December 13, 2023

Title: SPEEDY RESOLUTION

Constructor: Nate Cardin

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

Theme Answers:

TAYLOR SWIFT (17A: "Invisible string" singer)

CUT TO THE QUICK (36A: Upset deeply)

HARD AND FAST (56A: Like a strictly enforced rule)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer ends with a synonym for SPEEDY: SWIFT, QUICK, FAST.

Things I learned:

• BRIAN (45A: "Atlanta" actor ___ Tyree Henry) The TV series, Atlanta (set in Atlanta, Georgia, unsurprisingly), follows the life of Earnest "Earn" Marks, a Princeton dropout struggling with homelessness and poverty. BRIAN Tyree Henry portrays rapper Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles, who is Earn's cousin. Earn becomes his cousin's music manager as Paper Boi becomes famous.
• GERI (54A: Jazz pianist Allen) GERI Allen (1957-2017) was a jazz pianist and composer. She was also an educator, and taught at the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• CMA (11A: Nashville-based awards org.) The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in Nashville, Tennessee in 1957. The CMA Awards have been presented annually since 1967.
• TAYLOR SWIFT (17A: "Invisible string" singer) The song "invisible string" is from TAYLOR SWIFT's 2020 album, Folklore. Also, today is TAYLOR SWIFT's birthday, so it's a great day for her to be a theme answer!
• AKA (19A: Dana Elaine Owens ___ Queen Latifah) Even a solver unfamiliar with the name Dana Elaine Owens might be able to INFER (9D: Derive through reasoning) that AKA is the answer here. Indeed, Dana Elaine Owens is "also known as" Queen Latifah. We saw the rapper, actress, and singer Queen Latifah as a theme answer June 4, 2021. 
• SCENE (23A: The "S" in "CSI") The original CSI: Crime SCENE Investigation TV show aired from 2000-2015, and was set in Las Vegas. The show has had four spin-offs so far: CSI: Miami (2002-2011), CSI:NY (2004-2013), CSI: Cyber (2014-2015), and CSI: Vegas (2021-present).
• GERE (31A: "Pretty Woman" actor Richard) If you, like me, remember seeing Pretty Woman in the theater when the movie first came out, you might, like me, be amazed that it's been 33 years since that happened. Pretty Woman is a 1990 movie starring Richard GERE as a wealthy businessman that hires a prostitute (Julia Roberts) to be his escort for a week. Some friends and I were just discussing the iconic shopping scene from Pretty Woman the other day. (I'm linking it here even though it doesn't include Richard GERE.)
• ROOS (40A: Australian marsupials, for short) and EMU (41A: Australian bird) This is a nice pair of consecutive clues referencing Australian animals.
• THAI (42A: Tom yum goong cuisine) Tom yum goong is a hot and sour THAI soup.
• BERT (44A: Muppet who sings "Doin' the Pigeon") BERT is the serious, studious half of the Sesame Street duo BERT and Ernie. BERT collects paper clips and bottle caps, and his favorite animal is the pigeon. "Doin' the Pigeon" is a song and dance BERT does that's inspired by his favorite animal.
• ORG (55A: transgenderlawcenter.___) The Transgender Law Center was founded in 2002 in San Francisco, California. It has grown into "the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people."
• STONES (4D: Mancala pieces) Mancala is a two-player strategy board game. The game can be played with a specific game board, or simply by marking out a board on the ground or other surface. Game tokens may be small STONES, shells, beans, seeds, or marbles. There is evidence of mancala being played as early as the second and third centuries.
• CRAZY RICH ASIANS (11D: 2018 film starring Constance Wu) The movie CRAZY RICH ASIANS is based on Kevin Kwan's 2013 book of the same name. Constance Wu portrays Rachel Chu, an economics professor who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend (played by Henry Golding), unaware that her boyfriend's family is extremely wealthy.
• KALE (39D: Leafy green in zuppa toscana) Zuppa toscana is an Italian soup made with cannellini beans, potatoes, and KALE. Many people, including myself, may be familiar with an American version of zuppa toscana that has been popularized by Olive Garden.

Geography review:

• STATE (29A: Karnataka or Kansas) Karnataka is a STATE in southwestern India. It is one of 28 STATEs in India. Additionally, India has eight union territories. Kansas is one of 50 STATEs in the United STATEs. Kansas is in the Midwest.
• STL (23D: Imo's Pizza city (Abbr.)) Imo's Pizza was founded in St. Louis (STL), Missouri by Ed and Margie Imo. You can read their interesting origin story on the Imo's Pizza website. Imo's Pizza is known for using Provel (a combination of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone) cheese instead of mozzarella, and for cutting their pizzas into squares instead of slices. 

Exactly a week ago we solved a puzzle titled QUICKSTARTS. Now we have come to a SPEEDY RESOLUTION. Interestingly, the only SPEEDY synonym appearing in both puzzles is SWIFT. I enjoyed all three theme answers today, as well as the nice vertical grid-spanners CRAZY RICH ASIANS and MAYBE YOU'RE RIGHT. Thank you, Nate, for this puzzle that was a wonderful way to start my Wednesday.