July 14, 2023

Title: IT TAKES TWO                                                                                                                                                      

Constructors: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano & Brooke Husic

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

WOW JUST WOW (14A: "That is ... really something")

I'M NOT WORTHY (21A: "All this for little old me?!")

HIIT WORKOUT (42A: Heart-pumping exercise routine that might include jump squats)

GHOST WORLD (50A: Daniel Clowes comic about navigating the limbo between high school and adulthood)

Theme synopsis: The word TWO is found spanning TWO words in each theme answer.

And now a word from our constructors:

Enrique & Brooke: We originally had the idea to include HIIT in a crossword, and HIIT WORKOUT had the fun feature of hiding a TWO. We made a fun countdown puzzle that we ended up *not* using HIIT WORKOUT for (that you can read about here), and now this one that we are also very happy with! We love all four theme answers, the chic WET LOOK / LOW LIT corner, and the musical clues for CTRL and HELL.

Things I learned:

• TANGO (43D: Bajofondo's music genre) Bajofondo is a band with eight Argentinian and Uruguayan musicians, whose focus is on creating contemporary TANGO music, as well as contemporary versions of other musical styles associated with the Río de la Plata region (the confluence of two rivers at the border of Argentina and Uruguay). The band, which has toured worldwide, is also known as the Bajofondo TANGO Club. This is a fun bonus theme answer, since IT TAKES TWO to TANGO.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SSN (4A: ID on a 1099-NEC form) If you pay U.S. taxes, you know there are many different forms. The 1099 forms are used to report income other than wages, salaries, and tips. (Those are reported on Form W-2.) There are several versions of the 1099, including the 1099-NEC. The abbreviation NEC stands for "Non-Employee Compensation." A social security number (SSN) can be found on all 1099 forms, I'm guessing.
• SIWA (7A: Anti-bullying advocate JoJo) JoJo SIWA is a dancer, singer, actress, and YouTube personality. JoJo SIWA's 2016 single, "Boomerang" dealt with the topic of bullying. It was especially fun for me to see JoJo SIWA in the puzzle today, as I recently saw her in person! My husband and I just returned yesterday from a trip to Seattle. Our son - who lives in Seattle - gave his grandma (my mom) tickets to this year's MLB All-Star Week for Christmas last year. My husband and I were in charge of getting my mom to Seattle for the festivities, and were lucky enough to have tickets to the All-Star events as well. One of the All-Star events was a Celebrity Softball Game featuring celebrities from the sports, entertainment, and music world. JoJo SIWA was one of those celebrities.
• ANA (27A: "Los Espookys" actress Fabrega) Los Espookys is a TV series about a group of friends trying to make a business of providing horror for others. In addition to playing the role of Tati on Los Espookys, ANA Fabrega is a co-creator and a writer for the show. I learned about Los Espookys and ANA Fabrega from the February 24, 2021 puzzle.
• FOR (35A: "Like Water ___ Chocolate") Like Water FOR Chocolate is a 1989 novel by Lara Esquivel. The book's descriptive full title is Like Water FOR Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies. In 1992, the book was adapted into a movie of the same name. The rapper Common named his fourth studio album (released in 2000) after the novel. The phrase, "Like water FOR chocolate," is of Spanish origin ("como agua para chocolate"), and is used to refer to a person that has reached their boiling point, like water used to make hot chocolate. 
• OOO (37A: _ut _f _ffice, in an automated email) This clue is a variation of a fill-in-the-blank clue, where each blank is filled in by a single letter. In this case, each blank is filled in by the letter O: Out Of Office.
• HIIT WORKOUT (42A: Heart-pumping exercise routine that might include jump squats) I have previously written about HIIT, which stands for "high-intensity interval training. A HIIT WORKOUT includes short periods of intense exercise alternated with brief recovery periods. 
• CTRL (47A: SZA's debut album) CTRL was the name of SZA's debut studio album, released in 2017.
• HELL (48A: "Good as ___" (Lizzo bop)) "I do my hair toss / Check my nails / Baby how you feelin'? / Feeling good as HELL..." Thanks for the earworm! Lizzo originally recorded "Good as HELL" in 2016, and rereleased it in 2019.
• GHOST WORLD (50A: Daniel Clowes comic about navigating the limbo between high school and adulthood) I learned about the Daniel Clowes comic, GHOST WORLD, from the October 26, 2021 puzzle. GHOST WORLD follows best friends Enid Coleslaw and Rebecca Doppelmeyer, who have recently graduated from high school. In the 2001 movie of the same name based on the comic, Thora Birch portrayed Enid, and Scarlett Johansson played the role of Rebecca.
• GNU (50A: Antelope found in "big numbers") This is a fun hidden word clue, and it amused me since TWOs are not generally considered "big numbers."

Geography review:

• BAJA (2D: ___ California (Mexican state)) Mexico is comprised of 31 states and Mexico City, which is the country's capital and an autonomous administrative entity. BAJA California is Mexico's northernmost and westernmost state. BAJA California is located on the northern part of the BAJA California Peninsula; it shares the peninsula with another Mexican state, BAJA California Sur. BAJA California is south of the U.S. state of California, and west of the U.S. state of Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora. BAJA California has coastline along the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean.
• SAMOA (15D: Country where palusami is from) SAMOA is a Polynesian island country located in the Pacific Ocean about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. Palusami is a dish of cooked taro leaves filled with pork, fish, or coconut cream. The dish originated in SAMOA, Fiji, and Tonga, and is also known as laulau, lū, and rukau.
• K-TOWN (44D: L.A. neighborhood where you can get galbi-jjim) Galbi-jjim, also known as braised short ribs, is a dish in Korean cuisine. Los Angeles (L.A.), California is one of several cities that have a K-TOWN neighborhood. K-TOWN is short for Koreatown, and K-TOWN neighborhoods are areas with a characteristic Korean culture. L.A.'s K-TOWN is interesting, because it is ethnically diverse, and half of the residents are Latino.

IT TAKES TWO to construct a crossword with hidden TWOs. It's particularly appropriate that today's puzzle is a collaboration, isn't it? I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this puzzle. Thank you, Enrique and Brooke, for this puzzle that was an excellent way to start my Friday.