January 15, 2023

Title: SOFT

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

SCHOOL OF THOUGHT (17A: Common viewpoint)

SHROUD OF TURIN (27A: Linen cloth housed in a cathedral in northern Italy)

SWING OF THINGS (58A: Usual rhythm)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer begins with an S, and the last word begins with a T. Those words are connected by the word OF, meaning the theme answers are S OF T phrases.

Things I learned:

• ROSS (38A: Alternative to Marshalls) Marshalls is a chain of discount department stores. It is a sister company to TJ Max. This much I knew, mostly because Marshalls is one of my brother-in-law's favorite stores. I was not familiar with ROSS, however. Like Marshalls, ROSS is also a chain of discount department stores. While Marshalls is headquartered on the east coast in Framingham, Massachusetts, ROSS is headquartered on the west coast in Dublin, California. Both chains have store across the U.S. Marshalls also has a presence in Canada. 
• FOLK (56A: ___ dance (Yangge, for example)) Yangge is a Chinese FOLK dance. Yangge dancers often dress in colorful costumes and are accompanied by music played on drums, trumpets, and gongs. The style of Yangge varies in different regions of China.
• POLO (66A: Sport similar to buzkashi) POLO is similar to buzkashi in that players are on horseback during that game. POLO differs from buzkashi in that POLO uses a small ball players are attempting to hit with mallets, while buzkashi uses a goat (or calf) carcass (minus the head and hooves) that players are attempting to pick up. Buzkashi is a traditional Central Asian sport, and is the national sport in Afghanistan. This NPR article (complete with photos) provides more detail about buzkashi.
• ELIE (68A: "Allow Me to Retort" author Mystal) ELIE Mystal is an attorney and writer. He is a justice correspondent for the biweekly magazine, The Nation. ELIE Mystal's book Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution was published in 2022.
• LUIS (36D: "Despacito" singer Fonsi) "Despacito" is a 2017 song by Puerto Rican singer LUIS Fonsi, featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. The music video for "Despacito" has been viewed over 8 billion times. It is currently the second-most-viewed YouTube video, behind "Baby Shark Dance." 
• WASP (60D: Fig ___ (winged insect)) Fig WASPs are so-named because they spend their larval stage inside figs. Fig WASPs play a role in the pollination of fig trees, which have no visible flowers. If you are now wondering whether you are eating WASPs when you bite into a fig, Bon Appétit has the answer for you. (tl;dr No, the fig produces an enzyme that dissolves the WASP's remains.)

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• FEAR (9A: Scaredy-cat's feeling) Willow would like me to tell you she is not a scaredy-cat and

  

  Willow in a FEARless moment

  does not ever experience FEAR. (That's what she wants you to believe. The truth is that she is quite skittish and does not need much incentive to run and hide.)
• OLLIE (15A: Skateboarding jump) I have previously written about the OLLIE.
• TEE (23A: Top named for the letter it resembles) and HOODIE (28D: Top named for its uppermost part) This is a fun pair of clues.
• SHROUD OF TURIN (27A: Linen cloth housed in a cathedral in northern Italy) I previously wrote about the SHROUD OF TURIN when we saw, TURIN, ITALY clued as [Holy SHROUD city].
• FLIP (60D: Verb in an okonomiyaki recipe) Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake that originated in Japan.

Geography review:

• SEOUL (42A: Capital of South Korea) In addition to being the country's capital, SEOUL is South Korea's largest city. The city's official name is SEOUL Special City.

The key to understanding today's theme is to read the title as three words instead of one. SOFT becomes S OF T. I enjoyed today's set of theme answers, and also liked RISING STAR and NO ONE KNOWS. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was a great way to begin my Sunday.