June 19, 2023

Title: ADD UP

Constructors: Steve Marron & Zhouqin Burnikel

Editors: Jared Goudsmit & Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

DEAR OLD DAD (3D: Father, affectionately)

MUD DAUBER (7D: Type of wasp that makes a nest out of wet dirt)

ROUND DANCE (30D: Idle No More's musical form of protest)

BLIND DATE (35D: Many a "Love on the Spectrum" setup)

Theme synopsis: Each vertical theme answer contains the word ADD reading UP.

Things I learned:

• TABS (25A: Ultimate Guitar offerings) Ultimate Guitar is an online platform that provides an archive of music. On the site, musicians can find TABS of many songs. TABS here refer to musical notation written in tablature, which indicated fingering instead of musical pitches.
• BUC (4D: ___-ee's (convenience store known for its clean bathrooms)) BUC-ee's is new to me. This chain of convenience stores is headquartered in Lake Jackson, Texas, and has stores throughout the United States. As the clue informs us, one of the things BUC-ee's is known for is its clean bathrooms. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• WUSHU (14A: Chinese for "martial arts") WUSHU encompasses many different fighting styles that have developed over centuries.
• ADOPT ME (20A: Pet shelter sign) Willow didn't have an "ADOPT ME" sign on her

  

  Willow

  kennel at the shelter, but that's what we did anyway. And we're glad we did!
• URDU (38A: Relative of Hindi) The URDU and Hindi languages share a common Sanskit- and Pakrit-derived vocabulary and grammar. This fact makes the two languages mutually intelligible.
• TOFU (63A: Budae-jjigae ingredient) This is the seventh time since I began blogging just over three years ago, that we have seen "budae-jjigae" in a clue. Budae-jjigae translates to "army base stew," which I learned when I first wrote about it on November 18, 2020 when it was used in a clue for the word POT. Since then we have seen it used to clue the words HAM, LADLE, SPAM, the related STEW/STEWS, and now TOFU. Fun fact: Zhouqin Burnikel was the constructor (one of the constructors today) for all seven of those puzzles.
• MUD DAUBER (7D: Type of wasp that makes a nest out of wet dirt) MUD DAUBER is a name used for a number of wasps that build their nests out of mud. It is the female wasps that build the nest, using their mandibles to mold the mud.
• ROUND DANCE (30D: Idle No More's musical form of protest) Idle No More is an ongoing grassroots protest movement founded in 2012 by four women in Canada. Its vision is for "all people to join in a peaceful revolution which honors and fulfills Indigenous sovereignty and which protects the land, the water, and the sky..." and to "...live the spirit and intent of the treaty relationship, work towards justice in action, and protect Mother Earth." Idle No More focuses on public education and non-violent direct action, which has included public ROUND DANCEs and railway blockades.
• OREO (34D: Nabisco cookie) Second day in a row for an OREO appearance.
• BLIND DATE (35D: Many a "Love on the Spectrum" setup) Love on the Spectrum is an Australian reality TV show that first aired in 2019. An American version, Love on the Spectrum U.S., premiered in May 2022. The show is a docuseries about the dating lives of people on the autism spectrum. 
• GAYE (50A: "The Matrix Reloaded" actress Nona) Nona GAYE portrays Zee in the movies The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

Geography review:

• OMAN (15A: Only country that starts with "O") Since OMAN is a frequent answer in crosswords, it immediately came to mind. I had not realized it's the only country that has a name starting with "O." Today I learned... The capital of OMAN is Muscat.
• SCOT (65A: Edinburgh native) Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.
• EELS (68A: Snakelike fist that are abundant in Lake Hamana) Lake Hamana is a lagoon in Japan. Prior to 1498 when an earthquake connected it to the Pacific Ocean, Lake Hamana was a freshwater lake. It's now a brackish lagoon, with a salinity higher than freshwater, but lower than seawater. Lake Hamana is a commercial source of cultivated Japanese EELS.
• LOTUS (48A: National flower of India) The LOTUS is an aquatic plant that has adapted to grow in flood plains. LOTUS seeds can remain dormant for up to 1,300 years and still be viable. For this reason , the LOTUS is regarded as a symbol of longevity. In addition to being the national flower of India, the LOTUS is the unofficial national flower of Egypt and Vietnam.

Did all of the clues ADD UP for you to successfully solve today's puzzle? In addition to the theme, I enjoyed the answers ORANGE CURD, BYGONE, and THAT'S A PITY. Congratulations and welcome to Steve Marron making his USA Today crossword debut today! That's not all. Jared Goudsmit is making his editorial debut today. Congratulations and welcome, Jared! Double debut! Thank you, Steve and Zhouqin, for this fabulous Monday puzzle.