January 12, 2024

Title: LONG DIVISION

Constructor: Catherine Cetta

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

LOUIS ARMSTRONG (16A: Jazz legend nicknamed "Satchmo")

LOOK WHO'S TALKING (38A: "YOU'RE saying that to ME?!")

LOYAL FOLLOWING (63A: The Bardigang, for Cardi B)

Theme synopsis: In each theme answer we see a DIVISION of the word LONG. 

• LOUIS ARMSTRONG
• LOOK WHO'S TALKING,
• LOYAL FOLLOWING

Things I learned:

• TUNA (26A: Fish in cakalang fufu) and AHI (4D: 26-Across, on a sushi menu) Cakalang fufu is a dish that is prepared by placing skipjack TUNA on a bamboo frame, after which it is cured, and then smoked over coconut husks. The cured, smoked fish is a traditional food in Indonesian cuisine. I knew that TUNA on a sushi menu is AHI, but today I learned about cakalang fufu.
• ANNE (45A: Cameroonian women's rights activist Fomumbod) ANNE Fomumbund is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization Interfaith Vision Foundation of Cameroon (IVFCAM). IVFCam helps women and children, particularly young widows and orphans affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. IVFCam also focuses on grassroots advocacy, and works to get more women involved on local councils.
• LAYLA (52D: "___ and Majnun" (Nizami Ganjavi story)) Nizami Ganjavi (c. 1141-1209) was a Persian poet. The 12th-century epic poet is best known for a series of five narrative poems known as the Khamsa. "LAYLA and Majnun" is the third poem in this series.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• EDIE (15A: Actress Falco) EDIE Falco is known for her portrayals of Carmela Soprano on the TV series The Sopranos (1999-2007), and the title character on the TV series Nurse Jackie (2009-2015).
• LOUIS ARMSTRONG (16A: Jazz legend nicknamed "Satchmo") LOUIS ARMSTRONG (1901-1971) was a jazz trumpeter and vocalist, whose career spanned five decades. His nicknames included "Satchmo," and "Pops." One of the songs LOUIS ARMSTRONG is known for is "What a Wonderful World." Taking a few minutes to listen to it was a great addition to my day.
• STREEP (20A: "Big Little Lies" actress Meryl) Big Little Lies is a TV series based on Liane Moriarty's novel of the same name. The show follows five women involved in a murder investigation. Meryl Streep joined the show in the second season, portraying Mary Louise Wright, the mother of the murder victim.
• YEET (50A: 2010s dance craze) Videos of people doing a dance referred to as YEET made the rounds on Vine and YouTube in 2014. Although YEET began as a dance, the term has evolved to mean "launching something at high velocity," and/or "an exclamation made while throwing something."
• LOYAL FOLLOWING (63A: The Bardigang, for Cardi B) The Bardigang is the term used for the fanbase of Cardi B. The rap artist coined the term to describe her LOYAL FOLLOWING in a social media post in 2017.
• PURR (6D: Sound from a happy cat) and MEWL (25D: Whimper) and MEOWS (54D: Makes cat sounds at a cat) Just as I sat down to write today's blog post,

  

  Happy cat

  Willow decided it was time for a snuggle session. As you can see in this photo, after I sat down in my desk chair, she walked behind my shoulders, propped herself on my chair, and leaned in for some snuggles. She was PURRing the entire time, and yes, I did exchange some MEOWS with her. (No MEWLing today; she was pretty happy.)
• ADOBO (10D: Stewed Filipino dish) Filipino ADOBO is a dish consisting of meat, seafood, or vegetables marinated in a sauce of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. ADOBO is sometimes considered to be the unofficial national dish of the Philippines.
• ATTACH (17D: Include, like a file in an email) Raise your hand if you've ever typed a variation of the words, "the file is ATTACHed" in an email, and then forgotten to ATTACH said file. 🙋‍♀️
• PANKO (23D: Japanese breadcrumbs) According to the Food Network, "PANKO are Japanese breadcrumbs made from steamed, crustless loaves of bread." After being processed into flakes, the breadcrumbs are then dried. The result is largely, flaky breadcrumbs.
• UNO (27D: Card game with a sequel named "Dos") Dos, the card game sequel to UNO, was released in 2018. Similar to UNO, the object of the game Dos is to get rid of the cards in your hand. The gameplay differs in that cards are discarded onto a center row of cards, rather than a single stack. There are also some additional mechanisms to discard cards that involve adding the numbers on the cards. The game review site, Board Game Geek, describes Dos as "a slightly more mathy follow up to the classic game of UNO."
• NOODLE SOUP (28D: Dish like pho or hoto) Pho is a NOODLE SOUP in Vietnamese cuisine. Hoto is a NOODLE SOUP originating from Japan.
• UNDO (61D: "Oops, I clicked the wrong thing and need to go back" computer command) This clue strikes me as a rather calm response to making a mistake. My experience tends to fall more along the lines of "Ack! I didn't mean to do that! UNDO, UNDO, UNDO!"
• EGOT (62D: Four-award acronym) EGOT is a term used to refer to a person that has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.
• ALL (64D: The "A" of GOAT) GOAT is a term used to refer to someone that's outstanding in their field. It stands for "greatest of ALL time."

Geography review:

• ALOHA (13A: Greeting in Hilo) Hilo is a city on the island of Hawai'i, the largest of the Hawaiian islands. Hilo has been inhabited since approximately 1100 CE and is the oldest city in Hawai'i. The word ALOHA is used as a greeting in Hawaii. ALOHA is difficult to translate into other languages; it encompasses a spirit of love, affection, kindness, and compassion.
• AUSSIE (56A: Person from Melbourne, for short) Melbourne is the second largest city in Australia, following Sydney. Therefore, a person from Melbourne is an Australian, or an AUSSIE for short.

This is a classic USA Today theme type, and the title of LONG DIVISION describes it perfectly. This is a great set of fun and interesting theme answers with the word LONG perfectly divided in half by each one. Thank you, Catherine, for this puzzle that was a fantastic way to start my Friday.