Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's daily crossword puzzle, EP Collection
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! EP Collection
Constructor: Catherine Cetta
Editor: Jared Goudsmit
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- TOMATO (6D: Red fruit in sarsiado) Sarsiado is a dish in Filipino cuisine that features a sauce (sarsa) made with TOMATOes and eggs. The sarsa is served with fried milkfish.
- PAM (22D: Illustrator Wishbow) PAM Wishbow is an illustrator and printmaker who, according to her website, lives in "gloomy Seattle" with her partner and cat. I really enjoyed looking at PAM Wishbow's work on her website.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- OBOE (15A: Woodwind "da caccia") The OBOE de caccia – whose name means "hunting OBOE" in Italian – is a woodwind instrument in the OBOE family. The OBOE de caccia is a double reed instrument with a curved tube ending in a large bell made of wood or brass.
- ANIMATE (20A: Work at Studio Ghibli, maybe) Studio Ghibli is an animation film studio headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The studio took its name from the Italian word, ghibli, which is based on a Libyan Arabic word referring to a hot desert wind. Studio Ghibli movies include Spirited Away (2001), Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Ponyo (2008), and The Boy and the Heron (2023).
- AHAB (26A: "Moby-Dick" whaler) Herman Melville's epic novel, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was first published in 1851. The book tells of Captain AHAB's quest to obtain vengeance against the titular whale for biting his leg off during a previous voyage.
- TOSCA (28A: Title role in a Puccini opera) Giacomo Puccini's opera, TOSCA, premiered in Rome in 1900. The title character, TOSCA, is the only female character in the opera. Set in 1800, the opera relates TOSCA's attempts to save her lover from a sadistic police chief.
- EGGPLANT PARM (36A: Italian veggie dish with cheese, for short) EGGPLANT Parmesan, or EGGPLANT PARM, for short, is a dish of fried slices of EGGPLANT layered with cheese and tomato sauce. I have a fabulous recipe for EGGPLANT PARM which bakes the EGGPLANT slices instead of frying them as many recipes do. The recipe is a ton of work, but absolutely delicious, so I usually make it once a year when I receive EGGPLANT in my local CSA (community supported agriculture) share and stock up my freezer. It's always a sad day when the last EGGPLANT PARM is eaten and I have to wait until it is in season again.
- DR. NO (49A: First James Bond film) DR. NO was released in 1962, and starred Sean Connery as James Bond. DR. Julius NO (Did you know his first name?) was portrayed by Joseph Wiseman.
- MEWLED (50A: Cried like a kitten) Since she's 13 years old, it has been some time since my cat, Willow, has MEWLED like a kitten. It's interesting how cats have different versions of meowing to mean different things. Willow has a particular, somewhat yowling, meow that she uses to mean, "I've brought you a present." Fortunately, since she's an indoor cat, these presents are not living creatures, but are stray socks, washcloths, or crocheted animals that she has found and left somewhere for my husband and me. I don't have any pictures of her carrying these things, however, because she never lets us catch her in the act. (I have been tempted to set up a kitty cam to catch her in the act, but haven't done it yet.)
- ERIKA (55A: "Get Out" actress Alexander) Get Out is a 2017 horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele. It is about Black people trapped in a trance-like state ( the "sunken place") when their bodies are taken over by white hosts. ERIKA Alexander portrays Detective Latoya in the movie.
- EMPEROR PENGUINS (59A: Antarctic birds whose males incubate the eggs) EMPEROR PENGUINS, which are endemic to Antarctica, are the biggest living penguin species. Adults can be just under four feet tall and weigh 50 to 100 pounds. Much of my knowledge about EMPEROR PENGUINS comes from the 2005 documentary March of the PENGUINS. It's a beautiful movie. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. While male EMPEROR PENGUINS incubate the eggs, the females return to the sea to find food for themselves and the PENGUIN chicks.
- AHA (23D: "Now I get it!") AHA! This word also appeared in yesterday's puzzle.
- CGI (33D: FX used to make the Na'vi in "Avatar") In the Avatar franchise, the Na'vi are a humanoid species that inhabit the Earth-like moon, Pandora. CGI, which stands for computer-generated imagery, was used to create the Na'vi.
- LEA (38D: Name seen in "Middle America") LEA is indeed hidden in the phrase "Middle America."
- EAR (51D: Corn unit) Have the puzzles seemed cornier than usual lately? This is the third time we've seen the word EAR in the last four days. It's been clued as [Corn serving], [Serving of corn], and now [Corn unit]. With all these EARs of corn, you'd think we were in Iowa! (Well, some of us are...)
- TRIO (56D: Alvin and the Chipmunks, e.g.) Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are a TRIO of animated, singing, anthropomorphic critters known as Alvin and the Chipmunks.
- ODE (60D: "___ to Aging Bodies" (Jan Mandell poem)) You can read Jan Mandell's poem, "ODE to Aging Bodies" on the Academy of American Poets website. One of my favorite parts of the poem is, "The ache and noise of an aging body / is like a constant companion, / a highly extroverted friend / who simply won't shut up, / yet is there thru it all."
- NIA (61D: "Love Jones" actress Long) Love Jones is a 1997 romantic comedy-drama film starring NIA Long and Larenz Tate. If you haven't seen the movie and would like to know more about it, you might check out, "Five Reasons to Love Love Jones."
- SON (62D: Thor, to Odin) In Norse mythology, Odin is a god associated with wisdom and healing. He is married to the goddess Frigga. One of their SONs is Thor, the god of lightning, thunder, and storms.
- A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
- PRETTY (25A: "___ please?" ("Can I? Can I?")
- MAGIC (32A: ___ word ("Abracadabra," e.g.)
- I RAN (4D: Possible response to "How did you get here so quickly?")
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- ENGAGEMENT PARTY (17A: Celebration between a proposal and a wedding)
- EGGPLANT PARM (36A: Italian veggie dish with cheese, for short)
- EMPEROR PENGUINS (59A: Antarctic birds whose males incubate the eggs)
EP COLLECTION: Each theme answer has the initials EP: ENGAGEMENT PARTY, EGGPLANT PARM, and EMPEROR PENGUINS.
Like yesterday's puzzle, today's crossword features an initialism theme. Today's featured letters are EP, which are often used to mean Extended Play, which refers to a recording with more tracks than a single but fewer than an album. This is a great COLLECTION of theme answers. Thank you, Catherine, for this stellar puzzle.