February 29, 2024

Title: LEAP DAY

Constructor: Michael Berg

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:

STOLE A PEEK (17A: Pried up a corner of the wrapping paper, say)

HUMBLE APOLOGY (39A: Something a remorseful person might make)

MOBILE APPS (62A: Phone downloads)

Theme synopsis: The word LEAP is hidden across the word break in each theme answer.

• STOLE A PEEK
• HUMBLE APOLOGY
• MOBILE APPS

And now a word from our constructor:

Michael: I am a leap day baby and it fills me with tremendous joy that I got to offer this Leap Day-themed puzzle on my birthday!

Things I learned:

• RAPP (26A: "Rent" actor Anthony) Rent debuted on Broadway in 1996. The musical was written by Jonathan Larson, and loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's 1896 opera, La bohème. Anthony RAPP originated the role of Mark Cohen, one of the struggling young artists in Lower Manhattan's East Village. Mark is a Jewish American documentary filmmaker, and serves as the narrator of Rent.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• OMEGA (1A: Last Greek letter) and PSI (66D: Letter before 1-Across) Today we're reviewing the end of the Greek alphabet. The 24-letter Greek alphabet ends with phi, chi, PSI, and OMEGA.
• RITA (6A: Singer Ora) RITA Ora released her third studio album last year. It's titled You & I, and features the single "You Only Love Me."
• FAB (10A: ___ Five ("Queer Eye" team)) The FAB Five is a nickname for the hosts of the reality TV series Queer Eye. The original version of the show, which premiered in 2003, featured the FAB Five of Ted Allen ("food and wine connoisseur"), Kyan Douglas ("grooming guru"), Thom Filicia ("Design Doctor"), Carson Kressley ("Fashion Savant"), and Jai Rodriguez ("Culture Vulture"). The 2018 revival of Queer Eye features a new FAB Five: Antoni Porowski ("Food and Wine"), Bobby Berk ("Design"), Jonathan Van Ness ("grooming"), Karamo Brown ("Culture and Lifestyle"), and Tan France ("Fashion").
• CORGI (30A: Dog breed from the Welsh words for "dwarf" and "dog") CORGI is a breed of herding dog that originated in Wales. CORGIs have short legs and relatively long (compared to their legs) bodies. 
• SODAS (43A: Sprite and Starry) Sprite is a lemon-lime SODA introduced by the Coca-Cola Company in 1961. Starry is also a lemon-lime SODA. It was introduced to the market by PepsiCo in 2023, replacing the PepsiCo SODA Sierra Mist. I haven't tried Starry yet, so I don't have an opinion on these lemon-lime SODAS. Any Starry fans out there?
• MONROE (44A: Silver screen icon Marilyn) Marilyn MONROE (1926-1962) was an actress and model. Over sixty years after her death she remains a pop culture icon.
• BANKSY (57A: Famously anonymous street artist) BANKSY is a pseudonym used by an artist whose identity remains unknown. Since the 1990s, BANKSY's art has appeared on streets, walls, and bridges throughout the world. 
• KYLIE (73A: "Padam Padam" singer Minogue) "Padam Padam" is a 2023 song by KYLIE Minogue, and the lead single from 16th studio album, Tension. Since its release, the song has been used at multiple Pride parades and is seen as an LGBTQ+ anthem. 
• GOLD'S GYMS (4D: "Colorful" places to pump iron) GOLD'S GYM is a chain of GYMS founded in 1965 in Venice Beach, California (a Los Angeles neighborhood). There are now GOLD'S GYMS in cities around the world. Here's a little digression: I noticed that the first GOLD'S GYM opened on August 25, 1965 in southern California. That's just five days after I was born; that event occurred in northern California. In spite of the coincidence of our origin stories, I have never been to a GOLD'S GYM.
• FENDI (10D: Italian fashion house) The luxury fashion house FENDI was founded in Rome, Italy in 1925 by Adele and Edoardo FENDI. The company is known for its fur and leather goods.
• BIKERS (12D: Velodrome racers) A velodrome is an (indoor or outdoor) arena for bicycle racing on a track. BIKERS that race in velodromes use specially-designed track bicycles that have no brakes and use a single fixed rear gear.
• TESSA (16D: "Creed" actress Thompson) TESSA Thompson's movie credits include playing the role of Bianca Taylor in the movies Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), and Creed III (2023).
• POSH (24D: Victoria Beckham's Spice Girls nickname) and MEL (55D: B or C of the Spice Girls) Today's puzzle contains references to 3/5 of the members of the English band Spice Girls. Formed in 1994, the Spice Girls original members are POSH Spice (Victoria Beckham), Scary Spice (Melanie Brown aka MEL B), Baby Spice (Emma Bunton), Sporty Spice (Melanie Chisholm aka MEL C), and Ginger Spice (Geri Haliwell). 
• YOLO (42D: "Why the heck not!") YOLO stands for "You only live once!"
• BABES (46D: ___ in Toyland (all-woman rock band)) The alt rock band BABES in Toyland was active from 1987-2001, and from 2014-2017. They released three studio albums: Spanking Machine (1990), Fontanelle (1992), and Nemesisters (1995).
• XAVIER (50D: Surname of the X-Men's Professor X) Professor Charles Francis XAVIER, better known as Professor X, is a Marvel Comics character. He first appeared in 1963, in The X-Men #1. The Marvel characters known as the X-Men are humans born with a genetic trait called the X-gene. This mutation grants various superhuman abilities. Professor X is a telepath, and can read and control the minds of others. 
• YMCA (58D: Village People hit) Thanks for this earworm, puzzle! "YMCA" was released in 1978, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2020. "It's fun to stay at the YMCA / It's fun to stay at the YMCA..."
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• BIB (46A: Item worn by racers and infants)
• IT'S A LOT (22D: "Dealing with all this is gonna be tough")
• SHE (67D: "Nevertheless, ___ persisted")

Happy LEAP DAY! This puzzle was a fun and timely solve. Congratulations to Michael Berg making his USA Today debut! Also, happy birthday, Michael! Like yesterday's constructor, Michael is a member of this year's Lil AVC X constructing roster. His first Lil AVC X puzzle will be published in a few weeks. It's always exciting when my crossword worlds collide. Thank you, Michael, for this delightful puzzle.