There are spoilers ahead. Before you read on, you might want to try solving today’s puzzle. Let’s roll!
constructor: Matthew Stock
Editor: Amanda Lufkin
What I learned from today’s puzzle
- Rainbow Warrior (52A: University of Hawaii Athlete) The University of Hawaii at Manoa, located in Honolulu, Hawaii, is the main campus of the University of Hawaii (UH). UH’s men’s sports teams are known as the RAINBOW WARRIORs, and the women’s sports teams are known as his RAINBOWWāhine.
- Elvis (29D: MLB All-Star Andrus) During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Elvis Andrus played for the Texas Rangers (2009-2020), Oakland Athletics (2021-2022), and Chicago White Sox (2022-2022). ) was played. 2023). He was named to the MLB All-Star team in 2010 and 2012.
- REDBONE (42D: A Childish Gambino song with the refrain “But stay awake”) I was familiar with Donald Glover Jr.’s stage name, Childish Gambino, but I wasn’t familiar with the song “REDBONE.” did not. This song is included in the 2016 album. “Awaken, my love!” “REDBONE” won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance. “REDBONE” was introduced in the opening scene of the 2017 movie Get out.
Random thoughts and interesting things
- Mace (15A: A spice similar to nutmeg) There is a reason why the spice mace resembles nutmeg. MACE is made from the seed covering of nutmeg. The spice known as nutmeg is made from the seeds themselves. MACE tends to have a more delicate flavor than nutmeg.
- Omaha (17A: Midwestern city home of the College World Series) The College World Series is held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha has hosted the NCAA Division I baseball championship tournament since 1950.
- 9 (19A: 2nd digit of this clue’s number) I always enjoy self-referential crossword clues.
- CALIFORNIA KING (20A: Extra Large Mattress) The CALIFORNIA KING mattress is 4 inches longer than the KING mattress, but also 4 inches narrower. (This means that the CALIFORNIA KING mattress has a slightly smaller overall surface area than the KING.) What I discovered when I started researching this is that mattress sizes are not standardized across companies or countries.
- Dragon Tales (32A: PBS Kids Show Featuring Mythical Creatures) PBS Kids Animated Show; dragon tales, which follows children (Emmy, Max, and Enrique) and dragons (Ord, Cassie, Zack and Weezy, and Quetzal) as they embark on an adventure together. During their adventures, they face challenges and learn to deal with new situations. dragon tales It originally aired from 1999 to 2005.
- Leo (37A: mid-August zodiac sign) Leo is the zodiac sign of people born between July 23rd and August 22nd. I love this constellation.
- Spider-Sense (39A: Peter Parker’s Tingling Awareness) Peter Parker is a Marvel Comics character who gains superhuman SPIDER powers and abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider. This leads him to adopt the identity of Spider-Man. One of Peter Parker’s abilities is his SPIDER-SENSE, the ability to sense danger. At first I wanted “spidey-SENSE” here, and it didn’t take me long to figure it out.
- NENE (62A: Bird that appears in “Headry”)Nenews”) The NENE, also known as the Hawaiian goose, is the state bird of Hawaii. The NENE is endemic to the state of Hawaii and is found only on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Hawaii.
- Ross (66A: “I’m Coming Out” singer Diana) “I’m Coming Out” is a 1980 song by Diana Ross. It’s easy to see why this song became a gay anthem. This song has also been a bug in my ears ever since I read this clue.
- Lama (2D: Dalai ___) Last week I wrote about the Dalai Lama.
- SEAFOOD (5D: shrimp, fish, shellfish, etc.) Many of the sushi rolls suggested in the theme answers contain SEAFOOD, so this feels like a nice bonus answer to today’s theme.
- kilt (22D: bagpiper’s clothing, often) The instrument known as the Great Highland bagpipe is of Scottish origin. (There are other types of bagpipes that have been played for centuries in many countries.) The kilt, a knee-length pleated skirt most often worn by men, is also associated with Scotland. A bagpipe player often wears his KILT while performing.
- DEMIGOD (40D: Part-Divinity) In Greek and Roman mythology, a DEMIGOD is a person with one human parent and one divine parent.
- Erin (41D: Activist Brockovich) Erin Brockovich’s lawsuit against California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Company was the subject of a 2000 film Erin Brockovich. The incident involved groundwater contamination in Hinckley, California. Erin Brockovich is the author of her two books. Take It From Me: Life is a struggle, but you can win. (2001), and Superman is not coming: The national water crisis and what we, the people, can do about it (2020).
- SARA (43A: “Miss Simone” singer Bareilles) “Miss Simone” is a song by SARA Bareilles from her 2019 album. in the middle of chaos. “Miss Simone” in this song refers to Nina Simone (1933-2003), a singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. The song ends with the words, “No one needs to know anything / But Miss Simone / No one knows but Miss Simone.”
- PAW (58D: Furry Friend’s Paw) As I write this, my furry friend Willow is jumping on my lap to help me out, as usual. Ta. She actually helped me today. She was kind enough to stick her leg out and place it on my arm so I could take a picture.
Overview of crossword puzzle themes
- California King (20A: extra large mattress size)
- DRAGON TALES (32A: PBS children’s show featuring mythical creatures)
- Spider-Sense (39A: Tingling awareness of Peter Parker)
- Rainbow Warrior (52A: University of Hawaii Athlete)
The first word in each theme’s answer is a type of sushi roll. We offer California rolls, dragon rolls, spider rolls, and rainbow rolls.
Is there anyone who suddenly wants to eat sushi? When I read the title, I wasn’t thinking about sushi in particular, so I thought, “I see!” That moment when I was about halfway through and realized the theme. Matthew, thank you for this fun puzzle.
