There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! Cut Class
Constructors: Michael Dreusedum & Jason Reuben
Editor: Jared Goudsmit
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- ALEC (14A: Actor/singer Su) In the 1980s, ALEC Su was a member of the Taiwanese boy band Little Tigers. Since the 1990s, he has had a successful acting career.
- OHIO (31A: State home to Cornhenge) Cornhenge, officially named Field of Corn, is a public art installation in Dublin, OHIO. It consists of 109 white ears of concrete corn, each six-feet tall. The installation was created to honor Sam Frantz, who invented several hybrid corn species. I’m adding Cornhenge to the list of places I’d like to visit someday.
- KLEE (47A: Alaskan ___ Kai (dog breed) The Alaskan KLEE Kai breed resembles but is smaller than the Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky.
- LARD (28D: Fat in guanimes) Guanimes are traditional cornmeal dumplings from Puerto Rico. Made of cornmeal, sugar, salt, LARD, and flour, guanimes are often wrapped in banana leaves.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- LAWS (1A: Bills may become them) This clue / answer reminded me of the Schoolhouse Rock! song, “I’m Just a Bill.”
- TYRA (33A: Model/actress Banks) Among many other accomplishments, TYRA Banks is the creator of the reality TV series, America’s Next Top Model. She also hosted the show.
- TIN (45A: Sn, on the periodic table) The chemical element TIN has an atomic number of 50. Its chemical symbol, Sn, is from the Latin word “stannum.” TIN is a soft metal, and can be bent by hand.
- GHEE (68A: Butter in pantua) Pantua is a confection that originated in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. The deep-fried sweet is made of semolina, chhena (a type of cheese), milk, GHEE (a type of clarified butter), and sugar.
- ALEUTS (2D: Unangam Tunuu speakers) Unangam Tunuu, also known as ALEUT, is a language spoken by the ALEUT, indigenous people living in the Aleutian Islands and surrounding areas. Unangam Tunuu is considered a critically endangered language, with fewer than 100 ALEUT speakers estimated remaining.
- MAMBA (5D: Black ___ (snake)) There are four species of MAMBA; three are green in color and live mostly in trees. The black MAMBA – which is actually brown or grey – lives on the ground and in trees. All four species of MAMBA are native to sub-Saharan Africa. MAMBAs are venomous, with untreated bites often being fatal. The MAMBA, whose average length is 8 to 12 feet, can slither at speeds up to 12 miles per hour.
- OTIS (7D: “Sex Education” protagonist) Sex Education is a Netflix TV series centered on the lives of the students, staff, and parents at the fictional Moordale Secondary School. Asa Butterfield plays the role of OTIS Milburn, a teenager that gives sex advice to other students.
- UMA (12D: “___ Thurman” (Fall Out Boy song)) As you might expect from the song’s title, the lyrics of Fall Out Boy’s 2015 song, “UMA Thurman,” celebrate actor UMA Thurman. The song references a scene in the 1994 movie Pulp Fiction, in which UMA Thurman’s character, Mia Wallace, dances with John Travolta’s character, Vincent Vega. UMA Thurman is a fan of Fall Out Boy, and she gave them permission to use her name.
- NEOPET (22D: Virtual animal like a Kougra) A NEOPET is a virtual pet that users of the online site Neopets can take care of – buying them food, toys, and other accessories. Kougra is a tiger-like NEOPET. My cat, Willow, is tiger-like, but not a NEOPET. I do take care of her, though, and buy her food and toys.
- EDWARD (48A: Prince ___ Island (Canadian province)) Prince EDWARD Island is Canada’s smallest province. It is also the most densely populated of Canada’s provinces. Prince EDWARD Island is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, north of the Nova Scotia peninsula. The capital and largest city of Prince EDWARD Island is Charlottetown.
- OMGYES (52A: Sex-positive web resource, or a texter’s excited affirmative) OMGYES is an interactive online resource for science-based sex education. “Texter’s excited affirmative” is a nice hint here.
- TEEN (60D: Cady Heron, age-wise) Cady Heron is the protagonist of the 2004 movie Mean Girls. Cady, is a TEEN who attends North Shore High School in Evanston, Illinois, after previously being homeschooled while she lived in Africa with her parents. Lindsay Lohan portrayed Cady Heron in the movie.
- ORA (63D: “You & I” singer Rita) You & I is Rita ORA’s third studio album, released in 2023.
- A couple of other clues I especially enjoyed:
- NOON (43A: It’s 12 hours before midnight)
- ROCK ON (35D: “Keep shredding that guitar!”)
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- FUNNY BUSINESS (20A: Suspicious activity)
- ON TOP OF THE WORLD (38A: Answer to the joke, “How did the climber feel after summiting Mount Everest?”)
- IT’S NOT WORKING (58A: “This thing must be broken”)
CUT CLASS: The last word of each theme answer can be paired with the word CLASS to form a new phrase: BUSINESS CLASS, WORLD CLASS, and WORKING CLASS.
From today’s title, my guess was that the word CLASS might be CUT by the theme answers. However, filling in FUNNY BUSINESS alerted me I was on the wrong track. Fortunately, it didn’t take me long to notice that BUSINESS, WORLD, and WORKING can be paired with CLASS. Thank you, Michael and Jason, for this enjoyable puzzle.
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