November 2, 2023

Title: FRONT POCKETS

Constructors: Sally Hoelscher & Olivia Mitra Framke

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

Theme Answers:

HOT TICKET ITEM (20A: Product that's in demand)

CORNER THE MARKET (38A: Take control of a commodity)

AIR A GRIEVANCE (53A: Complain publicly)

Theme synopsis: The FRONT word of each theme answer can be placed in FRONT of the word POCKET, giving us HOT POCKET, CORNER POCKET, and AIR POCKET.

And now a word from our constructors:

Sally and Olivia: It's always a delight to work together! Collaborating is definitely a journey. When we get ideas bouncing back and forth you just never know what the outcome will be. This theme idea came up while we were working on another theme. We're happy with the result.

Things I learned:

• HOST (7D: Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, for the "Therapy for Black Girls" podcast) Dr. Joy Harden Bradford is a licensed psychologist and author. Her website says you can find her "at the intersection of Psychology and pop culture." Dr. Joy Harden Bradford is the HOST of the mental health podcast, Therapy for Black Girls. She has also written a book called, Sisterhood Heals, which was released earlier this year. This clue angle was added in editing, and I'm delighted to learn about Dr. Joy Harden Bradford.
• ARIA (34A: Solo for Pretty Yende) Pretty Yende is an operatic soprano that has performed around the world, including at the Metropolitan Opera, and at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla as king and queen of the United Kingdom. Pretty Yende is from South Africa.
• COOK (59A: Prepare some cazuela nogada, say) Cazuela nogada is a Chilean stew made of chicken cooked in a walnut sauce with potatoes, onions, and beans.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MEOW (9A: Hi, it's me, your kitty!") and CAT (21D: Calico or tortoiseshell pet) Look at this, we manage to get two CAT clues into this grid. That makes Willow quite happy,

  

  "MEOW!"

  and she says, "MEOW!" 
• EXPO (16A: The third "E" of E3) E3, which is short for Electronic Entertainment EXPO, is a trade event for the U.S. video game industry. E3 occurs annually in June at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Olivia is the gaming expert, here, and I'm happy to let her provide gaming angles.  
• ASK (24A: "Well, good for you, you look happy and healthy / Not me, if you ever cared to ___" (Olivia Rodrigo lyric)) I am a fan of using song lyrics, quotations, book titles and the like to add interest to 3-letter words, and this is a great example. The answer is inferable by context for solvers unfamiliar with the song. "Well, good for you, you look happy and healthy / Not me, if you ever cared to ASK," is a lyric from Olivia Rodrigo's 2021 song, "Good 4 U." And clever Olivia Mitra Framke has now worked her middle name and her first name into the clues in crosswords we have constructed. I clearly need to up my game!
• OCT (26A: Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Abbr.)) This puzzle just missed October (OCT.) by a couple of days. This year the theme for Breast Cancer Awareness Month was, "No one should face breast cancer alone." Honestly, that's a good message for any month.
• AEIOU (42A: Letters that appear exactly once in a supervocalic word) A supervocalic is a word, name, or phrase that contains each of the vowels - AEIOU - exactly once each, in any order. The word supervocalic is itself supervocalic. Here's an example of a supervocalic sentence: Willow the CAT purrs.
• TRAINER (44A: Person who captures Pokemon) I don't know much about Pokémon, but I do know that a Pokémon TRAINER is a thing, so I told Olivia, "I'm thinking a Pokémon angle..." and asked her to write a clue. A perk of collaborating!
• REN (47A: Kylo ___) One of many reasons Olivia and I collaborate well together is that she's up for working CAT content into the grid, and I'm all for working Star Wars content into the grid. Anything you want to say about this answer, Olivia? Olivia: I am not a fan of the sequel trilogy (my heart is with the prequels) but as this character is the grandson of my favorite blorbo (Anakin), he gets a pass!
• IDINA (63A: "Rent" actress Menzel) IDINA Menzel made her Broadway debut in 1996 with the role of Maureen Johnson in the musical Rent. For that role she earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. IDINA Menzel also has a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. That award was for her 2003 portrayal of Elphaba in the musical Wicked. Olivia: I saw Rent on Broadway three times as a teenager. It's a truly incredible, heart-wrenching story with excellent music, and still holds the place of my all-time favorite musical, followed closely by A Chorus Line.
• SKI (14D: Compete in super-G) Super-G, or super giant slalom is an alpine skiing race. In contrast to the technical events, giant slalom and slalom, super-G is a speed event. A super-G course consists of gates that racers must SKI through, and the course requires skiers to turn more often than in downhill races.
• RED PANDA (40D: Animal that Mei turns into in a 2022 Pixar film) The protagonist of the 2022 Pixar movie, Turning Red, is a 13-year-old Chinese Canadian girl named Mei. When Mei feels strong emotions, she transforms into a giant RED PANDA.
• SCENE (52D: One of nine in the play "Fences") Fences is a 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by August Wilson. Fences explores the evolving Black experience, through the story of Troy, a 53-year-old working-class man. Troy had been an outstanding baseball player at a time when Black players were not welcome in the major leagues. The play has two acts; Act One has four SCENES, and Act Two has five SCENES. 

Geography review:

• SCOT (32D: Glasgow resident) Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland.
• VEIL (55D: Bridal ___ Falls) Multiple waterfalls around the world have been given the name Bridal VEIL Falls. This is perhaps not surprising, as the fall of water of some steep falls is reminiscent of a VEIL. The smallest of the three waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls is named Bridal VEIL Falls. There is also a Bridal VEIL Falls in Banff National Park in Canada.

I am a fan of POCKETS! If you've ever been complimented on your dress, skirt, cardigan, pants, etc. and responded, "and it has POCKETS!" I feel we would get along. I'm delighted, therefore, with this FRONT POCKETS theme. Here's an article that gives a little bit of history about POCKETS (or the lack thereof) in women's clothes. Thank you, Olivia, for collaborating on this one. Here's to many more collaborations! Thanks as always to Jared and Amanda for wonderful editing. I hope you enjoyed this Thursday puzzle.