December 7, 2022

Title: THE THIRD PART

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

THAT'S WEIRD (17A: "...huh.")

THIRST FOLLOWED (39A: Added on social media purely out of attraction)

THINKS HARD (61A: Does some serious pondering)

Theme synopsis: The word THIRD is PARTed by each of the theme answers.

Things I learned:

• SIP (53A: Little taste of Maotai) Maotai (also spelled moutai) is a distilled liquor named for the town in China's Guizhou province in which it is made. Maotai comes in several varieties, and is made from fermented sorghum. Maotai has a long history in China, and was named a national liquor  in 1951. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• WOMAN (15A: "God is a ___") "God is a WOMAN" is a 2018 song by Ariana Grande.
• STAR (20A: Polaris or Sirius) The STAR Polaris is commonly referred to as the North STAR or Pole STAR. Its stable position in the sky make it useful for navigation. Today I learned that although Polaris appears as a single point of light when viewed with the naked eye, it is a triple STAR system. Sirius, known as the Dog STAR, is the brightest STAR in the night sky.
• TACH (29A: Dashboard gauge, for short) The tachometer, or TACH for short, measures the revolutions per minute (rpm) of a car engine. The word tachometer comes from the Greek words for "speed" and "measure."
• SLIT (38A: Narrow cut on an ao dai) I have previously written about the Vietnamese national garment, the áo dài.
• EEL (42A: Fish mentioned in "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch") "You're as cuddly as a cactus / And as charming as an EEL, Mr. Grinch." Referring to the lyrics of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is a delightful way to clue the word EEL. The lyrics were written by Dr. Seuss (with music composed by Albert Hague) for the 1966 animated TV special, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The song was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, as Boris Karloff, who voiced the Grinch, was not a trained singer. 
• IS IT (45A: "Hello...___ me you're looking for?") Another nice use of song lyrics in this clue. "Hello...IS IT me you're looking for?" is a line from Lionel Richie's 1984 song, "Hello." There are so many songs titled, "Hello." This made me wonder what the most common song title is. This article has a few suggestions. It appears the winner may be "I Want You."
• OMELET (50A: Tamagoyaki, for example) Tamagoyaki is a type of Japanese OMELET made by rolling together several layers of cooked egg.
• PET (1D: Family member who might be furry) I have been looking forward to a mention of a PET in the puzzle, because a few days ago I took this funny photo of Willow.

  

  My furry PET

  My husband calls it "camouflage cat." This photo of my furry family member definitely makes me laugh. 
• METAPHOR (4D: Spoon theory, for example) I have previously written about spoon theory.
• ACHE (30D: Feeling after a sanda class) Sanda is a full contact combat sport also known as Chinese kickboxing.

Geography review:

• SIERRA (49D: ___ Leone) SIERRA Leone is a country on the west coast of Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean, and its neighbors are Guinea and Liberia. The capital of SIERRA Leone is Freetown.
• TAHOE (51D: Lake near Reno) Lake TAHOE is located on the California-Nevada border, about 22 miles south of Reno, Nevada.

I really enjoyed the plethora of animal mentions today. The furry PET, of course, but also DOES (6D: Female rabbits), EEL, CAGE (63A: Bird enclosure), CORGI (64A: Short-legged dog breed), TEAL (68A: Color named after a duck), and KID (62D: Baby goat). There's also mention of a mosquito - (55D: Result of a mosquito bite) - which made me ITCH. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was a great way to start my Wednesday.