December 14, 2023

Title: ENDING EXPLAINED

Constructors: Ada Nicolle & Thea Kendal

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

CASE OF THE EX (19A: Mya song about a past lover)

COASTAL PLAIN (35A: Flat land by the water)

DRIVER'S ED (55A: Class where students may learn three-point turns)

Theme synopsis: The word EXPLAINED is spelled out by the ENDINGs of the theme answers:

• CASE OF THE EX
• COASTAL PLAIN
• DRIVER'S ED

And now a word from our constructors:

Thea (it/she): It was really great to get to work on a puzzle with my lovely girlfriend Ada, and to have it be my first published puzzle! I've watched her create puzzles for quite a few months, always amazed by it, and it was a lot of fun to make one with her. Some of my favorite entries include:

34A - I think this word's neat 

35A - I'm a big fan of geography

62A - My favorite animal, really stoked I got it in the puzzle

Ada (she/her): I'm super excited to share a byline with my darling Thea <3 When it comes to constructing, it's a natural. I'm particularly happy with 35-Down and the amount of cute animal content in the grid!
On an unrelated note, our friend Violet is struggling to move out of a hostile apartment, and if you donate to her Gofundme and email me proof of donation, I'll send you an exclusive themeless puzzle! There's an easy version and a hard version, test-solved by Sally (thanks Sally!!) and Quiara Vasquez respectively. Thanks for having us!!!

Things I learned:

• NEBULA (32A: Marvel character with an interstellar name) The space pirate and mercenary NEBULA first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1985 (The Avengers #257). NEBULA is the adopted daughter of Thanos and the adopted sister of Gamora (for those more familiar with the Marvel Universe than I am). In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Karen Gillan portrays NEBULA in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• OREO (12A: Cookie whose creme is called "RE," in a meme) This is a fun clue for our crossword-friend OREO. I like the fact that the answer is inferable for solvers that have not seen the memes. The memes in question are a series of pictures and videos that refer to the cookies of an OREO as "Os" and the filling as "RE." These components are then put together in various combinations and named accordingly. The website Know Your Meme refers to these as OREO Grammar memes.
• LICK (17A: Puppy or kitty's "kiss") and TOMCAT (1D: Meowy li'l guy) Not just one, but two CAT references today! Willow is not a TOMCAT, but she does like to share kitty kisses.

  

  Willow being a CUTIE PIE

  She likes to get right up in my face and LICK my nose. It's not bad during the day, but she's also fond of doing this when I'm sleeping! Come to think of it, the answer CUTIE PIE (35D: Nickname similar to "sweetie") could also be applicable here.
• LAILA ALI (9D: Boxer who retired with 24 wins and 0 losses) LAILA ALI is a former professional boxer. She retired from boxing in 2007, and was undefeated during her eight-year career.
• NASCAR (40D: Sports org. based in Daytona Beach) The National Association for Stock Car Racking, more commonly referred to as NASCAR, was founded by Bill France, Sr. in 1948. NASCAR remains privately owned, and the current CEO, Jim France, is the founder's son. As the clue informs us, NASCAR is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. 
• DODGER (42D: L.A.'s ___ Stadium) DODGER Stadium is a baseball stadium in Los Angeles, California. As the name suggests, DODGER Stadium is the home stadium for MLB's Los Angeles DODGERs. Former DODGERs manager Tommy Lasorda gave DODGER Stadium the nickname, "Blue Heaven on Earth."
• A number of music clues today, so I've grouped them together. Today's solving playlist:
• ERICA (18A: "Diary of the Flow Queen" rapper Banks) Diary of the Flow Queen is a 2022 studio album from ERICA Banks. 
• CASE OF THE EX (19A: Mya song about a past lover) "CASE OF THE EX" is a 2000 song by Mýa. We have seen CASE OF THE EX as a theme answer before, on August 11, 2022. (Interestingly, while the theme was different in that puzzle, the theme mechanism is similar.)
• AVA (52A: "Salt" singer Max) "Salt" is a 2019 song by AVA Max. 
• REASON (3D: "Give me one good ___") Although it's not clued as the song, this clue immediately gave me the earworm, "Give Me One REASON," by Tracy Chapman.
• PUT (29D: "___ Your Records On" (Corinne Bailey Rae song)) "Put Your Records On" is a song from Corrine Bailey RAE's self-titled 2006 album.

Geography review:

• ETNA (59A: Italian volcano) Mount ETNA is an active volcano on the island of Sicily, Italy. ETNA is one of 16 volcanoes designated by the United Nations as Decade Volcanoes. This group of volcanoes is closely studied because of their history of eruptions and proximity to densely populated areas.

I enjoyed the theme of this puzzle. This theme mechanism – splitting a word into its parts – is not one we see often. Therefore, it's not one I'm usually looking for, which means it usually comes with a nice "Aha!" moment as it did today. In addition to the answers I've already highlighted, I also enjoyed SKEEBALL and POPOVERS. Congratulations to Thea on the crossword debut! Thank you, Ada and Thea, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Thursday.