June 22, 2023

Title: NOSEDIVE

Constructor: Rebecca Goldstein

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

IT'S NO SECRET (3D: "Everybody knows that")

PRO BONO SERVICES (7D: Some Lambda Legal resources)

NANOSECONDS (25D: There are 60 billion in one minute)

Theme synopsis: In each vertical theme answer, we find the word NOSE taking a DIVE.

Things I learned:

• BITTY (22A: "A League of Their Own" actress Schram) A League of Their Own is a 1992 movie that tells a fictionalized account of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. It is the movie on which the 2022 TV show of the same name is based. BITTY Schram played the role of Evelyn Gardner, #17 on the Rockford Peaches. 
• NASA (5D: Space org. with a logo known as "the meatball") How has it escaped my notice that the NASA logo is nicknamed "the meatball?!" The round red, white, and blue "meatball" insignia was designed in 1959, the second year of NASA's existence. From 1975-1992, NASA used a different logo, which was nicknamed "the worm." That logo consisted of the word "NASA" is a unique font that resembles worms. (I guess??) The "worm" logo was retired in 1992, and "the meatball" logo has been used ever since.
• ATE (11D: Had some quesabirria) Quesabirria, also known as red tacos is a dish in Mexican cuisine that consists of beef folded into a tortilla with melted cheese, and served with a side of broth for dipping.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TRIO (1A: Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, for one) This particular TRIO of animated, singing, anthropomorphic critters is best known as "the Chipmunks."
• SHOWER BEER (18A: Drink in a waterproof kookie, maybe) I only recently learned about SHOWER BEER, and of course I learned about it from a crossword.
• GORP (40A: Trail mix) Why is trail mix called GORP? Some say it's an acronym for "Granola, Oats, Raisins, and Peanuts," or "Good Old Raisins and Peanuts." Or it could be related to the Oxford English Dictionary's definition of gorp as a verb meaning "to eat greedily."
• EST (49A: Suffix meaning "most") and QUASI (53A: Prefix meaning "somewhat") I amused myself by combining these two into the QUASIEST. 
• AOC (52A: Rep from NY's 14th district) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) represents New York's 14th congressional district (which includes portions of the Bronx, Queens, and Riders Island in New York City) in the U.S. House of Representatives. AOC was 29 years old when she took office, making her the youngest woman to serve in the U.S. Congress.
• EDIE (64A: LGBT activist Windsor) I have previously written about EDIE Windsor, the plaintiff in the 2013 Supreme Court case, United States v. Windsor. 
• TOES (1D: Lower digits) This clue contains a fun misdirect. Those lower digits aren't "ones" - in fact, they aren't numbers at all, but rather your TOES.
• OH YEAH (4D: Kool-Aid Man's catchphrase) "Hey, Kool-Aid Man!" "OH, YEAH!"
• PRO BONO SERVICES (7D: Some Lambda Legal resources) Lambda Legal is an organization that "represents LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV - in the court of law and in the court of public opinion."
• NANOSECONDS (25D: There are 60 billion in one minute) A NANOSECOND is a very, very, very, very tiny unit of time.
• EAR (51D: Organ with a canal) and Q-TIP (53D: Cotton swab) These consecutive clues for EAR and Q-TIP made me chuckle, as (even though it's a common usage) using Q-TIPs for EAR cleaning is not recommended by doctors.

Geography review:

• SENECA (20A: ___ Falls (home to the first U.S. women's rights convention) The SENECA Falls Convention billed itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman." It was held July 19-20, 1848 in SENECA Falls, New York. Organized by Elizabeth Cody Stanton and some local Quaker women, the convention was planned to coincide with a visit to SENECA Falls by Lucretia Mott, a Quaker woman known for her speaking ability. The Declaration of Sentiments adopted by the convention included the following "facts" concerning "the part of man" toward woman: "He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration," and "He has endeavored, in every way that he could to destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her willing to lead a dependent and abject life." It wasn't only women that attended the SENECA Falls Convention. Frederick Douglas (who was the sole Black attendee) played a crucial role in the convention by encouraging the inclusion of a resolution about women's right to vote.
• EL AL (43A: Airline whose inaugural flight was from Geneva to Tel Aviv) That flight occurred in September 1948 and carried Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann. After attending a conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Chaim Weizmann was scheduled to fly to Tel Aviv, Israel in an Israeli government aircraft. Due to an embargo against Israel, that plan wasn't possible. Instead, a military aircraft was converted into a civilian plane, which was painted with the logo "EL AL / Israeli National Aviation Company." After the flight that returned Chaim Weizmann home, EL AL was incorporated.

When the theme answers are vertical, there's often some great horizontal answers, and that's certainly true today: SASHAYING, DRONE BEES, and THAT TRACKS, along with the afore-mentioned SHOWER BEER are all fabulous. Thank you, Rebecca, for this delightful Thursday puzzle.

If you'd like to solve another puzzle by Rebecca Goldstein, she also contracted today's Universal Puzzle, titled "Cracked Screen."