November 18, 2023

Title: GARLIC KNOTS 

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

MAGICAL REALISM (20A: Genre that combines fantasy with the mundane)

ARTIFICIAL GRASS (37A: Landscaping on many golf courses)

A GIRL CAN DREAM (55A: "I can always hope, right?")

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer contains a letter string that anagrams to the word GARLIC. In each case, that letter string is connecting two or more words.

• MAGICAL REALISM
• ARTIFICIAL GRASS
• A GIRL CAN DREAM

Things I learned:

• LEE (32A: Producer Yvette ___ Bowser) Yvette LEE Bowser is the creator and executive producer of Living Single, a TV sitcom that originally aired from 1993-1998. She was the first Black woman to create her own primetime series. Yvette LEE Bowser's other projects include For Your Love (1998-2002), Half & Half (2002-2006), and Dear White People (2017-2019). 
• IGBO (49A: People who perform the Egedege Dance) The IGBO people are indigenous to several states in Nigeria. Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea also have IGBO communities. (This much I knew from previously writing about the IGBO people and languages.) The Egedege Dance is a cultural dance that incorporates IGBO traditions. It is a modern dance with traditional roots.
• FIKA (58A: Swedish practice of taking a break with a beverage, a snack and good company) In Sweden, FIKA is a common mid-morning and mid-afternoon occurrence at workplaces. It's essentially a coffee break, but "FIKA" sounds much more enticing than "coffee break," I think.
• ABC (26D: "The Goldbergs" channel) The Goldbergs is a TV sitcom that aired on ABC for 10 seasons, from 2013-2023. The show is loosely based on Adam F. Goldberg's childhood, and is narrated by Patton Oswalt.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MAGICAL REALISM (20A: Genre that combines fantasy with the mundane) In contrast to science fiction or fantasy, literature in the MAGICAL REALISM style tends to draw its settings from the real-world. To this realistic, sometimes mundane, setting, MAGICAL elements are added. Examples of novels in the MAGICAL REALISM genre include Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman, and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.
• TODAY (25A: When you're doing this puzzle) I enjoyed this fun meta clue.
• ADUBA (60A: "In Treatment" actress Uzo) In Treatment is an HBO series about a psychotherapist. It premiered in 2008 with Gabriel Byrne in the lead role. In 2021, a reboot cast Uzo ADUBA in the lead role.
• ERMA (61A: Writer Bombeck) From 1965 until 1996, ERMA Bombeck (1927-1996) wrote a syndicated newspaper column titled "At Wits End." The column provided a humorous take on everyday life as a Midwestern housewife. Many of her columns have been compiled into books, with titles such as Aunt ERMA's Cope Book (1979) and Family — The Ties That Bind ... and Gag! (1987).
• MONAE (2D: "Glass Onion" actress Janelle) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a 2022 movie directed by Rian Johnson. As the full title of the movie suggests, it is a follow-up (same style, different story) to the 2019 movie, Knives Out. I adore both of these movies. They are excellent examples of my favorite movie genre, whodunits with a cast of quirky characters. Janelle MONAE played two roles in the movie, twin sisters Helen and Andi Brand. Her performance was extraordinary. If you haven't seen Glass Onion, put it on your "to-watch LIST."
• LIST (30D: "It's on my to-do ___") It feels like I say, "It's on my to-do LIST," multiple times a day!
• ETTA (34D: ___ Moten Barnett) I learned about ETTA Moten Barnett (1901-2004), whose signature role was that of Bess in the George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess, from the December 19, 2021 puzzle. 
• MAD (46D: "___ woman" (Taylor Swift song)) "MAD woman" (stylized as "mad woman") is a song from Taylor Swift's 2020 album, Folklore. Although "MAD woman" is a ballad, its lyrics are not romantic or sentimental, but confront the issues of gaslighting and the societal taboo against women's anger.

Geography review:

• EURO (16A: Official currency of 20 countries) Those 20 countries are members of the European Union. There are seven European Union members that don't currently use the EURO. Of those, Bulgaria has plans to adopt the EURO as its currency in 2025, and Romania aims to do so in 2026. The EURO is also the currency in Montenegro and Kosovo, as well as in Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City. You can read more about the Eurozone here. 
• TIBET (63A: Himalayan country) TIBET is in East Asia, and is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Located in the Himalayan mountains, TIBET is Earth's highest region, and has an average elevation of 14,000 feet.
• OMAN (29D: Muscat's country) Muscat is the capital of OMAN, and its largest city.
• ERIE (33D: Great Lake that's a homophone of 52-Down) and EERIE (52D: Kinda spooky) It has been 27 days since we have seen our crossword-friend ERIE as an answer in the puzzle. (ERIE did make an appearance in a clue during that time, however.) Welcome back, ERIE, I've missed you!

This puzzle reminded me of Amanda's Halloween puzzle, MONSTER MASH. That puzzle also featured anagram strings hidden within the theme answers. It's probably more common for anagram-themed puzzles to feature anagrams that form new words (such as in this example), but I think this hidden-anagram-string variety of puzzle is also fun. My favorite theme answer today is A GIRL CAN DREAM. Thank you, Amanda, for this puzzle that was a stellar way to start my Saturday.