June 28, 2023

Title: FOOD CHAIN

Constructor: Matthew Stock

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

BANANA PEPPER (20A: Yellow veggie often picked as a pizza topping)

PEPPER STEAK (42A: Stir-fry dish with sliced beef)

STEAK FRIES (63A: Thick cut potato side)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer is a FOOD. The theme answers share words such that they could be written together as a FOOD CHAIN: BANANA PEPPER STEAK FRIES.

Things I learned:

• PWN (31A: Demolish, in gamer slang) Merriam-Webster added PWN to their dictionary in September 2022, and defines it as "to dominate and defeat (someone or something)." As the clue indicates, PWN is slang used by gamers. The word has a fun history. As it's usually typed in online chats, it likely originated out of a typo for "own." As to how PWN is pronounced, I again quote Merriam-Webster, "We're not feeling mean enough to make you guess how to say it, so we'll just come right out and tell you: it's pronounced like it's spelled 'pone.' As in, take the word own and put a 'p' in front and then take out the 'o' but pretend it's still there." 
• LPGA (38D: Inbee Park's org.) Inbee Park is a professional golfer. She plays on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour. Inbee Park was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to the United States at the age of 12 to pursue a golf career. Here's a fun fact: The two youngest players to win the U.S. Women's Open in golf were both 19 years, 11 months, and 17 days old on the day of their victory. One of those players was Inbee Park in 2008. The other was Yuko Saso in 2021. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• BANANA PEPPER (20A: Yellow veggie often picked as a pizza topping) Its yellow color and elongated, curved shape earned the BANANA PEPPER its common name. Pickled and sliced BANANA PEPPERs are used as a garnish on pizzas, sandwiches, and salads.
• ERYKAH (23A: With 47-Across, "New Amerykah Part One" musician) and BADU (47A: See 23-Across) New Amerykah Part One is ERYKAH BADU's fourth studio album, released in 2008. ERYKAH BADU's current tour, called The Unfollow Me Tour, began June 11. I first learned about ERYKAH BADU from the June 11, 2020 puzzle. 
• EHOW (29A: Website with set-by-step instructions) EHOW, stylized as eHow, is an online website featuring how-to articles and videos. EHOW content is provided by freelancers.
• DINER (61A: Greasy spoon) and STEAK FRIES (63A: Thick cut potato side) It struck me as appropriate that these two clues/answers occurred consecutively.
• PIXAR (2D: "Ratatouille" studio) and RAT (35D: "Ratatouille" animal, fittingly) and REMY (62D: "Ratatouille" protagonist) This is a fun little mini-theme, and appropriate for a FOOD-themed puzzle, since the movie Ratatouille revolves around FOOD. Ratatouille is PIXAR's 2007 animated movie about REMY the RAT. REMY possesses a heightened sense of taste and smell and dreams of becoming a chef.
• ASAP (5D: "Quicker than quick!") and  TIMED (6D: Recorded using a stopwatch) Another fun consecutive pair.
• STEW (56D: Dinuguan or gumbo, for example) Dinuguan is a STEW that originated in the Philippines. Dinuguan is made of pork offal (organ meats) simmered in a gravy of pork blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar. Gumbo is a STEW that originated in Louisiana. Gumbo is made of meat or shellfish along with celery, bell peppers, and onions.
• DIVA (59D: "I'm a ___, best believe her, you see how she gettin' paid?" (Beyonce lyric)) "I'm a DIVA, best believe her, you see how she gettin' paid?" is a line from Beyoncé's 2009 song, "DIVA." The song is from Beyoncé's third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce.
• SET (65D: Card game with patterned shapes) SET is a card game with an 81-card deck. Each card in the deck is unique and features one, two, or three diamonds, squiggles, or ovals that are red, green, or purple. The shapes are either solid, striped, or open. Players attempt to make a SET of three cards that adhere to specific rules. 

Geography review:

• OREGON (45A: The Beaver State) OREGON is nicknamed "The Beaver State," in recognition of the importance of the fur trade on the state's economy at the time it became a state. Fun fact: OREGON is the only U.S. state with a double-sided flag. The front of the navy blue flag features part of the state seal, and the back of the flag has a picture of a gold beaver.
• ORD (46A: Chicago airport inits.) ORD is the International Air Transport Association (IATA) airport code for Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. O'Hare began in the mid-1940s as Orchard Field Airport, and was assigned the IATA code ORD, which takes the first two and the last letter of ORcharD. The airport was renamed in 1949 for U.S. Navy Medal of Honor recipient Edward "Butch" O'Hare.
• GUAM (69A: U.S. island territory where Chamorro is spoken) GUAM is the largest island in Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania. English and Chamorro are the official languages of GUAM. Chamorro is the native language of the Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands. GUAM is the southernmost island of the Marianas. The capital of GUAM is Hagåtña.
• TURK (28D: Person from Ankara) Ankara is the capital of Turkey, and is the country's second-largest city after Istanbul.

I wonder if Matthew came up with this theme idea while he was hungry? I always like to see FOOD in my puzzle (and on my plate!), so I enjoyed this theme, as well as the addition food references in the grid. Great answers I haven't highlighted yet include HIT A HOME RUN, POWER NAP, and my favorite, UTTER GENIUS. Thank you, Matthew, for this puzzle that was a fantastic way to start my Wednesday.