Title: T-TOPS
Constructor: Matthew Stock
Editors: Kelsey Dixon & Amanda Rafkin
Theme Answers:
TEXAS TOAST (4D: Thick-sliced, crispy, buttery bread named after a state)
TABLE TENNIS (7D: Pingpong)
TERENCE TAO (9D: Fields Medal winner described as the "Mozart of Math")
Theme synopsis: Both words of each vertical theme answer begin with the letter T, meaning they all have T-TOPS.
Things I learned:
- POP ART (37A: Creative style for Rosalyn Drexler) As someone that has had a number of seemingly unrelated jobs over the years, I was delighted to learn that Rosalyn Drexler (who is currently 96 years old) is a novelist, playwright, former professional wrestler, and visual artist. Rosalyn Drexler was one of the often-overlooked women artists during the POP ART movement that began in the 1950s. Many of Rosalyn Drexler's works deal with violence against women, racial violence, and social alienation.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
- AMAL (14A: Clooney Foundation for Justice co-founder) AMAL Clooney is a barrister that specializes in international law and human rights, and an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School. She founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice with her husband, George Clooney. We saw AMAL CLOONEY as a theme answer on February 13, 2022.
- UNIX (16A: Operating system written in C) C is a computer programming language created in the 1970s. C remains widely used in device drivers, protocol stacks, and operating systems - such as UNIX. AT&T developed both UNIX and C.
- COW (29A: Animal in the book "Click, Clack, Moo") and MOOED (32D: Imitated a 29-Across) "Click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety, clack, Moo." This is a repeated refrain in Doreen Cronin's children's book, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. I have previously written about this delightful book. This pair of clues made me happy!
- MAORI (32A: Indigenous New Zealanders) The MĀORI are indigenous people of New Zealand. Settlers arrived in New Zealand from East Polynesia between 1320 and 1350. After several centuries of isolation, these settlers developed their own distinctive culture.
- NINETEEN (38A: The number of this clue divided by two) Did you do the math here or wait for crossing answers to clue you in to the answer? In addition to being a crosswords constructor, Matthew is a math teacher. I'm guessing this clue made him happy. For the record, I did the math.
- JET SKIS (47A: Fast watercraft) or STEAMBOAT (56A: Slow watercraft) Whether you want to speed across the water on your personal JET SKI or take a slow cruise down the river on a STEAMBOAT, this puzzle has you covered.
- TEXAS TOAST (4D: Thick-sliced, crispy, buttery bread named after a state) This answer makes me realize I haven't had TEXAS TOAST in a long time. What's not to enjoy about thick-sliced, crispy, buttery bread? TEXAS TOAST is often served as a side for barbecue. I almost put this answer in the Geography Review section, when I realized that Tennessee is the only other state in the U.S. that begins with the letter T.
- TERENCE TAO (9D: Fields Medal winner described as the "Mozart of Math") I'm wondering if our math teacher constructor devised this theme in order to feature the "Mozart of Math," TERENCE TAO? A professor of mathematics at UCLA, TERENCE TAO is regarded as one of the greatest living mathematicians. The Fields Medal is described as the Nobel Prize of Mathematics. TERENCE TAO writes a blog on mathematical topics. I learned about TERENCE TAO from the June 24, 2022 puzzle.
- CAT POSE (41D: Arched back yoga move) CAT POSE is a lovely yoga move that gently stretches your back. It is often paired with cow pose. (Moo!) The two poses together are used as warm-up yoga moves. Willow's comment is that any move she makes is a CAT POSE!
CAT POSE
I liked the choice today to align the theme answers along the top of the grid, giving us a trio of T-TOPS in the uppermost row. A fair number of animals represented today. In addition to the previously mentioned COW and CAT, we have a PANDA, a EWE, and a GERBIL. Thank you, Matthew, for this puzzle with its ELOQUENT clues, that was a superb way to start my Saturday.
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