December 3, 2023

Title: OUTLAST

Constructor: Jared Goudsmit

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

Theme Answers:

BRUSSELS SPROUT (20A: Veggie named for a Belgian city)

TALENT SCOUT (37A: Person looking for the next big thing)

RAINBOW TROUT (49A: Fish such as the steelhead)

Theme synopsis: The LAST part of each theme answer is the letters O-U-T.

• BRUSSELS SPROUT
• TALENT SCOUT
• RAINBOW TROUT

Things I learned:

• MAORI (42A: Like powhiri ceremonies) A pōwhiri is a MĀORI welcoming ceremony. It may involve speeches, cultural performances, singing, and a hongi (a traditional MĀORI greeting performed by two people pressing their noses together).
• ACHED (5D: Really felt a Kuk Sool Won class) Kuk Sool Wan is also known as Korean martial art. It's known for combat techniques that take advantage of the body's pressure points. Although I was not previously familiar with Kuk Sool Wan, the answer was easily inferable.
• BEAU (11D: "___ Is Afraid" (surreal 2023 horror film)) Joaquin Phoenix stars as the title character in the movie BEAU Is Afraid, which was released in April of this year. I had not previously heard of this movie. After reading the synopsis of BEAU Is Afraid on Wikipedia, I'd say the movie fits the description given in that article of "surrealist tragicomedy horror."
• TANYA (37D: Reggae singer Stephens) TANYA Stephens is a reggae singer. In 2019, she was honored for her contribution to the reggae industry by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association.
• TATE (54D: "You Broke Me First" singer McRae) In 2016, TATE McRae appeared on the 13th season of the reality TV competition So You Think You Can Dance. She was the first Canadian to become a finalist on the show. In 2017, TATE McRae began to add videos of original songs to her YouTube channel, in addition to videos of dancing. The recognition from these videos led to her singing career. Her 2020 single "You Broke Me First" became an international hit.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• AHEAD (16A: "Road work ___? Uh, yeah, I sure hope it does!") and YOU'RE (29D: "___ telling me a shrimp fried this rice?") The jokes in these two clues made me groan and chuckle.
• JOJO (55A: "___ Rabbit" (Taika Waititi film)) Taika Waititi directed and wrote the screenplay for the 2019 movie JOJO Rabbit. The movie is adapted from a 2008 book by Christine Leunens, Caging Skies. Set in a fictional German town during the collapse of Nazi Germany, the movie centers around a Hitler youth, ten-year old Jojo Betzler, and Jojo's imaginary friend, a comedic version of Adolf Hitler.
• TESSA (59A: "Selma" actress Thompson) The 2014 movie, Selma, directed by Ava Duvernay, is a historical drama about the 1965 voting rights marches. TESSA Thompson portrays Diane Nash, a civil rights activist that was involved in the Selma Voting Rights Movement.
• LIMBO (1D: Dance that originated in Trinidad) The LIMBO – the dance where dancers compete to pass underneath a progressively lower bar – originated in Trinidad as an event that took place at wakes.
• OTIS (35D: Redding who sang, "Sittin' here resting my bones / And this loneliness won't leave me alone") "Sittin' here resting my bones / And this loneliness won't leave me alone" is a line from the OTIS Redding song "(Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay." OTIS Redding recorded the song  on December 10, 1967, just three days before he died in a plane crash. The song was released in January 1968, and became the first posthumous song to top Billboard's Hot 100.
• CAT TREAT (39D: Morsel for a well-behaved kitty) Willow says that she would

  

  Willow

  definitely like a CAT TREAT once she wakes up from her BEAUTY SLEEP (3D: Shut-eye needed to look your best).
• ARROWS (44D: Ammo for Katniss Everdeen) Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist of The Hunger Games trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. Katniss is known for her archery skills.
• LAW (45D: Sonia Sotomayor's field) Sonia Sotomayor has been a Supreme Court Justice since 2009.
• NOIR (51D: "The Big Sleep" genre) The Big Sleep is a 1946 film NOIR starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The movie is an adaptation of Raymond Chandler's 1939 book of the same name. 

Geography review:

• BRUSSELS SPROUT (20A: Veggie named for a Belgian city) The BRUSSELS SPROUT takes its name from BRUSSELS, the capital city of Belgium. It was near BRUSSELS that these veggies were first cultivated in the 13th century. I am thankful to Dutch scientists for improving BRUSSELS SPROUTs and making them less bitter. It turns out that it was not my imagination that the BRUSSELS SPROUTs I ate when I was a kid were not that great.
• FIVE (61A: Number of Great Lakes) The mnemonic device HOMES can be utilized to remember the names of the FIVE Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.
• BALI (32D: Island where legong is performed) BALI is a province of Indonesia that includes the island of BALI and a few smaller islands. Legong is a traditional form of dance from BALI that is characterized by  intricate finger movements, complicated footwork, and eloquent facial expressions.
• OSLO (52D: Norway's capital ) OSLO is the capital of Norway, and the country's most populous city. The city of OSLO was founded in 1040 A.D. Its original name was Ánslo. It has also been named Christiania (also spelled Kristiana).
• JFK (55D: Alternative to LGA) John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) both serve the New York City (NYC) Metropolitan area. Both JFK and LGA are located in the NYC borough of Queens. They are about 10 miles apart from each other.

I was tricked by the today's title into guessing that the theme answers might feature the word LAST at the OUTside edges. Instead, the word OUT is literally found LAST in these answers. We saw RAINBOW TROUT as a theme answer last month. Although that puzzle had a different theme, RAINBOW TROUT was also used because it contains the word OUT. Thank you, Jared, for this puzzle that was a great way to start my Sunday.