May 20, 2023

Title: BOWL GAME

Constructor: Bruce Haight

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

LABOR STRIKE (17A: Reason for some picket lines)

BANANA SPLIT (39A: Ice cream parlor order)

TIME TO SPARE (64A: Gap between completion and a deadline)

Theme synopsis: The last word of each theme answer is a BOWLing term: STRIKE, SPARE, SPLIT.

Things I learned:

• ASICS (56A: Acronymic sneaker brand) I'm familiar with the Japanese sportswear company, ASICS, but I didn't realize the name of the company was an acronym. ASICS is an acronym for the Latin phrase "anime sana in corpora sano" ("a sound mind, in a sound body").
• TWEENER (11D: Through-the-legs tennis shot) Perhaps unsurprisingly, I was not familiar with the tennis term TWEENER. Once again, crosswords are adding to my sports knowledge! In competitive matches, through-the-legs TWEENERS are generally used as a last resort shot, but the trick shot is common in exhibitions.
• SIA (23D: "Where We Once Belonged" novelist Figiel) SIA Figiel is a Samoan novelist and poet. Her debut novel, Where We Once Belonged, which tells the story of Samoan village life, won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize.
• ELDEST SON (37D: Bronny, to LeBron and Savannah) Bronny James, as the clue tells us, is the ELDEST SON of NBA player LeBron James and his wife, Savannah. Bronny James is a senior in high school, and plans to play basketball for the USC Trojans.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LEONA (13A: Helmsley known for the quote "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes")  LEONA Helmsley (1920-2007) went on trial for tax evasion in 1989. During the trial, a former housekeeper of LEONA Helmsley's testified she'd heard her employer say, "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." LEONA Helmsley was convicted of tax fraud and served 21 months in prison.
• LABOR STRIKE (17A: Reason for some picket lines) One LABOR STRIKE currently in the news is the Writers Guild of America (WGA) STRIKE. WGA has been on STRIKE since May 2. Writers are striking to demand fair pay. I definitely believe writers should be paid fairly. 
• DNA (20A: Counterpart of 58-Across) and RNA (58A: Genetic messenger) Fun to see crossword-frequent-flyers DNA and RNA making an appearance together today. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a double-stranded polynucleotide chain that carries genetic material. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a single-stranded molecule (which folds onto itself) that is important for the coding, regulation, and expression of genes.
• ELOPE (69A: Run off to get hitched) A timely clue: although we didn't ELOPE,

  

  Happy anniversary to us!

  it was 34 years ago today that my husband and I got married. Has it really been 34 years?!
• NASA (40A: Apollo program org.) Apollo, which lasted from 1961-1972, was the NASA program that ultimately led to astronauts walking on the moon. Several days ago I talked about Artemis, an ongoing NASA program.
• DATE (55A: Iftar fruit) Iftar is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily fast during the month of Ramadan. Traditionally, three DATEs are eaten to break the fast.

Geography review:

• ATL (24A: Georgia's capital (Abbr.)) Atlanta (ATL) is the capital and most populous city of the state of Georgia.
• RIO (63A: Carnival city, for short) RIO de Janeiro is the second most populous city in Brazil, and one of the Southern Hemisphere's most visited cities. One of RIO de Janeiro's nicknames is "Cidade Maravilhosa" - "Marvelous City." RIO de Janeiro, Brazil hosts a Carnival each year for five days prior to Lent. 
• SAO (18D: ___ Paulo, Brazil) Continuing our tour of Brazil, SÃO Paulo is the country's most populous city. One of SÃO Paulo's nicknames is "Selva de Pedra" - "Jungle of Stone." 
• SAFARIS (26D: Mfuwe Lodge trips) Mfuwe Lodge is located in Zambia (an African country that we just saw in the puzzle six days ago). The lodge is well-situated for SAFARIS, as it sits adjacent to South Luangwa National Park, a park known for its abundance of wildlife. If you stay at Mfuwe Lodge in October, November, or December, you might not even need to go on SAFARI to see elephants. The lodge was built around a mango tree, and a family of elephants occasionally visits the lodge, walking through the reception area to the courtyard, to eat the fruit of the tree.
• BEANTOWN (39D: Nickname for Boston) Boston is the capital and largest city of Massachusetts. BEANTOWN is a reference to the regional dish, Boston baked beans.
• TEL (47D: ___ Aviv, Israel) Tel AVIV is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The official name of Tel AVIV is Tel AVIV-Yafo, but it is often referred to simply as Tel AVIV.

Today's BOWL GAME is the GAME of BOWLING, which features STRIKEs (hopefully!) SPAREs, and sometimes the dreaded SPLIT. We've seen a similar theme before, a couple of years ago. For the record, I don't mind this at all; I find it interesting to see how different constructors approach theme ideas. One interesting thing is that today we have TIME TO SPARE, while in the previous puzzle we had NO TIME TO SPARE. Thank you, Bruce, for this puzzle that was a great way to start my Saturday.