September 28, 2023

Title: BLACKTOP

Constructor: Rebecca Goldstein

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:

EBONY PATTERSON (8D: "Gangstas for Life" artist)

CHARCOAL GRILLS (9D: Backyard barbecue cookers)

LICORICE PIZZA (10D: 2021 movie named for a former record store chain)

Theme synopsis: The TOP word of each vertical theme answer is a shade of black: EBONY, CHARCOAL, and LICORICE.

Things I learned:

• TOTCHOS (32A: Cheesy dish made with taters instead of chips) As you might guess, TOTCHOS is a dish similar to nachos, but made with tater tots. To make TOTCHOS, Tater Tots are topped with traditional nacho toppings: cheese, sour cream, black olives, tomatoes, etc. Tater Tots originate from Oregon, where they were created by the Ore-Ida company in the 1950s. It's not surprising then, that TOTCHOS also originated in Oregon.
• SERVE (48A: Word that means "look good" in ball culture) Ball culture, also known as house culture, is a Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in New York City. It consists of events that include drag performance, dance, lip-syncing, and modeling. As the clue informs us, in ball culture, the word SERVE is used to mean "look good." 
• EBONY PATTERSON (8D: "Gangstas for Life" artist) EBONY PATTERSON is a multimedia artist  known for her large, brightly hued tapestries. EBONY PATTERSON was born in Jamaica, and her ongoing series of works known as "Gangstas for Life," which she began creating in 2008, examines concepts of masculinity in the context of Jamaican dancehall culture.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• CHAPEL (9A: "You're telling me a cis teen built this ___?") This groan-worthy pun on the "Sistine CHAPEL" gets me every time. A little over a year and a half ago, we saw this quote used to clue the word "teen." 
• SHAR PEI (13A: Dog breed whose name becomes a permanent marker brand when the last two letters are switched) I admit that I solved this clue by thinking of the only permanent marker brand I know - Sharpie - and that easily led me to the answer. Fun clue! The SHAR PEI dog breed, known for its wrinkly skin and blue-black tongue, originated from southern China.
• SOFI (28A: ___ Stadium (L.A. Rams' home)) The SOFI Stadium is located in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. SOFI is one of only two stadiums that are currently home to two NFL teams. Both the L.A. Rams and the L.A. Chargers play their home games at SOFI Stadium. (MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey is the home stadium of the New York Giants and the New York Jets.)
• QUIZ (50A: "Which Barbie Character Are You?," e.g.) Ah, the ubiquitous Internet QUIZ. They seem so fun and innocuous. Who wouldn't want to know which Barbie character they are, or which Muppet, or ...(insert any number of things here)? Some of the quizzes are just for fun, but others may be phishing schemes masquerading as a QUIZ, so it's best to be wary.
• ELLIE (57A: "The Last of Us" protagonist) The Last of Us is a TV series based on a video game of the same name. ELLIE, a teenager being escorted across the country in a post-apocalyptic United States, is portrayed by Bella Ramsey.
• LICORICE PIZZA (10D: 2021 movie named for a former record store chain) The movie LICORICE PIZZA is set in 1973, and is a coming-of-age story starring Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman. As the clue informs us, the movie's title was inspired by a former Los Angeles record store chain. The record store's name was meant to describe vinyl records as being the color of LICORICE and the shape of PIZZA.
• HEAVEN (35D: "___ Is a Place on Earth" (Belinda Carlyle hit)) "HEAVEN Is a Place on Earth" is a 1987 song by Belinda Carlisle, and the song has been my earworm since I read this clue.
• SELMA (48D: "Introducing, ___ Blair" (documentary)) Introducing SELMA Blair is a 2021 documentary about SELMA Blair's life after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018. 
• SLUG (52D: Mollusk with banana and leopard species) I appreciate when animals have names that clue me in to their appearance. As one might expect, a banana SLUG is yellow (though it may also be green, brown, tan, or white), and a leopard SLUG has spots. 

Geography review:

• ARABS (11A: Many Yemenis) Yemen is a country in West Asia, located on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. The capital of Yemen is Sanaa. The majority of Yemenis (over 92%) are ARABS.
• UTES (51D: Indigenous people for whom a Southwestern state is named) The UTES are a Great Plains indigenous people. The state of Utah is named for the UTE people.

I immediately recognized CHARCOAL and EBONY as shades of BLACK, but although I know of BLACK LICORICE (I'm a fan, though I realize not everyone is!), the use of the word LICORICE as a shade of BLACK was knew to me. It turns out that there are many different (at least 16) shades of BLACK, of which three are CHARCOAL, LICORICE, and EBONY. I enjoyed the interesting grid shape today. I kind of see a turtle in the grid if I tilt my head. Enjoyable answers I haven't mentioned yet include: NO JOKE, ZILLION, and UMLAUT. Thank you, Rebecca, for this puzzle that was a fabulous way to start my Thursday.