There are spoilers ahead. Before you read on, you might want to try solving today’s puzzle.front cut
constructor: Wendy L. Brandes
Editor: Amanda Lufkin
Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor
Wendy: Congratulations to Sally and USA Today for creating this great new site! This is a great resource for solvers and constructors. “CUTS IN FRONT” is a throwback to my childhood when friends would suggest “Front Seas” and “Back Seas” while waiting in line. In researching this puzzle, I learned about “bedroom pop,” which is making music in small spaces. My daughter recently started playing the ukulele. I had her in mind when I wrote this her clue. After coming up with KENNEL’s hint [Spot for Spot to spend the night]I thought it would be interesting to connect this with hints about HOTEL. [Spot for a traveler’s overnight stay]. Lots of spots! As always, Amanda provided great ideas for puzzles. She brings a lot of humor and wit to the editing process.
What I learned from today’s puzzle
- SHO (16A: “Homeland” Network) hometown is a television series that originally aired on Showtime (SHO) from 2011 to 2020. Claire Danes plays his CIA agent Carrie Matheson in this political spy thriller. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for this role.I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard it hometown. However, we rarely know the network for a particular show. Thank you for sharing your answers.
- CAR (66D: Penelope Pitstop’s Vehicle) Penelope Pitstop is an animated character who is a racing CAR driver. She first appeared in the 1968 Hanna-Barbera animated television series. A strange race. Penelope Pitstop was the only female driver at the show. She was a featured character in a spin-off of that series, Penelope Pitstop Danger. Penelope Pitstop is also a character in the 2017 reboot. quirky lace. Penelope Pitstop mostly dresses in pink and speaks like a southern belle. Her CAR is pink and she is known as a compact pussycat. It was essentially a beauty salon on wheels. I didn’t know much about Penelope Pitstop, but I could pretty much guess the answer from her name.
Random thoughts and interesting things
- ABBA (1A: the group whose songs were featured in “Mamma Mia!”) A jukebox musical is a musical that features songs by a particular artist or group. for example, mamma mia A jukebox musical featuring songs by ABBA. mamma mia Just a few months ago, my husband and I saw a production of the film’s 25th anniversary tour. mamma mia. It wasn’t my first time seeing this show, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Part of the appeal is definitely ABBA’s great music. “Mamma Mia, here we go again / Oh, oh, how can I resist you?”
- AVI (24A: Photo to accompany your username) AVI is short for the word avatar, and is used here to mean the image a person chooses to represent on an app or social media site. The picture contraction of the word in the clue suggests that the answer will be the contraction.
- ACNE (27A: Tetracycline Target) Tetracycline is an antibiotic. One of its uses is to treat his severe ACNE.
- KENNEL (28A: a spot where a spot might stay) and HOTEL (56D: a spot where a tourist might stay) As Wendy mentioned in her notes, this is a fun repetition of the word “spot.”
- CARA (53A: “Fame” Actress Irene) Irene CARA (1959-2022) starred in the 1980 musical film. fame. She also sang the movie’s theme song, which was also the theme song for the TV series. fame (1982-1987). “Fame!/I’m going to live forever/I’m going to learn how to fly…”
- POP (62A: Bedroom ____ (music made at home)) I learned about POP in the bedroom from the puzzle on February 4, 2023. This style of pop music, which emerged in the 2010s, is exactly the kind of music that musicians create at home.
- Asia (69A: Cambodia Continent) Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia. The capital is Phnom Penh. This is his third time this month that Crossword Friend ASIA has appeared.
- DES (70A: ___ Moyne, Iowa) DES Moyne is the capital of Iowa. Des Moines is home to Drake University, one of my alma maters.
- ALI (8D: “Beef” actress Wong) beef is a Netflix television series about two people who become enemies and become entangled in each other’s lives after a street assault. Ali Wong and Steven Yeun co-starred on the show, which first aired a year ago. ALI Wong and Steven Yeun both won Emmy Awards for their portrayals of the characters. beef It won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.
- Channel (12D: English ___ (World’s Largest Sea Route)) The English Channel is part of the Atlantic Ocean between southern England and northern France. It connects the Celtic Sea and the North Sea. The strait is approximately 350 miles long. The width varies from 21 miles to 150 miles.
- Lottery (13D: Games with Very Low Chances of Winning) The odds of winning a lottery such as Powerball or Mega Millions are about 1 in 300 million. The odds aren’t very good! You’re more likely to find the elusive four-leaf clover than you are to win the lottery. The odds of finding a four-leaf clover are 1 in 5,000.What is the probability of finding a five-leaf clover? only At 1 in 24,000, the odds are even higher than winning the lottery.
- LAP (23D: Drink Like a Cat) It’s always nice to see cat content in puzzles. My cat Willows’ favorite place is to get water from the faucet. She drinks from the water bowl when needed, but she sits near the sink and meows until her husband or I can turn on the faucet and get water from the faucet. I prefer (It’s good that she thinks she’s not spoiled…)
- New York City (29D: City of MOMA) I just saw MOMA is the answer 4 days ago. The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) is located in New York City (NYC). His MOMA abbreviation in the clue lets the solver know the answer is an abbreviation. Wendy, today’s constructor, is in New York. It’s nice to see her cheering for her city in a puzzle.
- ANI (32D: Tibetan Freedom Fighter Patchen) The title of ANI Patchen’s (1933-2002) autobiography is Mountain of Sorrow: The Journey of a Tibetan Nun-Warrior (the year of 2000). I found out about ANI Pachen in his October 7, 2023 puzzle.
- Estonia (47D: Neighboring country of Latvia) Estonia is a Nordic country. Estonia shares land borders with only two of her countries: Latvia and Russia. Estonia has a coastline bordering the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland, and Lake Peipus. The capital of Estonia is Tallinn.
Overview of crossword puzzle themes
- SLICE OF LIFE (17A: Realistic expression of everyday experiences)
- CLIP-ON TIE (36A: Neckwear for preschoolers to wear on photo shoot days)
- Split Second (64A: Hot Minute)
The first word in each theme’s answer is synonymous with CUT (slice, clip, divide).
Sometimes the answers to the puzzle themes seem to suggest a story. Slice of Life may help preschoolers wear clip-on ties on photo day. And in a flash (though, in retrospect, not necessarily living it), that preschooler has become an adult. His three excellent theme answers to this synonym theme. Wendy, thank you for this fun puzzle.
