December 22, 2023

Title: LIVING ON THE EDGE 

Constructor: Alice Liang

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

ANN TAYLOR LOFT (20A: Casual businesswear brand seen in many malls)

STUDIO GHIBLI (29A: "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Spirited Away" production company)

IN NO TIME FLAT (42A: Very quickly)

HIGH-RISE JEANS (51A: Pants that come in a "mom" style)

Theme synopsis: A LIVING space is found on the EDGE of each theme answer. Our LIVING options today are a LOFT, a STUDIO, a FLAT, and a HIGH-RISE.

Things I learned:

• KAREN (64A: Writer Attiah) KAREN Attiah is an Opinions Columnist for The Washington Post. Many of her writings focus on race, gender, culture, human rights, and international affairs. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SIMU (16A: Actor Liu who plays Shang-Chi) Shang-Chi is the Marvel Comics superhero featured in the 2021 movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. SIMU Liu plays Shang-Chi in the movie.
• ANN TAYLOR LOFT (20A: Casual businesswear brand seen in many malls) ANN TAYLOR LOFT (now officially simply LOFT) is a division of the apparel retail company, ANN, Inc. ANN TAYLOR LOFT specializes in offering moderately-priced casual fashions for work and home. ANN TAYLOR is not the name of the store's founder. Richard Liebeskind founded ANN TAYLOR in 1954, naming the store after the name of the best-selling dress at his father's clothing store, "ANN TAYLOR."
• STUDIO GHIBLI (29A: "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Spirited Away" production company) STUDIO GHIBLI is an animation film STUDIO headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The STUDIO took its name from the Italian word, GHIBLI, which is based on a Libyan Arabic word referring to a hot desert wind. Howl's Moving Castle is a 2004 animated movie from STUDIO GHIBLI that is loosely based on the 1986 book of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. STUDIO GHIBLI's film, Spirited Away, won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003. I learned about STUDIO GHIBLI and the movies Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away from previous puzzle. 
• MEG (40A: "When Harry Met Sally..." actress Ryan) When Harry Met Sally... is a classic rom-com, and I'm not just saying that because it has my name in the title! MEG Ryan and Billy Crystal star as Sally and Harry in this 1989 movie directed by Rob Reiner. There are many fabulous scenes in When Harry Met Sally..., and I've previously written about perhaps the most iconic one. Today I thought I'd link to another When Harry Met Sally... clip. 
• ELENA (41A: Author Ferrante) ELENA Ferrante is the author of multiple books, including a series of four books known as the Neapolitan Novels. ELENA Ferrante is a pseudonym. In spite of her recognition as an influential writer, the Italian author has kept her identity secret since her first book was published in 1992.
• HIGH-RISE JEANS (51A: Pants that come in a "mom" style) "Mom jeans" is a term used to refer to HIGH-RISE JEANS that were first fashionable in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The style – like many styles – has been in and out of fashion. 
• POKE (62A: Figurative "jab" on Facebook) Is giving someone a POKE on Facebook still a thing? (Please don't POKE me if we're friends on Facebook.)
• YEUN (21D: "Minari" actor Steven) Minari is a 2020 semi-autobiographical movie directed by Lee Isaac Chung. The movie follows a South Korean family that immigrates to the United States in the 1980s. Steven YEUN portrays the father of the family, Jacob Yi.
• SANDO (29D: Japanese lunch item with slices of milk bread) SANDO is the Japanese colloquial term for a sandwich.
• ELLA (54D: Jazz singer Fitzgerald) During her career as a jazz singer, ELLA Fitzgerald (1917-1996) earned several nicknames, including "Queen of Jazz," "Lady ELLA," and "First Lady of Song."
• BOP (55D: ___ It (toy with buttons, cranks and handles)) Hasbro's interactive game BOP It was first released in 1996. The toy has buttons, handles that can be pulled, switches, and cranks. As the game is played, the toy gives instructions to the player. The speed of the instructions increases as the game progresses.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• IDEA (18A: What a lightbulb often signifies in cartoons)
• SLED (63A: A cookie sheet might be used as one)
• ANALOGY (9D: "Tree is to leaf as flower is to petal," e.g.)

Geography review:

• GHANA (32D: Accra's country) GHANA is located in West Africa, and has coastline on the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. GHANA's neighbors are Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Togo. Accra is located on the southern edge of GHANA on the Gulf of Guinea. Accra is the capital of GHANA and its largest city.

This is a fun theme idea. Often we see the theme part located consistently at the beginning of the theme answers, or consistently at the end of the answers. Today we have a split, with two LIVING options appearing at the beginnings, and two appearing at the ends. When a constructor is putting a theme together, it's not always possible to find a great set that is also consistent. Splitting the theme evenly as we see in today's puzzle is a workable alternative. Thank you, Alice, for this puzzle that was an enjoyable way to start my Friday.