June 12, 2023

Title: DRESS DOWN

Constructors: Jimmy Peniston & Brooke Husic

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

QUEER PROM (8D: Opportunity for a second chance at a high school dance)

MIDNIGHT SUN (12D: Daylight at 12 a.m. in the Arctic)

GIN COCKTAIL (19D: Tom Collins or French 75)

BRAID WRAP (30D: Fringed hair accessory sometimes made from deerskin)

Theme synopsis: The last word (DOWN-most) of each vertical theme answer is a type of DRESS. We have a PROM DRESS, a SUNDRESS, a COCKTAIL DRESS, and a WRAP DRESS.

And now a word from our constructors:

Jimmy & Brooke: we had a fantastic time working on this together! our favorite answers are MIDNIGHT SUN and QUEER PROM, and our favorite clues are for HELLO and HOME. our favorite type of dress that we did not feature in this theme is a bubble dress.

Things I learned:

• MAY (1A: Harvey Milk Day's month) Harvey Milk was California's first openly gay elected official. He was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Eleven months into his term, Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by a disgruntled city supervisor. This much I knew. I learned that Harvey Milk Day is celebrated on MAY 22 each year in Harvey Milk's honor. Organized by the Harvey Milk Foundation, the day is recognized in California as a day of special significance, and is a time to remember and teach about Harvey Milk's life.
• WAS (61A: "it ___ never going to be okay" (jaye simpson book)) The debut poetry collection of jaye simpson, titled it WAS never going to be okay, was published in 2020. jaye simpson (who spells their name using lower case letters) is a Two-Spirit Oji-Cree person whose writing often discusses being queer and indigenous. This clue is a great example of a way to elevate a clue for the word WAS. 
• BRAID WRAP (30D: Fringed hair accessory sometimes made from deerskin) Some traditional Native American BRAID WRAPs are made from deerskin. These leather pieces, which are fringed, are wrapped around the ends of a braid.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• HELLO (34A: In ASL, it looks similar to a salute) I'm sure you can envision what this looks like, but here's a video of the ASL sign for HELLO. 
• TRY (38A: Have a go at) and ATTEMPT (46A: Have a go at) I enjoyed having a go at this pair of clues.
• QUEER PROM (8D: Opportunity for a second chance at a high school dance) The high school PROM is a classic event. PROM can also be difficult to navigate and may not always be welcoming to all people. The idea of a QUEER PROM is to provide a safe and inclusive space for people to dance and have fun. This answer feels especially appropriate, as many QUEER PROMs are held during June to coincide with Pride month.
• MIDNIGHT SUN (12D: Daylight at 12 a.m. in the Arctic) The MIDNIGHT SUN is exactly what it sounds like. In the Arctic, the SUN is still visible at MIDNIGHT for a period of time around the summer solstice (approximately June 21). The distance from the North Pole determines how many days of MIDNIGHT SUN a location will experience. (Time zones are also a factor depending on where you are.) Yukon, Nunavut, and Northwest Territories in Canada, the U.S. state of Alaska, and the countries of Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, and Russia experience the MIDNIGHT SUN. The MIDNIGHT SUN also occurs in the Antarctic (in different month).
• GIN COCKTAIL (19D: Tom Collins or French 75) A Tom Collins is a GIN COCKTAIL made with GIN (of course!), lemon juice, simple syrup, and carbonated water. The GIN COCKTAIL known as a French 75 is similar to a Tom Collins, but it contains champagne instead of carbonated water.

Geography review:

• SLC (31A: Utah's capital, for short) Salt Lake City (SLC, for short) is the capital and most populous city of Utah. When the city was founded in 1847, it was named Great Salt Lake City, as a nod to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake. The word "Great" was dropped from the city's name in 1868.
• MAUNA (1D: Mountain, in Hawaii) When I first encountered this clue, I thought I didn't know the answer. However, once I had a few letters filled in from crossing answers, I made the connection to MAUNA Kea and MAUNA Loa, two mountainous volcanoes located in Hawaii, which make occasional crossword appearances.

You receive bonus points if you solved today's puzzle while wearing a PROM DRESS, a SUNDRESS, a COCKTAIL DRESS, or a WRAP DRESS. (I solved today's puzzle while wearing my pajamas, so no bonus points for me!) This is a classic theme type with four great theme answers. I did not find this solve TEDIOUS (44A: Like a slog) at all! For some reason I am now hungry for LASAGNA. Thank you, Jimmy and Brooke, for this puzzle that was a fantastic way to start my Monday. 

Also, thanks to Brooke Husic and Matthew Stock for guest blogging over the weekend. I appreciated having a short break while I attended a family reunion.