January 13, 2023

Title: LET'S MAKE A MEAL

Constructor: Nate Cardin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

SMALL FRIES (17A: Unimportant people)

DENVER NUGGETS (23A: Jamal Murray's NBA team)

NOTHINGBURGER (46A: Overhyped dud of an event)

ELECTROPOP (57A: Synthesizer-heavy genre for Ladytron)

Theme synopsis: The last word of each theme answer is a food you might order at a fast food restaurant. Today's MEAL: FRIES, NUGGETS, BURGER, and POP.

Things I learned:

• DENVER NUGGETS (23A: Jamal Murray's NBA team) Jamal Murray has played for NBA's DENVER NUGGETS since 2016. He also plays basketball for the Canadian national team. 
• LUZON (42A: "RuPaul's Drag Race" icon Manila) Manila LUZON competed on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2011. Spoiler alert ... she placed second that season. Manilla LUZON also competed on the first and fourth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Manilla LUZON's drag name is taken from the capital city and largest island of the Philippines. Fans of Manilla LUZON call themselves "Fanilas."

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• DACA (10A: Policy for Dreamers) The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a 2012 U.S. immigration policy allowing some people that were brought to the U.S. as children and raised in the country - referred to as Dreamers - to be granted a deferred action from deportation and to apply for a work permit. The term Dreamers is derived from the DREAM Act, a bill proposed in 2011 aimed at granting legal status to young immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents. The DREAM Act passed the House, but not by the Senate. 
• ALLEN (14A: "Grey's Anatomy" actress Debbie) The previous three times we've seen Debbie ALLEN, the clues have referenced the 1980s TV series, Fame. Debbie ALLEN was the principal choreographer for Fame, and played the role of dance teacher Lydia Grant. This clue reminds us that Debbie ALLEN appears on the TV series, Grey's Anatomy. Since 2011, she has played the role of Dr. Catherine Avery.
• OMAR (16A: "House" actor Epps) Another TV medical drama reference, and another actor playing a doctor on TV! This time we have OMAR Epps, who played the role of neurologist and Dean of Medicine, Dr. Eric Foreman, on the TV series, House. 
• NOTHINGBURGER (46A: Overhyped dud of an event) It may surprise you (it did me!) to learn that the term NOTHINGBURGER, also seen as NOTHING BURGER, has been in use since the 1950s. Louella Parsons, a 1950s gossip columnist, is credited with coining the term NOTHINGBURGER, which she used to refer to minor celebrities. NOTHINGBURGER isn't in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, but it may be someday. 
• ELECTROPOP (57A: Synthesizer-heavy genre for Ladytron) ELECTROPOP is a hybrid music genre developed in the 1980s. It saw a revival of interest in the 2000s. The ELECTROPOP band Ladytron formed in Liverpool, England in 1999. Ladytron's most recent album, Time's Arrow, is scheduled to be released a week from today, January 20. 
• CROC (61A: Animal often confused for a gator) I've posted this link before, but this is a good opportunity to post it again. Here's an article offering nine ways to differentiate between a CROC and a gator. 
• BIG (30D: "___ Nate" (comic strip)) I learned about the comic strip, BIG Nate, from the January 27, 2021 puzzle. Written by Lincoln Pierce, the comic strip tells the adventures of NATE Wright, and his best friends, Francis and Teddy. Well done, Nate Cardin, on working your name into a clue in your puzzle!
• MEN (36D: "It's Raining ___") It always makes me chuckle to remember that "It's Raining MEN" is a 1982 song by The Weather Girls.
• TASTE (28A: Try a sample of) and BATCH (30A: Quantity of cookies) and SATE (31A: Fill completely) and UMAMI (63A: Savory miso flavor) and CARVE (6D: Cut like a Thanksgiving turkey) and BREAD (49D: Restaurant freebie in a basket) How fun to see these food and food-related theme bonuses sprinkled throughout the puzzle!

Geography review:

• EGYPT (66A: Cleopatra's country) From 51 BCE to 30 BCE, Cleopatra was the queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, an Ancient Greek state based in EGYPT.

Are you hungry yet? The MEAL presented in today's puzzle is truly a happy MEAL - it has NUGGETS and a BURGER. This is such a playful theme, and as mentioned above, I appreciated all the bonus theme-related answers that did not fail to AMUSE me as I was solving. I also liked the answers PLAY DATES, HAZARD PAY, ESCAPE HATCH, and DON'T GET CUTE. Thank you, Nate, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Friday.