Thursday, July 21, 2022, Erica Hsiung Wojcik, May Huang

 

Today's constructors, Erica Hsiung Wojcik and May Huang appear to be making their debut in the LA Times, but they are not new to constructing.  Erica, who is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College, recently debuted a Friday puzzle in the New York Times on 4/29/22.  And this is a  brief chat with her that the Times published for the occasion. 

May often collaborates with her husband Kevin and they both run an indie constructor site.  She is a writer and translator, originally from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

And unless I missed something, their theme is pretty simple.  Enclosed within the circles (sorry Anon) in each themer are the reversed names of various hues of the color RED:

17A. Some plant-based patties: SOY BURGERS.  RUBY, as in gem quality corundum.

27A. Little by little: SLOWLY BUT SURELY.  Little by little, in the presence of oxygen iron turns to RUST resulting in Iron Oxide .

46A. Opening for some nostalgic stories: WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE.  As in WINE, or as one of my local DJs likes to call it, "the world's favorite beverage".  Recently I was having one of those "WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE" talks with my precocious 6 year old grandson.  The problem was getting a word in edgewise.  I can't imagine where he got that from.

And here's the reveal:

61A. 2022 Pixar film about a girl who goes through unusual changes, and the change seen inside each set of circles: TURNING RED.  A movie about a little girl with a walking identity crisis:

Here's the grid:
 

Across:

1. Sprouted: GREW.

5. Britcom starring Joanna Lumley, to fans: AB FAB.  Absolutely Fabulous.  This was the only G rated clip I could find (well GP maybe).  Unexpectedly called upon to get something to eat for a friend, Patsy Stone finally brings herself to eat a a crisp (we'd call it a potato chip) ...

Lumley has a long history in British entertainment and is also absolutely fabulous in dramatic roles as well.  Teri and I saw her recently in the 1998 series Coming Home set at the time of WWII, starring opposite Peter O'Toole.

10. Swing set site: YARD. 

14. Five-star: A ONE.

15. Cruz known as the "Queen of Salsa": CELIA.  Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of guarachas, earning the nickname "La Guarachera de Cuba". In the following decades, she became known internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" due to her contributions to Latin music.  Here's her signature Bemba Colorá (lyrics not available):

16. Completed: OVER. If you want this to be OVER see clue 63D.

19. "Star Trek" creator Roddenberry: GENE.  STNG was my favorite series, although I confess that I haven't been able to keep up with the rest of the universe that Roddenberry launched:
 

20. After-school org.: PTA.

21. "The Bachelor" flower: ROSE.  Often RED, but not a themer.

22. Tours of duty: STINTS.

24. Word in many California place names: SAN.  SAINT.  Lección de Español número 1 and a clecho to 28D.  The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California.  The oldest cities of California formed around or near Spanish missions, including the four largest: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco.  A few years back, after attending a wedding in California, we were able to visit the missions in San Francisco and San Diego, which were well preserved and very interesting.

Spanish Missions in California

25. Title of honor: SIR.  The English SIR reminded me of the Hindu SRI and according to this blogger they may be related.

26. Highway sign: GAS..

33. Tiny opening: PORE.  PORES can be almost infinitesimally tiny.  A nuclear pore is a part of a large complex of proteins, known as a nuclear pore complex that spans the nuclear envelope, which is the double membrane surrounding the cell nucleus. There are approximately 1,000 nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in the nuclear envelope of a vertebrate cell.  The entire nuclear pore complex in humans has a diameter of about 120 nms (there are 25,400,000 nms in an inch). The diameter of the actual channel through it is approximately 5.2 nms.  I cannot help but find these cellular components to be astonishing.

The Cell Nucleus

34. Sea cow: MANATEE.  Known for their malodorous sense of humor, Manatees swim thru these waters bi-weekly, so keep your eyes out for one this time next Thursday ...

35. Grilled meat dish: ASADO.  I wanted ASADA, as in Carne Asada (recipe).  But the adjective must agree with the gender of the meat being grilled.  LA CARNE  (e.g. beef) is feminine and its adjective is inflected with an A.  Apparently Erica and May wanted a meat like EL POLLO (chicken (recipe)), which is masculine and its adjective is inflected with an O.  A CSO to Lucina if I haven't gotten this right (and/or you've got some favorite recipes to share!).

37. Legendary pro wrestler Flair: RIC.  RIC FLAIR, né Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career that has spanned almost 50 years.

Ric Flair 1996

38. Get going: START.

42. Made into law: ENACTED.  "Every time we enact a new law, we create a new criminal" - Lao Tzu.

45. Oberlin's state: OHIO.

50. Evil spell: HEX.  From HEXE, the German for WITCH.  My favorite HEXing story, is about a hunter encountering a bewitchingly beautiful young woman in the forest at nightfall.  This scene is depicted in a German poem set to music by  Robert Schumann in his song Waldesgespräch ("Conversation in the Woods").  Here it's sung by baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (lyrics and translation):

51. Dragon boat race need: OAR.  The history of Dragon Boat Races in words and video  ...

Apparently these races are popular not just in China, but all over the world.  When Teri proof-read this review she mentioned that a former employer of hers was a sponsor for the Baltimore Dragon Boat Club.  Check out some of their Past Years Photos.

52. Choose (to): OPT.

53. College donors, often: ALUMNI.

55. Tea brand: TAZO.  I'll let them speak for themselves.

57. Blue-__: pain relief brand: EMU.  What a relief!  A new clue for this flightless foul.

60. Relinquish: CEDE.

64. Felt in one's bones: KNEW.  But how do we know that we know?  Everything you'd want to know about it.

65. Project on stage: EMOTE.  Usually connotes projecting TOO much, as in "chewing the scenery".

66. Breakfast brand: EGGO.  Two gerunds just waiting to happen, sandwiched between two delicious vowels.

67. Cheek: SASS.

68. Match.com matches: DATES.  I was careful not to simply Google match.com and was lucky to hit on this site (poor choice of words?).  It's not free you know, but then nothing in life really is.

69. Interlibrary __: LOAN.

Down:

1. Have a sudden inspiration?: GASP.  I hope this review is still breathing.

2. Jicama, e.g.: ROOT.  Pachyrhizus erosus, commonly known as jícama, Mexican yam bean, or Mexican turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root.   Buying, cooking, recipes.  Hand up from anybody who's eaten it.  I think I've seen it in our local grocery, but didn't know what it was:

Jicama

3. New Age artist who often sings in Irish: ENYA.  Enya Patricia Brennan (born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic music. Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall in Ireland behind U2.  Here's her Caribbean Blue (lyrics):

 
4. NAACP co-founder Du Bois: W.E.B.  William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relatively tolerant and integrated community, and after completing graduate work at the University of Berlin and Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate, he became a professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University.  And a CSO ACE solver ATLGranny.

W.E.B. Du Bois

5. Radar or sonar: ACRONYM.  RADAR.  SONAR.

6. Is a bad dog by the dinner table, say: BEGS.  Well, dogs do have big noses you know.  We just thought of our Labs as the pre-rinse cycle before loading the plates into the dishwasher.

7. Run for the hills: FLEE.

8. Broadcast: AIR.

9. Guitar player such as Este Haim or Kim Deal, e.g.: BASSIST.  Este is the co-founder of the band Haim.  Here's a 3 minute bass solo (one of the advantages of being a band owner):

Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.  Here she is on bass playing Gigantic with the Pixies:

10. Asana expert: YOGI.  Another CSO to Lucina.

11. Get even for: AVENGE.  But someone may get even for getting even.   Repeated REVENGE was the central theme in the trilogy of Greek plays by Aeschylus called the Oresteia, about murderous actions that took place before and following the Trojan War.

The Murder of Agamemnon
art.com

12. Beach house, maybe: RENTAL. 

13. Not casual: DRESSY.

18. Risk territory that borders Siberia: URAL.  Risk is a strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest for two to six players. The standard version is played on a board depicting a political map of the world, divided into forty-two territories, which are grouped into six continents.  I recall many a rainy Summer afternoon as a kid trying to take over this world:
 

23. Squares up: TRUES.   I found a lot of possible definitions for this, but as my father was a carpenter I settled on this one.

24. Bothnian Bay country: SWEDEN. The Bothnian Bay is East of Sweden in the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea.
 

25. Voting rights activist Abrams: STACEY.  Stacey Yvonne Abrams (born December 9, 1973) is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017.

Stacy Abrams

27. Facial venue: SPA.  According to this site, SPA is the 25th most common fill in crossword puzzles.  The site contains lots of other useful information of possible benefit to our constructors.

28. Word in many California place names: LOS.  The most famous of these of course is LOS ANGELES.   Spanish for THE.  Lección de español número 2, and a clecho to 24A.

29. __ pro nobis: ORA.  PRAY FOR US.  Today's Latin lesson.  A common response to litanies of intercessory prayers.

30. Place to unwind on a train: BAR CAR.

31. Textbook divisions: UNITS.

32. Comeback: RETORT.  Also a device for the distillation of spirits, a RETORT (aka a CONDENSER) is what moonshiners call a 'STILL.

36. Vidalia bulb: ONION.  Chopping Vidalia onions is a cheerful not a tearful experience.  By US law these sweet onions are grown only in the State of Georgia.  Another CSO to ATLGranny.

39. "I've got it!": AHA.

40. Contraption: RIG.  For example, a RETORT (see 32D).

41. Low digit: TOE.

43. Expected: AWAITED.

44. Ripsnorters: DOOZIES.   A real humdinger of a clue.

46. Sharp blows: WHACKS.

47. Capital near the Great Divide: HELENA.  Helena, Montana was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would become a wealthy city, with approximately 50 millionaires inhabiting the area by 1888. The concentration of wealth contributed to the city's prominent, elaborate Victorian architecture as well as this Gothic Revival cathedral on the National Registry of Historic Places:

Cathedral of St Helena

48. Oozes with: EXUDES.

49. Atop: UPON.

54. Kitten's cries: MEWS.   Mews is also a British word for a row or courtyard of stables and carriage houses with living quarters above them, built behind large city houses before motor vehicles replaced horses in the early twentieth century. 

Horsbury Mews
Notting Hill, UK

55. Jogging pace: TROT.

56. Poker stake: ANTE.

57. "By that logic ... ": ERGO.  A Latin word made famous by philosopher and mathematician René Descartes.

58. Ginormous: MEGA.  Or GIGA.

59. Shabu-shabu noodle, often: UDON. Everything you'd want to know about UDON noodles.  You can use them in Shabu Shabu, which is a popular Japanese-style hot pot where the meat and assorted vegetables are cooked in a flavorful broth called kombu dashi. Everyone at the table takes part in the communal cooking and enjoys the ingredients with different dipping sauces.  Here's a recipe (video and text).

Shabu-shabu

62. Actress Thurman: UMA.  Move on.  Nothing to see here. 

63. Come together: GEL.  Well, it looks like this review has finally GELLED!

And thanks as always to Teri for proof reading and her constructive suggestions.

waseeley

Cheers,
Bill

Erica Hsiung Wojcik and May Huang, you are both invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below.  We'd love to hear from you.