September 30, 2023

Title: BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH (Freestyle)

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Freestyle: This is a themeless puzzle. BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH is a nod to PERPETUAL STEW (34A: Dish also known as forever soup).

Things I learned:

• DOG (24A: Animal in the game "Beagle or Bagel") "Beagle or Bagel?" is described as a "game of optical illusions." The game consists of 80 cards, each of which shows a photo of either a beagle or a bagel. Apparently, sleeping DOGs sometimes look like bagels. This game sounds silly - I'm in.
• PEAR (55A: Birnbrot fruit) Birnbrot, which means "PEAR bread," is a pastry that originated in Switzerland. Birnbrot is a filled pastry. In addition to dried PEARs, the filling contains raisins, walnuts, other dried fruit (apples and figs), and spices.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• IGA (11A: Tennis champ Swiatek) IGA Swiatek is a professional tennis player from Poland. She won the French Open in 2020, 2022, and 2023, and the U.S. Open in 2022.
• ATTA (15A: Roti flour) ATTA is a wholemeal wheat flour that has a high gluten content, meaning dough made with it is strong and elastic. ATTA flour is used to make flatbreads such as roti, naan, and chapati.
• ALOHA (30A: "___ ahiahi" ("Good evening" in Hawaiian)) The word ALOHA can be used on its own as a greeting, or used as part of a phrase for a specific greeting. The meaning of "ALOHA" is more than simply "hello." It also encompasses "love, affection, peace, compassion, and mercy." As the clue informs us, "ALOHA ahiahi," means "good evening." From past puzzles I've learned that "ALOHA nui loa" means "all my love,  and "ALOHA kakou" is  a way to say, "Hello to everyone listening." This clue made me curious about how to say "good morning" in Hawaiaan, so I looked it up: "ALOHA kakahiaka."
• PERPETUAL STEW (34A: Dish also known as forever soup) PERPETUAL STEW, also known as forever soup or hunter's pot, is exactly what it sounds like - a never-quite-ending pot of STEW. Made from whatever vegetables and meat are available, PERPETUAL STEW is made in a soup pot that is never completely emptied. Rather, more ingredients and liquid are added to the pot, keeping the PERPETUAL STEW going. There is a restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand called Wattana Panich, which serves a soup that has been cooking for over 45 years. I've never kept a dish going for years, but I have had the experience of PERPETUAL leftovers - taking leftovers and adding a few items to transform them into a "new" dish, that then has leftovers, which I add a few ingredients to ... well, you get the idea.
• TEN (43A: Number of original studio albums for Taylor Swift) In addition to TEN original studio albums, Taylor Swift has released three re-recorded studio albums, five extended plays (EPs), and four live albums.
• GLAAD AWARDS (52A: Honors won by "A League of Their Own" and "Framing Agnes" in 2023) GLAAD AWARDS are presented by the organization GLAAD (which I have previously written about) to recognize media that is outstanding in its representation of the LGBTQ community. In 2023, A League of Their Own and Framing Agnes won GLAAD AWARDS for Outstanding New TV Series, and Outstanding Documentary, respectively. I have previously written about both A League of Their Own and Framing Agnes. 
• ATOM (58A: Particle hidden in "roma tomatoes") This is a fun hidden word clue.
• ROSES (3D: Flowers with "hips") ROSE hips are fruits of the ROSE plant that form after successful pollination of the flowers. The hips from ROSES are used in herbal teas, and also in making jams, jellies, marmalade, and wine.
• STEEL (8D: Metal that's a resource in Terraforming Mars) Terraforming Mars is a board game in which players attempt to transform (hypothetically, of course) the planet Mars into a habitable environment. The game uses six types of resources: STEEL, titanium, plants, energy, heat, and megacredits 
• ARM (13D: One of five for a brittle star) A brittle star is a creature closely related to a starfish. A brittle star has five ARMs, which it uses for locomotion.
• PARAMORE (34D: Band led by Hayley Williams) The band PARAMORE formed in 2004, and currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. PARAMORE's sixth studio album, This Is Why, was released in February of this year.
• WFH (36D: _ork _rom _ome) This clue is a variation of the type of fill-in-the-blank clue we usually see. In this case, each blank is filled with one letter, to give us "Work From Home," a phrase that has become much more widely used in the past few years.
• EEAAO (42D: A24 film that won Best Picture in 2023, for short) A24 is an independent entertainment company based in Manhattan. EEAAO is short for Everything Everywhere All at Once, A24's 2022 movie about parallel universes. In addition to Best Picture, EEAAO won six additional Academy Awards in 2022. 

OH, HEY! This puzzle, unsurprisingly, is delightful. "HE SAID YES!" made me smile. I laughed at the clue for DAMPEST (24D: Most moist), knowing that many people find the word "moist" annoying. Other enjoyable answers include: I'M HONORED, GAME SHOW, and MARTYRS. Thank you, Amanda, for this puzzle that was a superb way to start my Saturday. IT'S BEEN REAL.