March 2, 2023

Title: SET TO THE SIDE

Constructor: Brooke Husic

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

LET ME BLOW YA MIND (17A: Eve song with the lyric "And I'm gonna take my time")

CONNECTICUT SUN (38A: WNBA team owned by the Mohegan Tribe)

I'LL SEE MYSELF OUT (59A: Comment after making a bad pun)

Theme synopsis: The word on the right SIDE of each theme answer can be paired with the word SET to give us MINDSET, SUNSET, and OUTSET.

And now a word from our constructor:

Brooke: this isn't related to my puzzle today, but i'd like to use this space to say i've had an amazing time working with sally editing midis for lil avc x. it is totally unsurprising that the thoughtfulness, precision, care, and passion sally exhibits daily in her blog write-ups translates excellently to editing and mentoring.
if you're interested in checking out our work at lil avc x, you can get a free trial subscription here. you can also buy sally's first midi puzzle for $1 here and the first puzzle she edited with her mentee, dob, for $1 here.
see you next week!

Things I learned:

• CONNECTICUT SUN (38A: WNBA team owned by the Mohegan Tribe) The CONNECTICUT SUN are a professional basketball team that was established as part of the WNBA's expansion in 1999. The team was originally established as the Orlando Miracle. In 2003, the Mohegan Tribe purchased the team, and moved it to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CONNECTICUT, renaming the team the CONNECTICUT SUN. 
• ASL (1D: Language that influenced Protactile)  Protactile is a touch-based language used by some DeafBlind people. Protactile is an emerging language that got its start in Seattle in 2007. I found this article about Protactile (a transcript of a radio broadcast) extremely informative and interesting.
• MOM (18D: Queen Ramonda, to Shuri) With this clue and answer, the truth has come out: everything I know about the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), I have learned from crosswords. Today I learned that Ramonda, portrayed by Angela Bassett, is the Queen Mother of Wakanda, and MOM to T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Shuri (Letitia Wright).

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• DRAKE (8A: Duckling's dad) A male duck is called a DRAKE, and a female duck is called ... a duck. A female duck may also be called a hen. A group of ducks is referred to as a flock, but may also be called a paddling, a raft, a skein, a safe, a string, or a waddling.
• LET ME BLOW YA MIND (17A: Eve song with the lyric "And I'm gonna take my time") "LET ME BLOW YA MIND" is a 2001 song by Eve, featuring Gwen Stefani. The song was the first winner of a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, a category introduced in 2002 (now titled Best Melodic Rap Performance).
• DOC (28A: Nonfiction film, for short) and EVAN (42A: ___ Rachel Wood) Phoenix Rising is a two-part documentary (DOC, for short) directed by Amy J. Berg, that originally aired in March of 2022. The  show tells EVAN Rachel Wood's story of creating The Phoenix Act, a California law extending the statute of limitations for domestic violence cases.
• IDES (31A: "Beware the ___ of March") I have previously rambled on about the IDES of March. This warning is timely, as the IDES of March are drawing near.
• PET (45A: (Household animal) and MEOW (58A: Comment from a kitten) and CAT PARENT (3D: Longhair's owner) and SHEDS (4D: Loses fur) Hi, it's me...I'm a CAT PARENT.

  

  Willow with her CAT PARENT

  
  And I thoroughly enjoyed this quartet of CAT-related clues today. Willow is technically a medium-haired cat, but some of her fur, particularly under her chin, is quite long. (I tried to choose a photo that shows that.) She SHEDS a lot! It's a good thing she's cute.
• MOLLY (54A: Comedian Kearney) MOLLY Kearney joined the cast of Saturday Night Live last year. They are the show's first out non-binary cast member.
• LEO (56A: Zodiac lion) and RAM (9D: Animal associated with Aries) We have a pair of Zodiac clues today. People with birthdays between July 23 and August 23 were born under the sign of the lion, LEO. (That includes me.) Those born under the sign of the RAM, Aries, have birthdays between March 21 and April 20. (That includes my mom, my daughter, my brother, and my dad.)
• PROTECTIVE STYLE (7D: Two-strand twists, for example) What a fabulous grid-spanning bonus! We saw PROTECTIVE STYLE as a theme answer on July 31, 2021, which is when I learned this term.
• SWIG (15D: Big taste of a drink) and SIP (61D: Small taste of a drink) Whether you like to SWIG or SIP your drink, this puzzle has you covered.
• QUILLWORK (36D: Indigenous art form that uses porcupine spines) QUILLWORK, the use of porcupine quills (sometimes dyed) as decoration, is an art form unique to the indigenous people of North America.

Geography review:

• SEA (13D: The Caribbean, e.g.) The Caribbean SEA is part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Mexico and Central America, and the islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The Caribbean SEA is home to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, which is the world's second largest barrier reef (after the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral SEA).
• KENYA (11D: Nairobi's country) Nairobi is the capital and largest city of KENYA. The city's name is derived from a Maasai phrase meaning "place of cool waters" ("Enkare Nairobi"). The Nairobi River flows through the city.
• DRC (28D: Kinshasa's country, for short) Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As I recently wrote, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is sometimes referred to as Congo-Kinshasa, to differentiate it from the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville).

Three great long theme answers today! I'LL SEE MYSELF OUT is my favorite, though I liked them all. This puzzle is asymmetric, but is only one square off from having rotational symmetry. Near-symmetry is my favorite form of asymmetry. You might not even notice it unless you look closely. Thank you, Brooke, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Thursday.

Thank you also, Brooke, for the kind words in your constructor's note. I am always happy to give constructors a platform to say whatever they would like, even when it makes me blush! (If you're a USA Today constructor, notes on your puzzles are welcome - always optional and always appreciated!) I would second Brooke's encouragement to check out Lil AVC X. I am thoroughly enjoying working with Brooke and the rest of the Lil AVC X team.