August 30, 2023

Title: SMART FOODS 

Constructor: Nate Cardin

Editor: Kelsey Dixon

Theme Answers:

SHARP COOKIE (17A: Perceptive person)

BRIGHT ORANGE (37A: Color of some traffic cones)

WISE CRACKER (60A: Sarcastic jokester)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer is a synonym for SMART: SHARP, BRIGHT, WISE. The second word of each theme answer is a FOOD: COOKIE, ORANGE, CRACKER.

Things I learned:

• SCARAB (5A: Beetle in the "Mummy" movies) The Mummy franchise is a series of horror films whose central character is a resurrected ancient Egyptian priest. The original series of six movies was released between 1932 and 1955. Boris Karloff portrays Imhotep / The Mummy in the first movie. A new series of films was launched in 1999 with The Mummy, a remake of the 1932 movie. In the remake, Arnold Vosloo portrays Imhotep. The 1999 version of The Mummy opens in ancient Egypt, where the priest Imhotep is buried alive with flesh-eating SCARABs. I will never see these movies, as horror is definitely not my genre of choice, but I believe this article that explains why the  SCARABs are the most frightening villains in the movie.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• COOK (1A: Prepare a meal) When the title of the puzzle includes the word "FOODS," it's fun to have the puzzle's first answer be COOK.
• BONO (14A: "American Horror Story: Cult" actor Chaz) American Horror Story is an anthology TV series, and therefore presents a different story each season. American Horror Story: Cult is the show's seventh season, which is set in 2017 and centers on a cult terrorizing residents in the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Chaz BONO had a recurring role on the show. 
• UMA (16A: "Batman & Robin" star Thurman) In the 1997 movie, Batman & Robin, UMA Thurman portrays Poison Ivy, a supervillain that has control over plant life.
• ANNE (40A: "Ocean's 8" actress Hathaway) Ocean's 8 is a 2018 heist film that's a continuation and a spin-off of the Ocean's trilogy (Ocean's Eleven, 2001; Ocean's Twelve, 2007; Ocean's Thirteen, 2007). The movie features an ensemble cast of ANNE Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Awkwafina, Rihanna, and Helena Bonham Carter.
• T. REX (56A: Dino such as The Field Museum's Sue) The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH) is located in Chicago, Illinois. The museum is the home of FMNH PR 2081, which has been given the nickname Sue. One of the largest, most extensive, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus REX (T. REX) specimens ever found, Sue was named for the explorer that discovered it, Sue Hendrickson. Sue has been on display at The Field Museum since 2000.
• SNAP (69A: Crackle and Pop's brother) SNAP, Crackle, and Pop are the mascots of Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal. SNAP is the oldest of the brothers, and was the first of the three to appear on packaging in 1933. Crackle and Pop joined SNAP on Rice Krispies boxes in 1941.
• CHO (6D: "Star Trek" actor John) John CHO has portrayed Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek franchise, beginning with the 2009 Star Trek movie.
• OTHER (29D: "My ___ car is a UFO") "My OTHER car is a UFO," is a classic bumper sticker saying, and a fun way to clue the word OTHER.
• AOC (35D: Youngest-ever U.S. congresswoman) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) was 29 years old when she assumed office in the U.S. House of Representatives in January 3, 2019. She represents New York's 14th district.
• ROAD (39D: "Mad Max: Fury ___") Mad Max: Fury ROAD is a 2015 movie, the fourth in the Mad Max franchise.
• TOP (43D: LID) and OPT (44D: Make a choice) These two three-letter answers are next to each other in a section on the right side of the puzzle, which is why I noticed that TOP and OPT share the same letters, making for a fun little visual.
• SARA (48D: "Waitress" composer Bareilles) I wrote about SARA Bareilles and Waitress a couple of weeks ago.
• CHE (61D: "And Just Like That..." character ___ Diaz) The TV series, And Just Like That... is a sequel to the 1998-2004 series Sex and the City, and the 2010 movie, Sex and the City 2. And Just Like That is set 11 years after the events of the movie. Sara Ramirez plays the role of CHE Diaz, a new character that did not appear in the previous stories.

Geography review:

• OCEAN (23A: Atlantic or Pacific) Sometimes when I want to gain some perceptive, I think about outer space. But closer to home, I ponder how big the OCEANs are, and how there are so many parts of the OCEANs that humans have not explored. The Pacific OCEAN covers an area of over 63,800,000 square miles, and the Atlantic OCEAN has an area of over 32,870,000 square miles. The Pacific OCEAN is home to the deepest known part of the OCEAN, Challenger Deep, which has been measured at a depth of 35,853 feet.

It's always fun to have a theme where both parts of each theme answer are involved. I also enjoyed the grid-spanning Down answers ON A SEPARATE NOTE and CURBSIDE CHECK-IN. Thank you, Nate, for this puzzle that was a wonderful way to start my Wednesday.