September 5, 2023

Title: INNER CHILD

Constructor: Jimmy Peniston

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

GIANT OTTERS (15A: Apex predators of the Amazon River)

MOSQUITO TRAPS (34A: Camping gadgets that help prevent bug bites)

FARM TO TABLE (57A: "Know where your food comes from" movement)

Theme synopsis: The word TOT, a synonym for CHILD, is found in the INNER part of each theme answer.

Things I learned:

• GIANT OTTERS (15A: Apex predators of the Amazon River) An apex predator is an animal that is at the top of its food chain. In other words, an apex predator is not prey for any other animals. GIANT OTTERS live mostly in and along the Amazon River in South America, and, as the clue informs us, are apex predators. GIANT OTTERS have the longest body length of the animals in the weasel family, to which they belong, reaching lengths of five to six feet. They feed mainly on fish. Other apex predators of the Amazon River area are arapaimas (a largebony tongue fish), black caimans (a crocodilian reptile), bull sharks, electric eels, green anacondas, harpy eagles, and jaguars.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PAW (20A: Cat's foot) and PET (11D: Furry friend) When my PET (Willow)

  

  Willow

  lies on my lap, she often sticks out a PAW.
• AGO (21A: "Long ___" (Mariah Carey song)) "Long AGO" is a song from Mariah Carey's 1995 album, Daydream. 
• BANDANA (28A: Rosie the Riveter's headwear) This is a great way to clue BANDANA. When I read the clue, I immediately conjured up an image in my mind of the "We Can Do It!" poster with an image of a woman wearing a red-and-white, polka dot BANDANA. That iconic poster was originally used as a motivational poster by the Westinghouse Company's War Production Coordinating Committee in 1942. The woman on the poster only became known as Rosie the Riveter years later, in the 1980s. (The woman that was likely the inspiration for the poster was actually named Naomi.) The term "Rosie the Riveter" came from a 1942 song of that name, written by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb. 
• POCO (32A: "Un ___ Loco" (Afro-Cuban jazz standard) The Afro-Cuban jazz standard, "Un POCO Loco," was composed by Bud Powell, and first recorded in 1951. "Un POCO Loco" is also the name of a song from Disney's 2017 animated movie, Coco.
• MLK (56A: Subject of the play "The Mountaintop," for short) Katori Hall's play, The Mountaintop, is a fictional depiction of the last night of Martin Luther King Jr's (MLK's) life, prior to his assassination in 1968. The title comes from the speech MLK delivered that evening, "I've Been to the Mountaintop."
• FARM-TO-TABLE (57A: "Know where your food comes from" movement) FARM-TO-TABLE is a social movement that promotes the use of locally-sourced foods. The food is often particularly associated with restaurants and school cafeterias. This is my favorite theme answer today. I'm a huge fan of locally-sourced food. I often joke about "our" farmers that grow our food. I've been doing a ton of cooking lately with the late summer bounty we've received from our CSA (community supported agriculture) farmer and our local orchard. It's making me hungry just writing about it!
• ELMO (64A: Muppet with a pet goldfish) ELMO's pet goldfish is named Dorothy.
• PEEK-A-BOO (6D: Game that helps babies develop object permanence) "PEEK-A-BOO! I see you!" In addition to teaching babies object permanence (the understanding that whether an object can be seen doesn't affect whether it exists), the game of PEEK-A-BOO may also serve as a way to teach the back-and-forth pattern of dialogue and social exchanges.
• LAVA LAMP (9D: Light source whose first TV appearance was on "Doctor Who") This is a fun fact! LAVA LAMPs, with their bobbing and floating globs of wax, have been around since 1963. It was in 1968 that LAVA LAMPs first appeared on TV, in a Doctor Who episode titled, "The Wheel in Space." 
• ICE WINES (10D: Drinks made from frozen grapes) The grapes used to make ICE WINES are frozen while still on the vine. This results in a more concentrated grape juice, resulting in a sweet WINE. The production of ICE WINES rely on temperatures dropping below the freezing point before the grapes rot, and the grapes must be quickly harvested once freezing has occurred. Canada is the world's largest producer of ICE WINES.
• RAP (42D: Noname genre) This is a fun clue, as it makes it seem like the answer is an unnamed music genre. In fact, Noname is the professional name of RAP artist Fatimah Nyeema Walker, who I learned about from the November 1, 2020 puzzle. 

I summoned my INNER CHILD to help me solve today's puzzle. That wasn't difficult, as she's usually close-at-hand. This is a fun use of a classic USA Today theme type. Thank you, Jimmy, for this puzzle that was a great way to start my Tuesday.

Bonus PAW pic: After I'd already added in the photo of Willow that I shared above, I caught her using her PAW to try to steal the frothed milk from my tea. So here's a pic of a naughty kitty PAW!

Willow using her PAW for questionable purposes