Francisco, or other locations where sea lions gather, communicate with loud barking noises as well as grunts. Sea lions also tend to be more social than SEALs, and tend to congregate in colonies. SEALs spend much of their time wikialone.
• YOGA LESSON (3D: Session in which Bhujangasana might be taught) Bhujangasana is a back-bending asana known as cobra pose. 
• ALL (6D: "Greatest Love of ___" (Whitney Houston song)) "The Greatest Love of All" was originally recorded by George Benson in 1977. The song was written for the movie, The Greatest, a biopic of Muhammed Ali. Whitney Houston covered the song (and slightly shortened the title) in 1985. Whitney Houston's song, "Greatest Love of All" topped the charts in the United States, Australia, and Canada.
• ILANA (7D: Comedian Glazer) ILANA Glazer played a fictionalized version of herself in the TV sitcom, Broad City.
• DRESS (12D: Qipao, for example) A qipao is a close-fitting Chinese DRESS. Another term for a qipao is cheongsam.

Geography review:

• MIAMI (36A: Florida's second-largest city) Florida's largest city is Jacksonville, which is located in northeastern part of the state. Moving to the southeastern coast of Florida, we find the state's second-largest city, MIAMI. 
• CARLO (27A: Monte ___) Monaco is a city-state on the French Riviera. It is the second smallest sovereign state in the world (after Vatican City). Monte CARLO is an administrative state of Monaco, and home to the Monte CARLO Casino.
• CHILE (54D: Country closest to Antarctica) Located along the western coast of South America, CHILE is the southernmost country in the world, making it the closest to the continent of Antarctica. CHILE claims 480,000 square miles of Antarctica as its territory, although this claim is suspended by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty (which Chile signed), which froze territorial disputes and established that Antarctic activities be devoted to peaceful purposes.

 A classic USA Today theme type today, perfectly nodded at by the title. As the theme was in the Down answers, there are a bunch of enjoyable Across answers today: BLAME GAME, TEA ROSE, NEMESIS, PIRATE SHIP, and HOPE NOT. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was a great way to begin my Sunday.