Title: BREAKING FREE
Constructor: Matthew Stock
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Theme Answers:
FAMILY TREE (18A: Ancestry diagram)
FOUR YEAR DEGREE (38A: Bachelor of Arts, often)
FIFTY-THREE (53A: This clue's number)
Theme synopsis: Each theme answer is BREAKING the word FREE.
Things I learned:
- LIANNE (60A: "Green & Gold" singer La Havas) LIANNE La Havas is a singer-songwriter and record producer from London, England. "Green & Gold" is a song from her second studio album, Blood. I was not familiar with LIANNE La Havas, but I enjoyed listening to this song.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
- ZINC (1A: Main metal in pennies) Since 1982, U.S. pennies have been made of copper-plated ZINC. They contain 97.5% ZINC, and 2.5% copper.
- SALAH (5A: Daily Islamic prayers) SALAH are the daily prayers said by Muslims. Prayer is the Second Pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam.
- SNORE (20A: Go "Honk shoo honk shoo") Ha! This is a fun clue.
- IODINE (32A: Chemical element whose atomic number is 53-Across) Fabulous use of cross-referencing here. The word "Across" could have been omitted and the clue would still be accurate. A few months ago, I geeked out to a fellow Lil AVC X editor about IODINE when the topic came up in the test solve of a puzzle. For many years, potassium iodide has been added to some table salt, an inexpensive and effective public health measure that prevents IODINE deficiency. IODINE is an essential element, and its deficiency can lead to hypothyroidism, since it's required for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. As a public health initiative, adding iodide to salt is like fluoride in the water, many people don't realize they're benefiting from it.
- FIFTY-THREE (53A: This clue's number) While FIFTY-THREE may not be the most exciting theme answer, if you can arrange for it to be placed at 53-Across, all of a sudden it becomes a very fun meta answer. Well done, Matthew!
- AKITAS (64A: Loyal Japanese dogs) AKITAS are large, powerful dogs originally from the mountainous regions of northern Japan. The AKITA is the national dog of Japan. The dogs served as companions for samurai (hereditary military officers) from the 1500s into the 1800s.
- SELL (66A: Make available for purchase) and E-TAIL (48D: Online commerce) The fact that these related answers cross each other adds a little flair to two perfectly fine, but not too exciting entries.
- CAPRICORN (4D: Many an ambitious person, astrologically) According to astrology, CAPRICORNs are known for being ambitious, determined, and hardworking. CAPRICORNs are those born between December 22 and January 20.
- HELP LINE (9D: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's is 1-800-662-4357) Nice use of a clue to provide helpful information.
- TORTOISES (11D: Pets named Mary Shelly and Shell Silverstein, perhaps) My first thought here was "hermit crabs," which didn't fit. Mary Shelly and Shell Silverstein are perfect names for TORTOISES.
Sushi Go - GAME (40D: Sushi Go or Go, e.g.) I have never played Go, the board game that originated in China more than 2,500 years ago. I have, however, played Sushi Go, a fast-paced and fun card game themed around types of sushi.
Geography review:
- ASIA (59A: Continent where amur tigers live) The Amur tiger, also known as the Siberian tiger, is the largest of the big cats. This tiger subspecies is native to ASIA, living in the Russian Far East and Northeast China. Amur tigers are closely related genetically to the now extinct (since 2003) Caspian tigers. Amur tigers are an endangered species; their numbers have decreased due to habitat loss from deforestation and poaching. Our crossword-friend ASIA is off to a strong start this month; this is the second time we've seen ASIA in September and it's only the third day of the month. Willow is always happy to see her big cat relatives in the puzzle. She hopes conservation efforts are successful in maintaining the Amur tiger population.
Willow
(Willow reports there are no tigers of any species in our back yard.) - ARAB (6D: Like many North African countries) The ARAB League is a loose alliance of countries that was formed to facilitate cooperation on economic and cultural matters. Founded in 1945 with six members, the ARAB League now has 22 member states. Although the success or failure of the ARAB League to achieve its goals is beyond the scope of this blog post (and this blogger!), membership in the ARAB League is a way to identify countries that self-identify as ARAB. The North African countries belonging to the ARAB League are Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. I was interested to see this clue and answer, because it reminded me of a conversation I've been having with a reader in the comment section the last couple of days (Friday and Saturday). On Friday we saw ARAB clued as [Like Lebanon and Egypt], and the reader raised the concern that not all Egyptians are ARABs. This raises the point that there's a distinction between talking about ARAB countries, and the culture and ethnicity of the people that live in those countries.
- ERIE (24D: Great Lake home to Bessie the sea monster) The monster-like creature that allegedly makes its home in Lake ERIE is known by multiple names: Bessie, South Bay Bessie, the Lake ERIE Monster, and the Great Snake of Lake ERIE. There have been numerous Bessie sightings over the years. She has inspired the naming of a Great Lakes Brewing Company beer, and the name of an American Hockey League team - the Cleveland Monsters (formerly the Lake Erie Monsters). This is the first September appearance for our crossword-friend ERIE. It's fun (to me anyway) to occasionally see our crossword-friends ERIE and ASIA appear in the same puzzle.
A classic USA Today theme type today. In addition to the answers I've already highlighted, I enjoyed YUMMY, BREEZES, ZEBRA, and WE LOST. Thank you, Matthew, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Sunday.
Edited to Add: Although I've seen High School Musical, I didn't recognize "BREAKING FREE" as a song from the 2006 movie until I saw Matthew's tweet:
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