October 31, 2023

Title: MONSTER MASH

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

STONER MOVIES (20A: Films like "Up in Smoke" and "Reefer Madness")

WESTERN OMELETTE (38A: Egg dish with onions, peppers and ham)

COME ON STRONG (53A: Push too hard, maybe)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer contains a MASH-up (or anagram) of the word MONSTER: STONER MOVIES, WESTERN OMELETTE, COME ON STRONG.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TAKIS (9A: Brand of rolled corn chips with a "Fuego" flavor) TAKIS is a Mexican brand of chips with a rolled shape. TAKIS are sold in a variety of flavors, including "Fuego," which means "fire" in Spanish (en ESPAÑOL).
• STONER MOVIES (20A: Films like "Up in Smoke" and "Reefer Madness") STONER MOVIES are a subgenre of comedy with marijuana themes. Up in Smoke is a 1978 movie starring the comedy duo Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. It was Cheech & Chong's first feature length film. The movie Reefer Madness (previously named Tell Your Children) has an interesting history. The 1936 movie was originally financed by a church group and intended not as a STONER MOVIE, but as an anti-marijuana morality tale. Shortly after it was filmed, it was purchased by producer Dwain Esper, and distributed as an exploitation film. In the 1970s, it was "rediscovered" and became popular as satire, gaining a cult following.
• SOUP (28A: Tom kha gai or ramen, e.g.) Tom kha gai, also known as Thai coconut SOUP, is a spicy and sour SOUP made with coconut milk. Ramen is a noodle SOUP originating from East Asia.
• NOTARO (32A: "Under a Rock With Tig ___") Under a Rock with Tig NOTARO is a talk show that ran for two seasons. Comedian Tig NOTARO hosted the show, and attempted to guess the identity of celebrity guests. Tig NOTARO got the idea for this show because she consumes little pop culture and has a penchant for failing to recognize famous people.
• WESTERN OMELETTE (38A: Egg dish with onions, peppers and ham) A WESTERN OMELETTE is also sometimes called a Southwest OMELETTE or a Denver OMELETTE. Here's a fun fact: We've seen WESTERN OMELETTE as a theme answer before, but with the alternative spelling of OMELET. We've also seen DENVER OMELET as a theme answer.
• AERIE (51A: Nest that's 4/5 vowels) and ADIEU (57A: Farewell that's 4/5 vowels) This is a fun pair of clues. too bad "aioli" [Condiment that's 4/5/ vowels] wasn't an answer today.
• HALLE (65A: "The Little Mermaid" actress Bailey) I hope you were paying attention yesterday, when I unknowingly provided you with this information.
• ANSEL (4D: Photographer Adams) ANSEL Adams is known for his black-and-white landscape photos. He was an active member of the Sierra Club and took photos of National Parks for the United States Department of the Interior.
• ERIVO (8D: "The Color Purple" actress Cynthia) Cynthia ERIVO played the role of Celie in the 2015-2017 Broadway revival of the musical The Color Purple. For this role, she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Some exciting news: Cynthia ERIVO will portray Elphaba, and Arianna Grande will portray Glinda in the upcoming movie adaptation of the musical Wicked. (Sadly, we have to wait until November 2024 for the release of part one, and November 2025 for part two.)
• TIDE POOLS (9D: Habitats for some barnacles) TIDE POOLS are shallow POOLS of seawater that form on rocky shores. The depth of the water varies from low TIDE to high TIDE. At low TIDE, the POOLS may exist as separate bodies of water. Barnacles are arthropods that live mostly in shallow waters such as TIDE POOLS. Barnacles attach themselves to a substrate, such as the sea floor, a piece of driftwood, or other animals such as whales or crabs.
• SEE (13D: "___ No Evil" (2006 film)) SEE No Evil is a slasher film produced by WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Films, and starring professional WWE performer Kane.
• ELMO (39D: "Tickle Me" Muppet) I was hoping that ELMO would be in

  

  ELMO mug

  today's puzzle, because my mug dressed up as ELMO for Halloween.
• I appreciated the choice to lean in to Halloween with the clueing angles:
• EAT (29A: Enjoy some Halloween candy) We give out rubber duckies for trick-or-treat. The only downside is that there is no extra candy for us to EAT. (This is also an upside!)
• EPS (40D: "Scary Story Podcast" installments) EPS here is short for "episodes." Scary Story Podcast is exactly what it sounds like.
• SING (56D: Perform the "Ghostbusters" theme song) The first Ghostbusters movie was released in 1984. "If there's someone strange / In your neighborhood / Who you gonna call? / Ghostbusters!"

Geography review:

• SAUDI (18A: ___ Arabia) SAUDI Arabia is a country in Western Asia. It is located on, and covers the majority of, the Arabian Peninsula. The capital of SAUDI Arabia is Riyadh.
• ESPANOL (34A: Lengua en Bolivia) Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America. Its capital is Sucre. The official "lengua en Bolivia" (language in Bolivia) is ESPAÑOL (Spanish).

If solving this crossword hasn't quite gotten you into the Halloween spirit, you could listen to the song "MONSTER MASH" ("It's a graveyard smash...") Thank you, Amanda, for this puzzle that was a spooky but not scary way to start my Halloween Tuesday.