February 11, 2023

Title: QUADMIRE

Constructor: Rafael Musa

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:

FENWAY PARK (17A: Boston Red Sox stadium)

FENTY BEAUTY (27A: Rihanna's makeup brand)

FENCING MASK (41A: Protection for an epeeist)

FENNEL SEED (55A: Spice that can be used as a breath freshener)

Theme synopsis: We have a QUAD (four) of theme answers that all begin with the letters F-E-N, which is a synonym for MIRE.

Things I learned:

• JACOB (35A: Actor and singer Latimore) Jacob Latimore currently stars in the TV series, The Chi, a show about life on the South Side of Chicago. He also stars in the movie House Party, released last month. In addition to acting, he has released three studio albums, Connection (2016), Connection2 (2019), and C3 (2020).
• MLS (52D: San Jose Earthquakes org.) Here's my confession: Being totally non-sports-minded, I missed the capital E of Earthquakes, and was wondering what organization monitors earthquakes in San Jose?! Oops. The San Jose Earthquakes are a Major League Soccer (MLS) team located in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes - originally named the San Jose Clash - were a charter member of MLS in 1996.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• FENWAY PARK (17A: Boston Red Sox stadium) FENWAY PARK, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest active ballpark in Major League Baseball (MLB). It was built in 1911-1912, and has had several renovations. FENWAY PARK was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. As the clue informs us, FENWAY PARK is the home stadium of the Boston Red Sox. I did know this sports-related answer!
• PLAY (19A: "The Glass Menagerie," for one) The Glass Menagerie is a PLAY by Tennessee Williams. I have previously written about The Glass Menagerie, when we saw MENAGERIE as an answer.
• FENTY BEAUTY (27A: Rihanna's makeup brand) When I read this clue, I knew I had written about Rihanna's makeup brand before, but all I could remember of the name was that it ended in BEAUTY. Catching on to the puzzle's theme let me know the answer would start with F-E-N, and that was enough to jog my memory to come up with FENTY BEAUTY. Rihanna's full name is Robyn Rihanna FENTY. The appearance of FENTY BEAUTY is timely, as Rihanna is the headline star for the Super Bowl this year, which I'm told is happening tomorrow. Rihanna's lingerie and loungewear brand, Savage X FENTY, is currently offering a Game Day Collection, which includes a shirt that says "Rihanna concert interrupted by a football game, weird but whatever."
• STEVE (44A: Actor Buscemi) STEVE Buscemi has had an extensive career in both TV and movies. He is currently part of the ensemble cast of the anthology TV series, Miracle Workers. 
• FENNEL SEED (55A: Spice that can be used as a breath freshener) FENNEL SEED is the fruit of the FENNEL plant, a perennial herb. FENNEL contains volatile oils that give it a pungent aroma. FENNEL SEED tastes and smells similar to anise. I would describe it as a "black licorice" taste and smell. Good news if you like black licorice (I do!); not so great if you don't. As the clue informs us, FENNEL SEED can be used as a breath freshener. FENNEL is also used as a flavoring in some natural toothpastes.
• LIPTON (5D: British tea brand) The British tea company, LIPTON, was founded in 1890 by Sir Thomas LIPTON. I grew up drinking LIPTON tea (iced), and it was the only tea brand I knew about for many years. Now my go to tea is a different British brand, Typhoo.
• ASPARAGUS (9D: Vegetable once known as "sparrowgrass") Wiktionary tells me that sparrow grass is a "phono-semantically matched folk etymology for ASPARAGUS." That is a fancy way of saying that sparrow grass and ASPARAGUS sound similar. World Wide Words provides a more in-depth explanation of the relationship between the names ASPARAGUS and sparrow grass. No matter what you choose to call it, the first ASPARAGUS shoots appear in early spring, which means ASPARAGUS season is just around the corner.
• ALANIS (43D: "Ironic" singer Morissette) "Ironic" is a 1996 song by ALANIS Morissette, from her album, Jagged Little Pill. The music video for "Ironic" features multiple "versions" of ALANIS Morissette.
• IRENE (47D: Red Velvet's lead singer) I have previously written about IRENE, and the South Korean girl group Red Velvet.

Geography review:

• EUROS (25A: Coins that replaced the lira and mark) Italy and Malta previously used the lira as their currency. The mark, or Deutschmark, was previously the currency of Germany. (Prior to German reunification, it was the currency of West Germany.) Italy, Malta, and Germany are three of the countries that use EUROS as their currency.
• IRAN (38A: Neighbor of Iraq) IRAN and Iraq are neighboring countries in Western Asia. IRAN is located east of Iraq. The capital of IRAN is Tehran, and the capital of Iraq is Baghdad.
• RIGA (46A: Latvia's capital) Latvia is a country in Northern Europe with coastline along the Baltic Sea. Latvia and its neighbors to the north (Estonia) and south (Lithuania), are together referred to as the Baltic states. RIGA is Latvia's capital and largest city. About one-third of Latvia's residents live in RIGA.
• MELBOURNE (10D: Australian Open host city) MELBOURNE is located in southeastern Australia. It is Australia's second largest city, following Sydney. The Australian Open, hosted in MELBOURNE since 1972, is the first of the four annual Grand Slam tennis events. The Australian Open begins in the middle of January, and last for two weeks. The other Grand Slam tennis events are the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

 I immediately recognized QUADMIRE as a variation of the word "quagmire." I thought perhaps Rafa had made this word up to describe this fun theme, since I hadn't heard the word before. However, "QUADMIRE" is listed in Wiktionary as an alternative for "quagmire." Well, that's fun, and serves well as a title for this puzzle. Looking at the bottom left corner of the puzzle, I CAN'T TELL ... should I be CONCERNED? Thank you, Rafa, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Saturday.