April 4, 2023

Title: 4/4 TIME

Constructor: Erik Agard

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

GOOD HAIR DAY (20A: It may be cut short by a strong wind)

JUST THIS SECOND (34A: Right now)

COME WHAT MAY (53A: Regardless of any future obstacles)

Theme synopsis: Today on 4/4, each theme answer is one 4-letter word, followed by a second 4-letter word, followed by a TIME (DAY, SECOND, MAY). 

Things I learned:

• SARAH (38D: Hockey star Nurse) SARAH Nurse is a professional ice hockey player. She plays on Canada's national team, and along with the team, won a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• NOON (15A: Time that's a palindrome) A nice 4-letter TIME-related bonus.
• TUNE (18A: It weighs nothing, but not everyone can carry one) Ha! I have been accused (perhaps fairly...) of not being able to carry a TUNE, and this made me laugh. Also, TUNE is a nice bonus nod to the fact that 4/4 is a common TIME signature in music.
• GOOD HAIR DAY (20A: It may be cut short by a strong wind) This is a fantastic clue, and it made me laugh!
• LLAMA (31A: "Red Pajama"-wearing animal in a children's book) LLAMA, LLAMA Red Pajama is a children's book written by Anna Dewdney.
• TRADE (40A: Jazz or Blues transaction) and ALBUM (41A: Jazz or blues release) These consecutive clues highlight different meanings of "jazz or blues." Note that "Blues" is capitalized in the clue for TRADE, an indication that the Jazz or Blues referenced here are the basketball teams, the Utah Jazz and the St. Louis Blues.
• ANYONE (2D: Question after no hands are raised) "ANYONE? ANYONE?"
• UNO (10D: ___, dos, tres, cuatro) It's fairly common to see UNO clued as [___, dos, tres]. It's a nice touch in this 4/4-themed puzzle to continue the sequence to cuatro.
• CAPITAL O (11D: Opening of this clue) These types of clues almost always trick me, and this one was no exception.
• FACE CARD (13D: Your ___ never declines, my GAWD!" (Beyonce, "Heated")) "Heated" is a song from Beyoncé's 2022 album, Renaissance. The phrase, "Your FACE CARD never declines," refers to unfailing reputation or attractiveness. 
• JULIENNE (34D: Cut into thin strips) The word JULIENNE never fails to make me think of a Veg-o-matic commercial: "It slices, it dices, it makes JULIENNE fries!"
• ZOOMS (47D: Some online communication) and EMAIL (48D: Some online communication) This is a nice consecutive clue echo.

Geography review:

• UCSF (10A: Bay Area med school) and NAPA (16A: Bay Area wine region) California's Bay AREA is taking over the top right corner of the grid today with the University of California, San Franciso (UCSF) School of Medicine and the NAPA Valley wine region.
• SRI (37D: ___ Lanka) SRI Lanka is an island country in South Asia. SRI Lanka has two capitals, SRI Jayawardenepura Kotte and Colombo.

When I saw the title of today's puzzle, I said, "Ah, it is April 4th." (I have lost track of the date while I've been traveling, other than when I write each day's blog.) I expected to see 4 theme answers, but that obviously wasn't the case. I needed to fill in all three theme answers and then look at them together for the nice "Aha!" moment of seeing the 4/4 TIME pattern. Thank you, Erik, for this puzzle that was a delightful and TIME-ly way to start my Tuesday.

One more thing: I'm writing to you today from ERIE, Pennsylvania! My husband and I ate some OREOS last night to commemorate this moment. I will take some photos of Lake ERIE today to share with you the next time our crossword friend ERIE makes an appearance.