May 23, 2023

Title: SPLITS POSE

Constructor: Rafael Musa

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

POWERHOUSE (16A: Formidable team)

POETIC LICENSE (34A: Writer's artistic freedom)

PORTUGUESE (55A: Most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer SPLITS the word POSE.

Things I learned:

• MAN (37D: "Obie is ___ Enough" (Schuyler Bailar novel)) When he was a student at Harvard University, Schuyler Bailar was on the Harvard Men's Swimming and Diving Team. He is the first openly transgender athlete to compete on an NCAA Division I team. Obie is MAN Enough is Schuyler Bailar's first book. The middle-grade novel, which was published in 2021, tells the story of Obie, a trans middle school swimmer. I recommend this Schuyler Bailar interview in which he talks about Obie is MAN Enough. As noted yesterday and always true: Trans rights are human rights.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• Music! This puzzle has plenty of choices for tunes to celebrate a successful solve.
• SHEA (5A: "___ Butter Baby" (Ari Lennox album)) SHEA Butter Baby is the 2019 debut album for Ari Lennox. The song, "Shea Butter Baby," appears on the album, and first appeared on the soundtrack for the movie Creed II in 2018. 
• I DID (47A: "Oops! ... ___ It Again") "Oops!...I DID It Again" is the title track from Britney Spears's 2000 album. "Oops, I DID it again / I played with your heart, got lost in the game..."
• HALO (17D: Beyonce song with the lyric "I got my angel now") Beyoncé's 2008 song, "HALO," is from her album, I Am...Sasha Fierce. "Standing' in the light of your HALO / I got my angel now..."
• PARAMORE (34D: "Still Into You" band) "Still Into You" is a 2013 song by the band PARAMORE. "'Cause after all this time, I'm still into you..."
• PROF (26A: University instructor, for short) and TAS (39A: University student instructors, for short) This is a well-instructed puzzle, with both a PROF and some TAS. I've been both a PROF and a TA. I can tell you that one main difference is being a PROF pays better!
• MASK (37A: N95 or KF94) As I hope you're aware by now, wearing a MASK

  

  My husband and I have color-coded masks
  so we don't get them mixed up!

  is an effective way to protect yourselves and others as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's an overview of how to take care of your N95, KN95, or KF94 MASKs. 

Geography review:

• EMIR (15A: Ruler in Qatar or Kuwait) EMIR is a title used by a ruler in Islamic countries. Qatar is a country located on the Qatar Peninsula off of the northeastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar is surrounded on three sides by the Persian Gulf and borders Saudi Arabia to the south. The capital of Qatar is Doha, and the current EMIR is Tamim bin Hamad. Kuwait is located north of Qatar, also along the Persian Gulf. Kuwait shares borders with Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. The capital of Kuwait is Kuwait City, and the current EMIR is Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
• PORTUGUESE (55A: Most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere) The Southern Hemisphere refers to the half of Earth south of the Equator. It includes about 90% of South America, approximately one-third of Africa, some Asian islands, and all of Australia and Antarctica. Over 230 million Southern Hemisphere residents speak PORTUGUESE. Many of these PORTUGUESE speakers are in Brazil, where PORTUGUESE is the national language. PORTUGUESE is also an official language in the Southern Hemisphere countries of Angola, Mozambique, East Timor, and portions of Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Principe.
• BOLO (52D: New Mexico's state tie) A BOLO, also called a string tie, consists of a piece of cord or leather secured with an ornamental clasp. In 2007, New Mexico passed a law to make the BOLO the state's official tie. The BOLO was also named the official tie of Texas in 2007. In Arizona, the BOLO has been official neckwear since 1971.

Successfully solving this puzzle is the closest I will ever come to being able to do the SPLITS! My favorite theme answer today is POETIC LICENSE - I've always liked the sound of this phrase. So many wonderful phrases in this puzzle: I'M AT A LOSS, IN A MINUTE, and OH IS THAT SO?! SIDENOTE: there's more delightful fill in SNEAK PEEK, STONE-FACED, and POSTPONED. Thank you, Rafa, for this puzzle that was an excellent way to start my Tuesday.