October 21, 2023

Title: MEOW MIX

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

HOW EMBARRASSING (20A: "Oof, that's pretty mortifying")

YOU OWE ME BIG TIME (37A: "I'll be cashing in a huge favor in the future")

CHICKEN CHOW MEIN (49A: Stir-fried Chinese noodle dish)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer contains the letter string OWME, which is a MIX of the letters in the word MEOW.

Things I learned:

• ICE-T (18A: Rapper who plays Fin Tutuola on "SVU") SVU is the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. On the show, Fin Tutuola ("Fin" is short for Odafin) is a sergeant with the New York Police Department's Special Victims Unit. The character was introduced in the second season of the show, and ICE T has now portrayed Fin Tutuola for 23 seasons. SVU has been renewed for a 25th season.
• MRS. (21D: "___ Chatterjee vs Norway") MRS. Chatterjee vs Norway is an Indian Hindi-language movie released in March of this year. The movie is based on the true story of an Indian couple who sued the Norwegian government after their children were taken away from them.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• CLAWS (9A: Cat features that might destroy your furniture) and PUN (41A: "Don't trust that big cat; he's lion," e.g.) and WHISKERS (38D: Cat features that might tickle your face)

  

  Willow

  
  I thoroughly enjoyed all of this cat content. Perfect bonuses in a puzzle titled MEOW MIX. I believe this puzzle may be one of Willow's favorite puzzles of all time. Of course I have a photo of Willow to share with you to celebrate all of this cat content.
• RICE (15A: Biryani grain) Originating from the Indian subcontinent,  biryani is a dish of RICE mixed with meat and vegetables. The exact ingredients vary depending on the region.
• RONAN (16A: Journalism Farrow) RONAN Farrow is known for his investigative journalism. He has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. In 2017, an investigative article by RONAN Farrow about allegations of sexual abuse against Harvey Weinstein was published in The New Yorker. The magazine won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for RONAN Farrow's work, shared with the New York Times for an article on the same subject by Jodi Cantor and Meghan Twohey. Here's a link to articles RONAN Farrow has written for The New Yorker (though I think you need a subscription to read them).
• CACTI (28A: Spiky plants with an "old man" variety) This clue made me curious about old man CACTI. The old man cactus is native to central Mexico. The CACTI are named for their shaggy coats of long white hair.
• AGENT (46A: Scully or Muller, e.g.) Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) are FBI Special Agents on the TV series The X-Files.
• SSRI (Class of medication often used to treat depression (Abbr.)) Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that increase the extracellular level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter with biological functions relating to mood, cognitions, learning, and memory. SSRIs are used in the treatment of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder.
• AUDRE (57A: "The Black Unicorn" author Lorde) AUDRE Lorde (1934-1992) was a self-described "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet." "The Black Unicorn" is a poem by AUDRE Lorde, and the title of a published collection of her poetry. You can read the poem here. 
• STEW (3D: Balbacua or beef bourguignon) Balbacua is a Filipino beef STEW. Beef bourguignon is a French beef STEW.
• TRIBE (5D: The Chickahominy, e.g.) The Chickahominy TRIBE are an indigenous people of Virginia. The name Chickahominy can be interpreted as "people of the coarse-pounded corn." The TRIBE is known for having provided corn to the English and to other Algonquian TRIBEs. 
• BUS (39D: Ms. Frizzle's vehicle) Ms. Frizzle is the elementary school teacher in the educational entertainment franchise, The Magic School BUS. In the books, TV shows, and video games, Ms. Frizzle - dressed in clothing themed to the day's adventure - takes her class on field trips to unusual times and locations, such as inside the human body or below the earth's surface.
• CASS (49D: Mama ___ Elliot) Mama CASS Elliot (1941-1974) was a member of the folk rock group, The Mamas & the Papas from 1965 to 1968, after which she had a successful solo career. She was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for her work with The Mamas & the Papas.

Geography review:

• SLC (30A: Capital of UT) Salt Lake City (SLC) is the capital of Utah (UT). The abbreviation of Utah in the clue lets solvers know the answer is the abbreviation of Salt Lake City.
• RICA (6D: Costa ___) Costa RICA is a country in the Central American subregion of North America. Costa RICA is located between Nicaragua and Panama, and it has coastline on the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The capital of Costa RICA is San José.
• ERIE (54D: Great Lake that appears frequently in crosswords) Hey, it's our crossword-friend ERIE, essentially clued as "our crossword-friend ERIE." This is the fifth time we've seen ERIE in the grid this month.

I know it will come as no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle. I suspected an anagram theme from the title, but it took me a moment to find the jumbled letters of MEOW hidden in HOW EMBARRASSING. A nice, "Aha!" moment when I spotted them. While I was writing this, I heard a clattering noise from the direction of our kitchen. An investigation showed that the magnet portion of one of our refrigerator magnets had lost it's stickiness, causing the picture portion of the magnet to fall to the floor (causing the noise I heard), while the magnet remained stuck to the refrigerator. I've included a photo of the part that fell on the floor, because it seemed timely and appropriate. Thank you, Amanda, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Saturday.

Former refrigerator magnet