August 14, 2023

Title: TEA SET

Constructors: Sally Hoelscher & Olivia Mitra Framke

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

REESE'S CUPS (17A: Chocolate-and-peanut butter candies)

FLYING SAUCERS (38A: Vehicles driven by aliens, probably)

STIR THE POT (62A: Cause trouble)

Theme synopsis: The last words of the theme answers are parts of a TEA SET: CUPS, SAUCERS, and a POT.

And now a word from our constructors:

Olivia: Collaborating with Sally has been an absolute blast! Our construction styles mesh really well, and we can both get into a kind of crazed go-go-go mentality... energy matching

TEA SET

in creative collaborations is so important! This particular theme idea was all Sally's, and I immediately loved it. I grew up with an Armenian Iranian mother, so tea was always a big deal in our house. I absolutely adore our Persian tea sets - one pictured here!

Sally: Surprise! After blogging about the USA Today crossword daily for over three years, I am extremely delighted to be making my USA Today constructor debut today. Collaborating with Olivia is a great deal of fun, and today is our first published collaboration (but not our last)! Today's write-up is essentially one big constructor note.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• BLUE (16A: Color of Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber) BLUE is my favorite color. And Olivia is a lover of Star Wars (especially the prequels). Therefore, this clue / answer is a perfect collaboration.
• ASHES (21A: What a phoenix rises from) A phoenix is a mythical bird of ancient Greek folklore that combusts into flames when it dies. The phoenix then regenerates from the ASHES.
• SUTTON (32A: Tony-Award-winning actress Foster) SUTTON Foster has won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical: for her performance of Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002), and for her portrayal of Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes (2011). In 2022, my husband and I saw SUTTON Foster on Broadway as Marion Paroo in The Music Man. She was fabulous (as was Hugh Jackman as Harold Hill)!
• SALMON (42A: Fish in lohikeitto) Lohikeitto is a creamy SALMON soup that originated in Finland. In addition to SALMON, lohikeitto usually contains potatoes, carrots, and leeks, and is seasoned with dill and allspice.
• ASS (49A: "If he don't love you anymore / Just walk your fine ___ out the door" (Lizzo lyric)) This lyric is from Lizzo's 2016 song, "Good as Hell." Olivia and I were delighted this clue made it through editing! 
• GRIEF (56A: "Good ___, Charlie Brown!") In the Peanuts comic strip, written and edited by Charles M. Schulz, "Good GRIEF," is Charlie Brown's catchphrase. A TV documentary titled, Good GRIEF, Charlie Brown: A Tribute to Charles Schulz aired on February 11, 2000, two days before Charles Schulz's last Peanuts comic strip ran on February 13. Interestingly, though the TV show and the running of the last comic strip were planned in advance, Charles Schulz died on February 12, 2000, right between these two events. This clue goes out to my favorite Peanuts fan, my sister.
• DEITY (68A: Mitra or Eros, e.g.) Mitra is the name of an Indo-Iranian DEITY, and also a Hindu DEITY. Eros is a DEITY in Greek mythology. And look at this, clever Olivia worked her middle name into a clue!
• LASERS (9D: Beams in some cat toys) I don't always succeed, but I, of course, always try to figure out a way to work a cat reference into my crosswords! Olivia and I actually tried to come up with a clue here that referenced both cats and Star Wars, but just couldn't get it to work.

  

  Willow

  
  So we settled for making LASERS a cat clue and BLUE a Star Wars clue. Cats do love to chase LASERS! We once had a cat (not Willow) that we got to chase a LASER and jump up and turn on the light. Here's a photo of Willow, presumably dreaming of chasing LASERS.
• ELEVATOR (11D: It has its ups and downs) This clue was all Olivia, and I love it! (Olivia: Shoutout to my ex-coworker Mike and all his fantastically awful ELEVATOR-themed dad jokes!)
• ESSAY (31D: Piece of writing with a thesis statement) When Olivia suggested this clue, I wrote the following comment on our cluing spreadsheet, "So, I know this is true, but it makes me think of a dissertation." Olivia's response: "I think that's just PhD bias!" She has a point. ESSAYs definitely have thesis statements, and I'm guessing there have been more ESSAYs than dissertations written.
• YALE (36D: Lupita Nyong'o's alma mater) Lupita Nyong'o was born in Mexico. Her parents are Kenyan, and she was grew up in Nairobi. She holds a BA degree from Hampshire College, and an MFA from YALE. Lupita Nyong'o played the role of Nakia in the 2018 movie Black Panther. Additionally, she has written a children's book, Sulwe, which is a New York Times bestseller. 
• TITLE (51D: "Tea Set," for this puzzle) I adore a meta clue, and so when Olivia suggested referencing the TITLE of our puzzle in this clue, I was completely on board.
• AREPA (54D: Cornmeal cake that might be served with cuajada) AREPA is made of ground maize dough. Associated with the cuisines of Columbia, Venezuela, and Bolivia, AREPA may be served with cheese and meats, and can be split to make sandwiches. AREPA may also be served with cuajada, a curdled milk product. 
• EIDI (57D: Some holiday money) EIDI is a gift of cash. Some may be familiar with it in regards to the celebration of the Muslim holidays Eid-al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, but it is also used by Iranians during Nowruz, which Olivia and her family celebrate each spring. (I have previously written about Nowruz.)

Geography review:

• ENG (28A: Official language of Guyana (Abbr.)) Guyana is a country on the northern coast of South America, with coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Guyana is Georgetown. The official language of Guyana is English (ENG), with ten other regional languages also recognized.
• OREGON (2D: Crater Lake's state) Crater Lake, the centerpiece of Crater Lake National Park,

  

  Crater Lake

  is in a caldera formed over 7,500 years ago by the collapse of a volcano. Located in south-central OREGON, Crater Lake has a depth of 1,949 feet, making it the deepest lake in the United States. Crater Lake is known for its clarity and deep blue color, the result of the fact that there are no rivers flowing into or out of the lake.
• RICA (6D: Costa ___) Costa RICA is a country in the Central American subregion of North America. Costa RICA is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, and Panama to the southeast, with the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. The capital of Costa RICA is San José.
• TROPIC (46D: ___ of Capricorn) Lines of latitude are imagined circles around the Earth used for navigation and measurement. There are five major lines of latitude. From north to south, those lines are: the Arctic Circle, the TROPIC of Cancer, the equator, the TROPIC of Capricorn, and the Antarctic Circle. The TROPIC of Capricorn denotes the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. Fun fact: When the Tropic of Capricorn was named, the Earth was in the constellation Capricornus at the December solstice, thus the name. Due to something called axial precession (I'll be honest, I don't understand it), nowadays at the December solstice, the Sun appears in Sagittarius.

TEA SET

When I was growing up, I had several TEA SETs, including this one, which my mom made for me during her ceramics phase. My sister had a TEA SET, too, and we had many, many TEA parties - good memories! I've had the idea of doing a TEA SET-themed puzzle for quite some time, but just never got around to it. When Olivia and I began collaborating, I came across TEA SET among my ideas, suggested it to Olivia, and here we are! Have you ever wondered how it's decided whose name is listed first when two constructors collaborate? Normally, if one of the constructors is a mentee, and the other is a mentor, the mentee will be listed first. In the case of two experienced constructors - like Olivia and myself - it's up to the constructors. Olivia and I have decided on the rule that the person who had the theme idea will be listed first. (We had to come up with a rule because we both prefer to be listed last!) I'm so excited for this puzzle to be out in the world! I hope you enjoyed solving it. Thank you, Olivia, for collaborating with me. And many thanks to Amanda for her editing.