June 26, 2023

Title: TRIPLE IPA

Constructor: Jared Goudsmit

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

MOO GOO GAI PAN (20A: Stir-fried chicken and veggies dish)

WHERE DID I PARK? (39A: Question asked while wandering through a garage)

WI-FI PASSWORD (57A: Info on a cafe receipt that lets you access their internet)

Theme synopsis: Each of the three theme answers contains the letters IPA connecting two of the words in the answer.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LOOM (14A: Fruit of the ___ (company that in fact does not have a cornucopia in its logo)) Have you heard of the "Mandela effect?" The term is used to refer to false memories that are held by multiple people. The presence of a cornucopia in the Fruit of the LOOM logo is often cited as an example of the Mandela Effect. (The effect was named by a researcher that had vivid memories of news coverage reporting the death of Nelson Mandela in prison in the 1980s, and discovered others shared those memories. Nelson Mandela died in 2013.) The Fruit of the LOOM was founded in 1851, and its logo is comprised of an apple, green grapes, purple grapes, and white currants, but no cornucopia. 
• LOUIE (16A: Huey and Dewey's cartoon brother) Huey, Dewey, and LOUIE are anthropomorphic cartoon ducks. They are the nephews of Donald Duck, and the grand-nephews of Scrooge McDuck. LOUIE is the one depicted wearing green. Huey wears red, and Dewey wears blue.
• ACLU (17A: Legal advocacy org.) The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization founded in 1920. The ACLU believes "every person in this country should have the same basic rights, and works to "defend the rights of all people nationwide." 
• MOO GOO GAI PAN (20A: Stir-fried chicken and veggies dish) MOO GOO GAI PAN is a stir-fried dish of chicken, mushrooms, and other vegetables. The dish is of Cantonese origin, and its name comes from the Cantonese name of the ingredients: "moo goo" = "button mushrooms," "gai" = "chicken," and "pan" = slices.
• WHERE DID I PARK? (39A: Question asked while wandering through a garage) Ah, I can relate to this question! I worry about being faced with the question, "WHERE DID I PARK," so I generally take precautions, such as parking next to a light pole in a large lot, and taking a photo of a nearby sign to remember which level I'm parked on in a garage. Recently I parked in a quite-confusing multi-level hotel parking garage. I took a photo of the nearest sign. And yet, two-and-a-half days later when my friends and I returned to the garage, we couldn't find that sign or my car. WHERE DID I PARK?! (It took us about 10 minutes to find the car ... right near the sign I had photographed.)
• REESE (42A: "Wild" actress Witherspoon) Wild is a 2014 movie based on Cheryl Strayed's 2012 memoir about a solo backpacking trip titled, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. REESE Witherspoon portrays Cheryl Strayed in the movie.
• OBIE (64A: R&B singer Benson) OBIE Benson (1936-2005) was one of the founding members of the Motown group, the Four Tops. The Four Tops were originally founded in 1954 as the Four Aims. The group changed their name in 1956. OBIE Benson performed with the Four Tops for over five decades.
• PIXAR (7D: "Up" studio) Yesterday we saw Pete DOCTER, the director of PIXAR's animated 2009 movie, Up, in the puzzle. My husband and I rewatched Up last year; such a good movie.
• ESPRESSO BAR (26D: Coffeehouse that might specialize in macchiatos) A macchiato is essentially an ESPRESSO with a dash of milk. A caffé macchiato is ESPRESSO with a little milk, and a latte macchiato is steamed milk with a little ESPRESSO. An ESPRESSO BAR would be a good place to order either of these drinks. 
• YODA (31D: A powerful Jedi, he is) and EWOKS (51D: Furry "Star Wars" creatures) Fun to see a pair of Star Wars clues. I appreciated the syntax of the YODA clue.
• IDES (35D: "Beware the ___ of March) In the Roman calendar, IDES referred to a day near the middle of the month - the 15th of March, May, July, or October, and the 13th of any other month. The IDES of March coincided with several Roman religious observances. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated on the IDES of March, making the date notorious. As I've previously mentioned, any mention of the IDES of March reminds me of Mrs. Horton, my ninth grade English teacher. 
• IMPOSTOR (41D: Among Us saboteur) Among Us is a an online multiplayer game that was first released in 2018. Players are represented as cartoon astronauts, and each player is either a Crewmate, whose objective is to complete assigned tasks, or an IMPOSTOR, whose objective is to kill Crewmates. The Crewmates have the additional task of identifying and voting out IMPOSTORs. Among Us became popular in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I learned about Among Us from the June 9, 2021 puzzle. If you've seen the movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, you may remember the scene where Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is in the tub and is online with Angela Lansbury, Natasha Lyonne, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Stephen Sondheim. The game the group is playing is Among Us. I wonder who the IMPOSTOR(s) was/were?

Geography review:

• RIO (62D: Brazilian city, for short) RIO de Janeiro is a Brazilian state, and the capital city of that state. The city of RIO is located on the eastern edge of Brazil, along the Atlantic Ocean.

If you fancy an IPA, you're in luck because you have three to choose from today. This is a classic USA Today theme type with a great set of theme answers. I also enjoyed the answers CANOODLE, COLOR SCHEME, and RED VINES. We've seen Jared Goudsmit's editorial byline a couple of times now, but this is his USA Today debut as a constructor - congratulations! Thank you, Jared, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Monday.

One more thing today: Registration has opened for the Boswords Summer Tournament. The tournament will be held in person in Boston, as well as online, on Sunday, July 23. As you may have picked up on by my previous mentions of it, Boswords is one of my favorite tournaments. I wish we could go to Boston for the tournament (some year!), but this year my husband and I will be taking part in the online version. We've registered in the pairs division. I hope you'll consider registering as well!