April 14, 2023

 Title: Heart

Constructor: Erik Agard & Brooke Husic

Editor: Erik Agard

Guest Blogger: Shannon Rapp

Theme Answers:

UN VERANO SIN TI (18A: Bad Bunny album whose title means "A Summer Without You")

NOT MY CUP OF TEA (33A: Spike Lee's "British answer" when asked for his thoughts on "Green Book")

GRAPHIC TEE (50A: Shirt with an image on it)

Theme synopsis: All three theme entries end with a syllable that when spoken aloud, make you "hear" the letter "T" 

Things I learned:

• NASCAR (23A: Sports org. that Curtis Turner raced in). Lots of interesting facts about Curtis Turner, but one I found funny is that he is the only driver to date to win a major NASCAR race by default when he was the only driver remaining with an operational vehicle, in 1956.
• ANDREA (39A: Chess player Botez). Andrea is the younger of two sisters who are both chess champions. Together, they play chess competitively in in-person and online tournaments and have developed a large following on social media.
• GUAM (50D: Island where the Fanohge March for CHamoru Self-Determination took place). The March took place in 2019 on Guam by a coalition of grassroots groups in support of the right to decide their own political future. 

Random thoughts and interesting things: 

I must admit that at first I didn't see (or hear!) the "Heart" in the title. While looking for "heart"s in the puzzle, I just read the long answers aloud to myself in sequence and had a nice little aha moment as a result. It's the sort of theme that makes me curious about the development process -- were Erik and Brooke inspired to find three things in which one can "hear T", or was one of the theme entries the seed of the theme and the other two and the title were found to create a set? I don't know, but I suspect the latter. I like how the construction of this grid allows us some fun bonus answers in the downs: 3D I'LL REMEMBER ("Don't worry about reminding me"); 9D MANICURES (Treatments involving filing and buffing); 29D GOOD POINT ("Can't argue with that"); 33D NON ISSUE (It's nothing to worry about);  35D FANSITES (Webpages devoted to celebrities). 

Geography Review:

• MALI (4A: Country south of Algeria). MALI means "the place where the king lives" and connotes strength.
• USA (28A: Nathan Chen's Olympic team). USA will host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. 
• MAINE (4D: State east of New Hampshire). Home to crosswordese staple town ORONO. 
• ASIA (24D: Cambodia's continent). Cambodia borders Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos.
• AUSTRALIA (31D: Canberra's country). Canberra is the capital city of Australia. 

Erik and Brooke, thanks for the nice puzzle to start off my Friday! Sally, thanks for letting me fill in today. :) Readers, please consider supporting Sally's Take if you are able. (See the yellow Donate button to the side or below). If you are interested in talking puzzles with me more, or want to make a puzzle with me, please contact me on twitter.