Title: SHE'S SO HIGH, HIGH ABOVE ME
Constructor: Will Nediger
Editor: Erik Agard
Guest Blogger: Kelsey Dixon
SHEET METAL (3D: Thin pieces of tin, for example)
SHERLOCK HOLMES (5D: Detective who inspired "House, M.D.")
SHEEP FARMER (9D: Raiser of rams and ewes)
SHELL GAMES (11D: Scams involving shuffled cups)
Theme synopsis: SHE appears 'above' ME in four of the down answers. The theme borrows lyrics from Tal Bachman's 1999 debut single She's So High.
Things I Learned:
- NIMIIPUU (62A: Chief Joseph's people): NIMIIPUU is the self-name of an Indigenous nation of the Pacific Northwest. Chief Joseph, or Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it, was a leader of the nation in the late 19th century.
- CUBE RULE (40D: Food classification system in which a Pop-Tart is considered a calzone): The CUBE RULE of Food Identification is an internet phenomenon that suggests food can be identified "based on the location of [its] structural starch". It originated with the question of "are hot dogs sandwiches?" and has even been cited in legal opinions from the Supreme Court of Maryland.
Random Thoughts:
- HERO (19A: Mariah Carey hit): Such a thrill to see this gem of a clue so early in the solve! I'm a vocal advocate that there should be more of the "Elusive Chanteuse" in crosswords— Adele may have a more puzzle-friendly name, but her 2 octave + 3 note range has nothing on Mariah's 5 octaves + 2 notes and a semi-tone. Since she's the solo artist with the most #1 Billboard Top 100 hits, it was kind of Will to narrow it down for solvers with a good 4-letter option in HERO. My personal favorite is Emotions (Live at MTV Unplugged, March 1992), but there would have been some space constraints.
- LEAGUE (61A: Fantasy sports group): Since we saw the NFL earlier in the puzzle (at 30A), I thought it was a nice touch that this was left sport-agnostic. Fantasy football is wildly popular, but fantasy hockey has reportedly been around since the 70s! Fantasy baseball and basketball also enjoy success and there's always the Soccer Manager video game franchise. Personally, this fantasy football season has seen some highs (drafting Joe Burrow was prescient!) and lows (like currently-sitting-pretty-at -0%-playoff-likelihood low). There's always next year...
- IBM (64D: Tech company nicknamed "Big Blue") With A.I. being a hot-topic this week, it was nice to see an IBM clue that wasn't about Watson. My dad's first job was at IBM, and I like to pull up photos of him from an old company brochure and remind him that he used to have a lot more hair.
Geography Review:
- IRISH (7D: From Dublin or Cork): Dublin and Cork are the largest two cities in the country of Ireland— people from Dublin or Cork, Ohio are considered Ohioans.
- SNOW (13D: Mount Fuji covering): Mount Fuji, about 60 miles southwest of Tokyo, is the highest mountain in Japan. It is usually snow-capped 5 months of the year, and can be seen from the city on a clear day. Tokyo is at a similar latitude to Santa Fe, New Mexico— which also has snow-capped mountains and may be a bit easier to get to, for some.
I hope you didn't mind that I CAME ABOARD (36A: Got onto a boat) today— it's my first time blogging for Sally! I can usually be found constructing puzzles over at Crosstina Aquafina. If you're familiar with the work I do over there you may be shocked to see me writing in sentence case, but I'd do anything for Sally! I also have puzzles that run a few times a week at Crossword Club.
Beyond being over the moon at this opportunity, I was so excited when I saw today's theme; I instantly recognized the lyrics and had a good laugh because TAL (Bachman) is a name that comes up with some frequency in puzzles, which gave this a slightly meta appeal to me. It was a great puzzle and I really enjoyed all of the theme entries (no comment on whether or not I knew SHELL GAMES were a scam before today). Thanks, Will, for this fresh & fun Friday fix!
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