September 17, 2023

Title: START OF SOMETHING NEW

Constructor: Matthew Stock

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:
YEAR OF THE RABBIT (17A: 2023, in the Chinese calendar)
GUINEA PIG (28A: Rodent sometimes kept as a pet)
MOON ROCKS (42A: Some specimens from the lunar surface)
WAVE TO THE CAMERA (54A: Ham it up for the jumbotron)

Theme synopsis: The START of each theme answer is SOMETHING that can be NEW: NEW YEAR, NEW GUINEA, NEW MOON, and NEW WAVE.

Things I learned:
  • EPIPEN (25D: "Blue to the sky, orange to the thigh" device) EPIPEN is the trademark name for a brand of epinephrine autoinjector, a medical device used to inject a measured dose of epinephrine to treat anaphylaxis (a life-threatening type of allergic reaction). I know what an EPIPEN is, but the handy phrase, "Blue to the sky, orange to the thigh," - designed to help people remember how to orient the injector during administration - is new to me.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
  • TRIO (21A: The Fates in "Hercules," e.g.) In Greek mythology, the Fates are a TRIO of goddesses. In the 1997 animated DISNEY movie, Hercules, this TRIO - Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos - is voiced by Amanda Plummer, Carole Shelley, and Paddi Edwards.
  • DISNEY (24A: "High School Musical" studio) High School Musical (2006) is a made-for-TV musical movie that originally aired on the DISNEY Channel. This is an excellent bonus answer today, as "START OF SOMETHING NEW" is a song in High School Musical.
  • THU (27A: Two days after Tue.) and FRI (18D: Three days after Tue.) A nice pair of day-of-the-week clues / answers here.
  • GUINEA PIG (28A: Rodent sometimes kept as a pet) Our family has had several
    a guinea pig
    Indigo the GUINEA PIG
    GUINEA PIGs as pets over the years. This is a photo of Indigo, who was my daughter's GUINEA PIG.
  • MOON ROCKS (42A: Some specimens from the lunar surface) MOON ROCKS that are now on Earth, have been obtained in one of two ways, either by astronauts or probes that have landed on Earth's MOON, or as lunar meteorites that have fallen to the Earth's surface. MOON ROCKS have been assessed using radiometric dating techniques, and found to be about three to four-and-a-half billion years old, which is about the same age as the oldest rocks from Earth. Science is fascinating!
  • TOES (2D: Polydactyl cats have extra ones) A polydactyl cat has extra TOES on its paws as a result of a genetic mutation. Polydactyly does not affect a cat's health, and in fact, the condition may help some cats become better hunters. Interestingly, polydactyl cats are more common in certain geographical regions: Western England, Wales, Canada, and the Eastern United States. It's hypothesized that polydactyl cats were transported to North America as ship cats,
    A calico cat with it's paw stuck out
    Willow
    where they earned their way by keeping the ship's rat population in check. Just the normal number of TOES on Willow's paw.
  • SHOT PUT (5D: Track-and-field sport for Raven Saunders) Raven Saunders won a silver medal in SHOT PUT for Team USA at the 2020 Summer Olympics (held in 2021). I learned about her from the September 20, 2021 puzzle. 
  • ORB (11D: Word aptly hidden in "mirror balls") This is a lovely hidden word clue.
  • HERE (51D: Word that becomes its opposite when a "T" is added to the beginning) This clue takes us from HERE to there.
  • VON (56D: Count ___ Count ("Sesame Street" numerophile)) One theme answer. Two theme answers. Three theme answers. Four terrific theme answers! Ah, ah, ah. (This entry has been brought to you in the manner of Count VON Count.)

    Geography review:

    • IOWA (14A: Des Moines' state) Des Moines is the capital of IOWA. 
    • HANOI (32D: Capital home to Dong Xuan Market) HANOI is the capital of Vietnam. Đồng Xuân  Market is a night market in HANOI where vendors sell clothes, household goods, and food.
    • IRAN (52D: Country on the Caspian Sea) IRAN has coastline on the Caspian Sean, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf.
    When I initially blogged about Matthew's September 3 puzzle, I missed the fact that the puzzle's title, "BREAKING FREE," is a song from High School Musical. Fortunately, Matthew tweeted about it, and hinted that that puzzle was the first of a series. Therefore, I was on alert, and when I saw today's puzzle, I immediately googled the title to confirm. Yes, "START OF SOMETHING NEW" is a song from High School Musical, so today we have another puzzle in this delightful series. I wonder what will be next? Thank you, Matthew, for this musical Sunday puzzle. 


    Comments

    Post a Comment