April 20, 2023

Title: HIT MAKERS

Constructors: Emily Sharp & Kunal Nabar

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

BLUNT STATEMENT (13A: Direct declaration that may be upsetting)

BOWL GAMES (28A: Postseason events in college football)

JOINT COMMITTEE (49A: Group with members from both houses of Congress)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer is a way to get a HIT from marijuana: BLUNT, BOWL, or JOINT.

Things I learned:

• ACTRESS (10D: Danielle Deadwyler or Dolly de Leon) Danielle Deadwyler played the role of Cuffee in the 2021 movie The Harder They Fall. She also starred as Mamie Till in the 2022 biopic, Till, which was based on the true story of Mamie Till-Bradley. On her website, Danielle Deadwyler states that her work "explores how lines are blurred in the labor of black women," and that she's "interested in emboldening black women subjectivity with live performance engagement in local communities." Filipino ACTRESS Dolly de Leon gained international acclaim after playing the role of a cleaning woman (Abigail) in the 2022 movie Triangle of Sadness. The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival where it received an eight-minute standing ovation.
• MANGOES (20D: Fruits used to make amchoor powder) Amchoor is a fruity powder made from dried, unripened MANGOES. Mostly produced in India, amchoor has a sour fruity flavor that adds acidity to dishes. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• COUSIN (11A: Relation who might be "once removed") I know that the children of my aunts and uncles are my COUSINs. After that, the terminology of "once removed," "second cousin," etc. loses me a bit. Here's an article that explains COUSIN terminology if you're interested.
• ESS (25A: Suffix for "lion") Willow is not a lionESS, but she can

  

  Willow

  
  certainly strike a regal pose like her big cat COUSIN. 
• SPLAT (31A: Sound of slime hitting the floor) and BANG (28D: Firework sound) Fun to see these two sounds crossing.
• RENT (39A: Cancel ___ (tenants' rights movement)) The Cancel RENT movement organized in 2020, and advocated for RENT relief and a moratorium on evictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Representative Ilhan Omar introduced a bill to cancel RENT and mortgage payments through the duration of the pandemic, but the bill did not make it through congress.
• EBT (44A: Grocery payment method) Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) is a system used to purchase food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• LADIES (53A: "Single ___ (Put a Ring on It)") I will not turn down an opportunity to link to a Beyoncé song! "Single LADIES (Put a Ring on It)" won three Grammy Awards in 2010: Song of the Year, Best R&B Song, and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. This is also an opportunity to share some news my husband and I recently received. Our daughter, who is a huge Beyoncé fan, recently received a ring, and is now engaged! We are absolutely delighted for Leah and Wyatt.
• BOSSY (54A: Prone to ordering people around) Hmm, I prefer the description, "assertive and good at delegating." Oh, wait, this isn't necessarily directed at me... ;)
• BISEXUAL (4D: ___ lighting (pink, purple and blue film aesthetic)) Pink, purple, and blue studio lighting is used in some movies and TV shows to represent that the characters in a scene are BISEXUAL. Pink, purple, and blue are the colors of the colors of the BISEXUAL pride flag. 
• DOES (21D: Female deer) This clue/answer pair is gently reminding us that the word deer can be either singular or plural.
• LENTILS (33D: Urad dal, aka black ___) Dal are dried legumes, such as LENTILS, peas, or beans. Though urad dal are often called black LENTILS (or black gram), they are actually a relative of mung beans. 

Geography review:

• DONG (41A: Currency of Vietnam) and PESO (42A: Currency of the Philippines) This section of the puzzle is providing us with a Southeast Asia currency review. Vietnam is located on the eastern edge of the mainland of Southeast Asia, where it borders China, Laos, and Cambodia. The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi, and its currency is the ĐỒNG. The Philippines is an archipelagic country in the western Pacific Ocean. The capital of the Philippines is Manila, and its currency is the Philippine PESO.
• RENO (39D: Nevada city near Tahoe) RENO, Nevada is located near the California border, about 22 miles north of Lake Tahoe.

As soon as I caught on to today's theme I thought, "Wait a minute...what's today's date?" Aha! Happy 4/20 to those who celebrate. In cannabis culture, 4/20 is slang for marijuana use, leading to April 20 being a day to celebrate its use. Therefore, the timing of this puzzle is spot on. I enjoyed the clueing today. A couple of (shoe) highlights: (15A: Like flip-flops but not work boots) for OPEN TOE, and (27A: Shoes sometimes worn with a suit) for HEELS. Thank you, Emily and Kunal, for this puzzle that lit up my Thursday morning.