October 23, 2023

Title: Making Pancakes

Constructor: Ada Nicolle

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:

SPARE PART (20A: Replacement item)

CARE PACKAGE (39A: Gift from a loved one back home)

TUPPERWARE PARTY (56A: Social gathering where containers are sold)

Theme synopsis: The word AREPA (a grilled cornmeal PANCAKE)  is made when the two words in each theme answer are put together.

And now a word from our constructor:

ADA: Cuppla notes:

• I've learned I will use any opportunity to shout out a musician named ADA in a puzzle. (Shoutout to Ada Juarez.)
• Coincidentally, I'm staying with my family for the weekend and my dad is making pancakes this morning (the non-AREPA kind). They're in the process of being made now so I'm looking forward to them.
• Thanks for solving!

Things I learned:

• ADA (13D: Meet Me @ The Altar drummer Juarez) Meet Me @ the Altar is a pop-punk band comprised of Edith Victoria (vocals), Téa Campbell, and ADA Juarez. In the band's early days, its members all lived in different states, and worked on their music remotely through the Internet. ADA Juarez and Téa Campbell formed Meet Me @ the Altar in 2015. The band's name is from a text exchange between the two. To find a vocalist for the band, they held auditions online. Meet Me @ the Altar's debut album, Past // Present // Future, was released in March of this year. Side note: Clever ADA Nicolle, getting her name in the grid.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PEDRO (15A: "Narcos" actor Pascal) Narcos is a TV series based on Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, and his interactions with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). PEDRO Pascal portrays DEA agent Javier Peña.
• SOX (49A: "Red" or "White" baseball team) The Major League Baseball (MLB) team, the Boston Red SOX, was founded in 1901 as the Boston Americans. The team was one of the founding members of MLB's American League. In 1908, the name of the team was changed, and Red SOX was chosen as a variation on Boston Red Stockings, a name previously used by other teams. The team now known as the Chicago White SOX began as a minor league team in 1894 called the Sioux City Cornhuskers (based in Iowa). From 1895-1899, the team was based in Minnesota and called the St. Paul Saints. The team moved to Chicago in 1900 and took the name Chicago White Stockings. In 1901, the Chicago White Stockings joined the Boston Americans as founding members of MLB's American League. The team's name was shortened to White SOX in 1904.
• ISLAM (50A: Religion whose community is called the "ummah") The Arabic word, "ummah," means "community." Ummah is used to refer to the community of followers of ISLAM.
• TUPPERWARE PARTY (56A: Social gathering where containers are sold) This clue is great! When I first read it, I could not think of a single possible answer. It took just a few letters from crossing answers for me to figure out the answer, at which point I chuckled. It has probably been over 30 years since I have been to a TUPPERWARE PARTY. Launched in 1946, TUPPERWARE was one of the first products to use the direct marketing strategy known as the PARTY plan to sell their products. Nowadays, you can purchase TUPPERWARE online, and, as of October 2022, also at Target stores. 
• TESLA (64A: Inventor Nikola) I have previously written about Nikola TESLA. 
• SLOTH (69A: Animal that moves an average of 13 feet per minute) SLOTH was my first thought when I read this clue, but then I second-guessed myself and thought 13 feet per minute was too fast for a SLOTH. Thirteen feet per minute is not fast. In the interest of science, and for the purpose of comparison, I timed how long it takes me to move 13 feet, walking at my normal unhurried pace. It takes me just under 5 seconds, meaning I am 12 times faster than a SLOTH.
• ART (3D: The "A" in MoMA) MoMA is the Museum of Modern ART in New York City.
• SODAS (9D: Jarritos and Dr. Pepper) I learned about Jarritos, a brand of SODA founded in Mexico, from the February 18, 2022 puzzle. Dr. Pepper is also a SODA, but as I wrote about in May of this year, it is legally a non-cola.
• WHITE TIGER (10D: "Bleached" big cat with black stripes) and LAP UP (52D: Drink like a cat) The WHITE TIGER, also known as the bleached TIGER, is not a separate species, but rather a variation of the Bengal TIGER that lacks the pigments that normally produce a TIGER'S orange color. Like other cats, WHITE TIGERS LAP UP water.

  

  Willow "helping"

  Willow is delighted to see two cat-related clues today. Most days, part of the time I spend writing the blog is done while holding Willow. Today was no exception.
• POE (21D: "Lenore" poet) Edgar Allen POE's poem, "Lenore," first published in 1831, was revised a couple of times, and published in its final form in 1845. The poem deals with the death of a young woman.
• ON E (24D: Taking feminizing HRT) HRT = hormone replacement therapy; ON E = on estrogen
• MEMOIR (36D: Michelle Zauner's "Crying in H Mart," for one) I have previously written about Crying in H Mart, the 2021 MEMOIR by Michelle Zauner, which discusses her relationship with her mother, who died in 2014. One thing that is true now that was not true when I previously wrote about Crying in H Mart, is that I have now read the MEMOIR. More accurately, I have listed to Michelle Zauner read it, as Crying in H Mart was one of the six audiobooks - all MEMOIRS, in fact - that my husband and I listened to on our vacation in September. I enjoyed Crying in H Mart, though I felt like I would have liked it more if I had read it rather than listened to it. Because of the subject matter, it's a bit of a depressing listen.
• RON (40D: Director Howard) RON Howard's directing credits include A Beautiful Mind (2001), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.
• LYMPH (55D: ___ nodes) LYMPH nodes are part of the lymphatic system, which is part of the body's immune system. LYMPH, the fluid flowing through the lymphatic system, is similar to blood plasma.
• Some additional clues I especially enjoyed today:
• STARE (34A: What paintings in a haunted house might seem to do)
• MARIO (36A: Video game character who grows when he touches mushrooms)
• PUN (65A: Dad joke, usually)
• GUAC (25D: "___ is extra" (Chipotle worker's disclaimer))

Geography review:

• PERU (14A: Arequipa's country) The South American country PERU is divided into 26 administrative units: 24 departments, plus the Constitutional Province of Callao and the Province of Lima. Lima is the country's capital. Each of the 24 departments of PERU are subdivided into provinces and districts. Arequipa is a department in southwestern PERU. Arequipa is also the name of a province in the Arequipa region, as well as the name of that province's capital city.
• RICA (33D: Costa ___) Costa RICA is a country in the Central American subregion of North America. We saw this exact clue two days ago. 

After reading the title of MAKING PANCAKES, I was trying to figure out how this would play out as a theme. Were the theme answers going to contain PANCAKE ingredients? Was the word PAN going to be stacked in the grid like a CAKE? Just after filling in SPARE PART, I noticed the word AREPA hidden inside of it. Aha! Nice. I also like the grouping of black squares that sits just under the AREPA in SPARE PART, which almost resembles a plate for the AREPA, or a stack of PANCAKES itself. This puzzle has left-right mirror symmetry. Thank you, ADA, for this puzzle that was a wonderful way to start my Monday.