Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's crossword, What Is This? A Center for Ants?
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! What Is This? A Center for Ants?
Constructor: Will Nediger
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- RALPH (1A: "Invisible Man" author Ellison) RALPH Ellison (1913-1994) was a writer, literary critic, and scholar. His first novel, Invisible Man, was published in 1952 and won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. RALPH Ellison was the first Black writer to win the National Book Award.
- WHEY (10A: Food for Little Miss Muffet) Anybody else need to recite the nursery rhyme to double check this answer? "Little Miss Muffet / Sat on a tuffet / Eating her curds and WHEY..."
- IOWA (15A: Sioux City's state) Sioux City is located in northwestern IOWA at the navigational head of the Missouri River. It borders Nebraska to the west and South Dakota to the northwest.
- HORA (16A: Circle dance) and VENUE (17A: Wedding location) The HORA is a circle dance performed at some Jewish celebrations, including weddings, so I find it appropriate for this answer to be followed by a wedding VENUE.
- PBS (26A: "This Old House" network) This Old House was one of the first home improvement shows on national TV, first airing on PBS in 1979, with Bob Villa as the host.
- SIS (29A: Tia, to Tamera) Tia and Tamera Mowry are twin sisters who play identical twin sisters on the TV series, Sister, Sister (1994-1999) and in the Disney movies Twitches (2005) and Twitches Too (2007).
- SMUT (44A: Naughty material) and EGGPLANT EMOJI (55A: Symbol that might be part of a naughty text) This puzzle is ever so slightly feeling naughty.
- MALT (67A: Ingredient in beer and Ovaltine) MALT refers to any cereal grain that is soaked in water to make it germinate and then stopped from further germination by drying with hot air. MALT is used to make beer and Ovaltine – as the clue informs us – as well as whiskey, malted milk, MALT vinegar, and some baked goods (notably bagels).
- ACER (2D: Maker of Aspire computers) Aspire is a series of PCs made by ACER, a Taiwanese electronics corporation.
- LION'S SHARE (6D: Majority) I am familiar with the saying "LION'S SHARE" to mean the majority of something, but seeing the phrase in the puzzle made me curious about the origin of this phrase. It turns out that the saying LION'S SHARE is derived from an Aesop's fable in which a LION goes hunting with some other beasts and then claims all of the kill. My cat, Willow, is always happy to see her big cat cousin, the LION, mentioned in the puzzle. She believes she should get the LION'S SHARE of attention in our house.
- AORTA (7D: Largest artery) In addition to entertainment value, crosswords occasionally serve us science facts such as the AORTA being the largest artery in the human body. The AORTA originates from the left ventricle of the heart and extends down towards the abdomen. Branches of the AORTA carry blood throughout the body.
- SALAAM (9D: Greeting that means "peace" in Arabic) SALAAM is an abbreviated form of a Muslim greeting, "As-salamu alaykum," meaning, "Peace be upon you."
- H MART (41D: Koreatown supermarket) H MART is an American chain of Asian supermarkets. The first H Mart was opened in 1982 in New York City by Il Yeon Kwon, an immigrant from South Korea. The original store was named Han Ah Reum, which is what the "H" in H MART stands for.
- PAPER (53D: It loses to scissors) Me figuring out this answer: "PAPER covers rock. Rock smashes scissors. Scissors cut PAPER."
- LAVA (56D: Magma, post-eruption) When molten rock is underground, it is referred to as magma. Once molten rock breaks through the Earth's surface – spewed out of a volcano, say – it is known as LAVA.
- A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
- TWIRL (42A: Show off a new dress, maybe)
- PLANE (51D: Vehicle that taxis that's not a taxi)
- RSVP (1D: Say "I'll be there," e.g.)
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- PREGNANT PAUSE (20A: Conversational gap filled with meaning)
- RELUCTANT HEROES (39A: Unwilling saviors)
- EGGPLANT EMOJI (55A: Symbol that might be part of a naughty text)
WHAT IS THIS? A CENTER FOR ANTS?: The word ANT is found at the exact CENTER of each theme answer: PREGNANT PAUSE, RELUCTANT HEROES, and EGGPLANT EMOJI.
In the 2001 movie Zoolander, Ben Stiller plays a down-on-his-luck model named Derek Zoolander. I'm not going to go into the whole plot of the movie, which is a satire on the fashion industry, but here's one thing that happens: Derek Zoolander is shown a model of a school and he says, "WHAT IS THIS? A CENTER FOR ANTS? How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to read if they can't even fit inside the building?" The line has become a meme to comment on the small scale or impracticality of something. The line makes a great title for today's puzzle. I appreciate that the word ANT is exactly in the CENTER of each theme answer. Thank you, Will, for this delightful puzzle.