July 16, 2023

Title: LASH LIFT

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

HIGH SALARY (2D: What a big raise might result in)

BATH SALTS (7D: Tub additives that relax sore muscles)

SPINACH SALAD (19D: Dish often topped with warm bacon dressing)

CASH SALES (32D: Many flea market transactions)

Theme synopsis: The word LASH is found reading up (i.e. being LIFTed) in each vertical theme answer.

Things I learned:

• NAOMI (5D: Comedian Watanabe) NAOMI Watanabe is a Japanese comedian and actress. Her 2008 impersonation of Beyoncé earned her the nickname, "the Japanese Beyoncé." She has 9.9 million Instagram followers, making her the most followed personality in Japan. On her podcast, NAOMI Takes America, she talks with guests about various aspects of American culture.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• THAI (1A: Like Blackpink's Lisa) Blackpink is a South Korean girl group that I learned about from the November 9, 2020 puzzle. The members of Blackpink are Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa. Jisoo and Jennie are South Korean, Rosé was born in New Zealand, and has dual South Korean and New Zealand citizenship, and Lisa is THAI, having been born in Thailand.
• CIA (32A: "Zero Dark Thirty" org.) Zero Dark Thirty is a 2011 movie that dramatizes the CIA's years-long international manhunt for Osama bin Laden.
• CATE (36A: Blanchett who played Lydia Tar) In the 2022 movie, Tár, CATE Blanchett portrayed Lydia Tár, a (fictional) world-renowned conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic who is accused of misconduct.
• TEA CULTURE (56A: Chado and gongfu cha are part of it) TEA CULTURE encompasses the making and consumption of TEA. Rituals surrounding TEA are prevalent and varied. Chado is a Japanese TEA ceremony, a ritual for the preparation and presentation of TEA. Gongfu Cha is a type of Chinese TEA ceremony. 
• SNL (64A: NBC sketch show with over 900 episodes) That's a lot of episodes! Saturday Night Live, commonly known as SNL, premiered in 1975 under the name NBC's Saturday Night. SNL finished its 48th season in April of this year.
• TUNA (1D: Popular sashimi fish) In Japanese cuisine, sashimi is a delicacy of thinly-sliced raw fish or meat (or sometimes vegetables). As the clue informs us, TUNA is a popular sashimi fish.
• OILS (11D: Liquids used for tonkatsu) Tonkatsu are pork loin chops that have been breaded and fried in OIL.
• MING (25D: Actress ___-Na Wen) MING-Na Wen voiced the title character in Disney's 1998 animated movie, Mulan. She also portrayed June Woo in the 1993 movie The Joy Luck Club (based on Amy Tan's novel).  
• OSU (48D: Brutus Buckeye's sch.) Brutus Buckeye is the mascot for Ohio State University (OSU), which is located in Columbus, Ohio. The buckeye is the official state tree of Ohio. Brutus Buckeye has been OSU's mascot since 1965. (This makes Brutus Buckeye the same age as me!)
• IMAN (54D: "Ms. Marvel" star Vellani) I have previously written about the Marvel Comics superhero, Ms. Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, a Pakistani American teenager from New Jersey with shapeshifting abilities. In the Disney+ miniseries, Ms. Marvel, IMAN Vellani portrays the title character. 
• TIE (57D: Word whose letters are aptly found in "overtime") My non-sports-oriented brain was thinking of overtime as extra time worked, which made this difficult for me to see. Also, even though the clue specifically told us the "letters" of the word were found in "overtime," and not the word itself, I still found myself looking for consecutive letters. Crossing answers to the rescue on this one.

Geography review:

• LHASA (51A: Largest city in Tibet) LHASA is the capital of Tibet.
• OMANIS (8D: Many Muscat University students) Muscat is the capital and largest city of Oman. Muscat University was established in 2016. 

Today's theme is straightforward, or would that be straight-upward? Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was an excellent way to start my Sunday.