Title: Amen Break
Constructor: Ada Nicolle
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Guest blogger: Matthew Stock
Theme answers:
ADEN YEMEN (22A: Port city in the Arabian peninsula)
AM I MISTAKEN (33A: "Was that incorrect?")
AMERICAN BISON (45A: Animal also called a "buffalo")
Theme synopsis:
Each theme answer is bookended by the letters A-M-E-N, creating an "Amen break." The "Amen break" is a drum break from the Winstons' 1969 rendition of "Amen, Brother," which has been sampled in countless other songs since. Here's a great video about the history of the Amen break.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
- ADAMS (16A: "Arrival" actress Amy) I've been thinking about "Arrival" a lot recently and need to make time to rewatch it. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! Amy ADAMS is excellent throughout.
- NYE (37A: Holiday where the last word spoken is usually "one," for short) I love how evocative this clue is! I immediately smiled at picturing a New Years Eve countdown, ending at "one" and celebrating the New Year.
- LOON (58A: Bird on a Canadian coin) The loon is an aquatic, duck-like bird, and the Canadian one-dollar coin, which features a loon on the back, is also called a "loonie." While writing this, I assumed that the loon (or the Canada goose) was Canada's national bird. After some research, I learned that Canada does not have an official national bird, but an informal survey a few years ago appointed the Canada jay (or the gray jay, as it's sometimes known) as the country's national bird.
- EGGOS (60A: Some frozen waffles) When my cat Scotch was a kitten, we would occasionally give him a tiny bit of our waffles in the morning (we've since learned that cats really don't need any carbs in their diet and that he should not be eating waffles). Regardless of whether he got any waffle bite, Scotch would meow whenever the toaster timer went off.
- EDEN (50D: Actress Sher) EDEN Sher has appeared in a number of TV shows, including "Weeds," "The O.C.," and "The Middle."
Geography review:
- YETI (23D: Mythical Himalayan creature) The Himalayas are a mountain range that crosses parts of Nepal, China, India, Pakistan and Bhutan. Their name is derived from the Sanskrit for "abode of the snow," and they are the supposed home of the mythical YETI (and the actual home of the Abominable Snowman in "Monsters, Inc.")
- RIVERS (42D: The Danube and the Nile, etc.) The Danube River is Europe's second-longest river. It starts in Germany and flows southeast through parts of Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and finally Ukraine. The Nile is the longest river in the world and flows through Egypt, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.
Hi y'all! Matthew here, writing with love and admiration for today's puzzle from Ada! I always learn something from solving the USA Today puzzle but don't usually have the puzzle's title to thank for that — today was a happy exception. It's quite fun to put a name to a sample that I've heard dozens of times before and to see the great puzzle theme that it inspired. This asymmetrical grid has a lovely flow to it. I loved the long entries like LEMON LIME, RAP SNACKS and QUEER ICON, and also really appreciate the care taken with the mid-lengths answers — BATON, MODEMS, RIVERS, RECESS and SCURRIES are all such fun words. Thank you, Ada, for a wonderful start to my puzzle weekend!
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