July 13, 2023

Title: LEFT JAB

Constructor: Rafael Musa

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

JABBERWOCKY (17A: Nonsense poem that starts "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves")

JABARI SMITH, JR. (30A: Houston Rockets power forward)

JABBA THE HUTT (49A: Sluglike "Star Wars" villain)

Theme synopsis: The word JAB is found on the LEFT of each theme answer.

Things I learned:

• JABARI SMITH JR. (30A: Houston Rockets power forward) JABARI SMITH JR. plays basketball for the NBA's Houston Rockets, who drafted him in the first round of the 2022 draft. JABARI SMITH JR.'s father, JABARI SMITTH, Sr., is a former NBA player.
• ALOHA SHIRT (9D: Top that might be worn with a lei) I used to have an ALOHA SHIRT that I adored; it was red with a bright, large floral print. However, at the time I didn't realize it was an ALOHA SHIRT, as I know this piece of clothing by another name, a Hawaiian SHIRT. This style of shirt is collared and has buttons up the front; it usually has short sleeves.  
• EGO (56D: Peter Quill's father, in the MCU) Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, is portrayed by Chris Pratt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Peter Quill is a Celestial hybrid - his father EGO, was a Celestial, and his mother was a human. Celestials are an ancient race of beings introduced in MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy. (My MCU knowledge is minimal, but if you are a fan, I'm sure you understand all of this!)

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SELENA (15A: Pop star Gomez) In addition to being a pop star, SELENA Gomez also has a successful acting career. If, like me, you have enjoyed watching SELENA Gomez in Only Murders in the Building, let me tell you there's less than a month until season three is released. Season three of Only Murders in the Building is scheduled to premiere on August 3.
• JABBERWOCKY (17A: Nonsense poem that starts "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves") "JABBERWOCKY" is a poem by Lewis Carroll that was included in his 1871 novel, Through the Looking Glass. Many of the words in "JABBERWOCKY" are words that Lewis Carroll invented without specific meaning. 
• LAY (21A: Word often confused with "lie") You LAY an object down, but you lie on your bed. Don't worry if you confuse these two words, I have a pencil to use as I silently critique you. (Just kidding!)

  

  "Silently correcting your grammar"

  
  
• COBALT (27A: Shade of blue) Blue is my favorite color, and COBALT blue is a particularly bright and cheery shade of blue. COBALT blue has been used since the eighth or ninth century as a pigment in Chinese blue and white porecelain. COBALT blue is also a popular color of glass.
• RAFA (41A: Nickname hidden in "opera fan") Clever RAFA - he put his own nickname in the grid! I think it's fun when constructors pull this off.
• SOUR (43A: Olivia Rodrigo's debut album) SOUR is the title of Olivia Rodrigo's debut album, released in 2021. 
• EMOTICON (46A: >:O or :-) ) An EMOTICON uses punctuation, numbers, and letters to represent facial features. >:O represents a surprised face, and :-) represents a smiley face. We saw EMOTICON as an answer just under two weeks ago.
• JABBA THE HUTT (49A: Sluglike "Star Wars" villain) In the Star Wars movies, JABBA THE HUTT is a crime lord on the planet Tatooine. As the clue informs us, JABBA THE HUTT is a sluglike creature. In the filming of Return of the Jedi (1983), JABBA THE HUTT was a one-ton animatronic puppet operated by several puppeteers. JABBA THE HUTT was originally supposed to appear in Star Wars (1977), and the plan was to use stop motion animation. However, the scene was cut. In a 1997 Special Edition release of Star Wars, the scene was put back in, and CGI was used to add JABBA THE HUTT. Many fans feel that the CGI-version of JABBA THE HUTT failed to live up to the puppet version.
• SAD (61A: Like much of Lana Del Rey's music) Lana Del Rey's music has been described as "SADcore." Here's one ranking of the 10 SADdest Lana Del Rey songs. 
• DOJO (4D: Judoka's school) A judoka is a practitioner of the Japanese martial art judo. A DŌJŌ is a training place.
• MEW (8D: Catlike Pokemon) The catlike Pokémon MEW has an interesting origin story.

  

  Willow

  
  (Well, I think it's interesting. Willow seems unamused.) MEW was programmed into one of the Pokémon games by a programmer as a prank just before the game's release. You can read more about MEW in this GameSpot article. 
• ANKLE (11D: Joint by the Achilles tendon) The thickest tendon in the human body, the Achilles tendon is located near the ANKLE, where it attaches the lower leg muscles to the heel. The tendon gets its name from the character Achilles in Greek mythology, whose mother held him by the heel when she dipped him in the River Styx to make him invulnerable. The heel was his one vulnerable spot.
• EAR (18D: Spot for a tragus piercing) The tragus is the small triangular piece of cartilage on the front part of the outer EAR that projects back toward the rest of the EAR.
• ELI (25D: "The New Queer Conscience" author Adam) I learned about author and activist Adam ELI from the August 27, 2020 puzzle. The New Queer Conscience is Adam ELI's first book, and it was released in June 2020. Adam ELI promotes queer responsibility, the idea that "Queer people anywhere are responsible for queer people everywhere."
• JDATE (32D: Matchmaking app whose "J" alludes to "Jewish") JDATE is a special-interest online dating service for Jewish people. JDATE was founded in 1997, and launched an app in 2014.
• AUTHORS (39D: Elizabeth Olsen and Robbie Arnett, for "Hattie Harmony: Worry Detective") I learned about the children's book Hattie Harmony: Worry Detective from the August 18, 2022 puzzle. This is a great clue for AUTHORS.
• JAWS (49D: Shark movie with a famous theme song) In case you've forgotten what the JAWS theme song sounds like, here's a refresher. 

Geography review:

• SRI (1A: ___ Lanka) SRI Lanka is an island country in South Asia. Colombo is SRI Lanka's executive and judicial capital. The legislative capital of SRI Lanka is SRI Jayawardenepura Lotte.
• OHIO (14A: Cincinnati's state) OHIO's three largest cities all begin with the letter C: Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Located in southeastern OHIO, Cincinnati is the third-most populous city in the state, but has the largest metropolitan area.
• ARABS (53A: Many Yemenis) Yemen is a country in West Asia, located on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. The capital of Yemen is Sanaa.
• WELSH (58A: Like people from Cardiff) Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales.

It was fun to see these three theme answers beginning with a LEFT JAB. I also liked the answers BAREFOOT and GOBLET, and enjoyed the clue / answer pair of IRONICALLY (3D: How you might start watching a trashy TV show). Thank you, Rafa, for this terrific Thursday puzzle.