December 15, 2023

Title: FIRESTARTERS

Constructors: Steve Mossberg & Brooke Husic

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

WOODPECKERS (20A: Birds that communicate with rhythmic drumming)

LUMBERJANES (37A: Comic book series following five girls' adventures at scout camp)

TIMBERLANDS (53A: Boots associated with hip-hop culture)

Theme synopsis: The beginnings (STARTs) of the theme answers are synonyms of each other, and could all be used as FIRESTARTERS: WOOD, LUMBER, TIMBER.

Things I learned:

• LUMBERJANES (37A: Comic book series following five girls' adventures at scout camp) The comic book series LUMBERJANES was originally planned as an eight-part series. Following a strong reception following its initial publication in 2014, the comic became a regular series, publishing until 2020. As the clue tells us, the main characters of the comic are girls attending a scout camp. That camp is Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Girls Hardcore Lady Types. Attendees of the summer camp are called LUMBERJANE Scouts. The main characters of LUMBERJANES are Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley. They are cabin mates, and together they face adventures and investigate mysterious happenings.
• TIMBERLANDS (53A: Boots associated with hip-hop culture) TIMBERLANDS were introduced in 1973, sold by the Abington Shoe Company. The boots became so popular, that the company was renamed TIMBERLAND in 1978. Although the waterproof boots were originally designed with construction workers in mind, in the 1980s and 1990s, TIMBERLANDS became popular with musicians, particularly hip-hop artists. Here's an article the looks at "How the TIMBERLAND Boot Became an Icon of Hip-Hop Style and Beyond." Earlier this year, the TIMBERLAND company marked the 50th anniversary of TIMBERLANDS and hip-hop with a royal purple version of TIMBERLANDS.
• BATA DRUMS (35D: Yoruba percussion instruments) BATÁ DRUMS are double-headed DRUMS shaped like an hourglass with one end larger than the other. In the Yoruba religion, practiced by the Yoruba people in present-day Southwestern Nigeria, BATÁ DRUMS are used during religious ceremonies. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• HBCU (14A: FAMU or N.C. A&T) HBCU stands for historically Black college and university, and refers to colleges and universities that were established prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to serve Black students. Florida A&M University, aka FAMU, is located in Tallahassee, Florida. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, aka N.C. A&T, is located in Greensboro, North Carolina. FAMU and N.C. A&T are HBCUs. The abbreviation of the schools in the clue is a signal that the answer will be an abbreviation.
• RAITA (18A: Biryani side) Biryani is a rice dish originating from South Asia. It is often accompanied by RAITA, a dish of seasoned yogurt with raw or cooked vegetables, often cucumber and onion.
• WOODPECKERS (20A: Birds that communicate with rhythmic drumming) WOODPECKERS use their chisel-shaped bills to peck into wood in order to find food or build a NEST. WOODPECKERS also use their bills for communication. Rhythmic drumming may be used to attract a mate, or to announce their territory.
• TAINO (30A: Indigenous Caribbean) Historically, the TAÍNO were an indigenous people of the Caribbean, inhabiting the areas that are now Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the Lesser Antilles. 
• ASU (32A: Sun Devils' sch.) The Sun Devils are the athletic teams at Arizona State University (ASU), which is located in Tempe, Arizona (part of the Phoenix metropolitan area). Sparky the Sun Devil is the official mascot of ASU.
• WES (36A: Jazz guitarist Montgomery) I learned about jazz guitarist WES Montgomery (1923-1968) in September.
• BAD (40A: Word before "Habit" in a Steve Lacy song title or "Habits" in an Ed Sheeran song title) This is a fun clue. Steve Lacy's song, "BAD Habit," was released in 2022. Ed Sheeran's song, "BAD Habits," was released in 2021.
• LATIN (42A: ___ trap (Bad Bunny genre)) A subgenre of LATIN hip-hop, LATIN trap originated in Puerto Rico in the 2000s-2010s. Bad Bunny, who I learned about from the September 21, 2021 puzzle, is the stage name of Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and songwriter Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio.
• DANGLE (50A: Hang down like a jhumka earring) Jhumka are a style of bell-shaped earrings. These earrings, which hang down and DANGLE, are a traditional style from the Indian subcontinent.
• TUBA (29D: Big brass instrument in banda music) Banda music is a subgenre of regional Mexican music. The typical instruments used in banda music are the TUBA, trumpet, trombone, snare drum, and tambora.
• EVS (38D: Gasless cars (Abbr.)) EVS are electric vehicles.
• NEST (47D: Ovenbirds make theirs on forest floors) This is a fun animal fact! Ovenbirds get their name from their elaborate domed NEST, which resembles a Dutch oven. The NEST is built on the forest floor, and then disguised with leaves and twigs. Fun fact: An ovenbird's song sounds like, "tea-cher, tea-cher, tea-cher." Also, some male ovenbirds will sing together.
• RIH (49D: "Anti" singer, to fans) Anti is a 2016 studio album by Rihanna. To fans, Rihanna is known as RIH, or RIH-RIH, or Riri.
• MAS (54D: Opposite of "menos") In Spanish, "menos" means "less," and "MAS" means "more."

Geography review:

• NEPAL (39D: Tibet's neighbor) NEPAL is a landlocked country in South Asia. Its neighbors are Tibet and India. The capital of NEPAL is Kathmandu.

I enjoyed the consistency of today's theme. All of the FIRESTARTERS were the beginning parts of a single word, and none of them were stand-alone words. I enjoyed learning about the LUMBERJANES comic, and the history of TIMBERLANDS. A couple of clues I especially enjoyed: (10A: Parts of some Disney headbands) for EARS, and (27A: A perfect Pac-Man score is 3,333,360 (Abbr.)) for PTS. Congratulations to Steve Mossberg, making his USA Today debut! Thank you, Steve and Brooke, for this puzzle that was a fine way to START my Friday.