There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! Build a Snowman
Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- TEAMS (5A: Titans and Giants) The Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants are NFL TEAMS. There is also a baseball TEAM called the Giants, the San Francisco Giants. It was a clever choice to choose TEAMS whose names are synonyms.
- OLE (16A: Copa Mundial cheer) “Copa Mundial” is Spanish for “World Cup.” The FIFA World Cup is an international football (called soccer in the U.S.) competition held every four years. The next World Cup will be held in 2026, and will be hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. OLÉ!
- Y CHROMOSOME (17A: One half of some genetic pairings) Hooray for science in the crossword! Y CHROMOSOMEs and their counterparts, X CHROMOSOMEs, are involved in genetic determination of sex in many organisms.
- ALOO (37A: Saag ___ (spinach-and-potato dish)) ALOO is a South Asian term for potatoes, and is used in the names of a number of dishes.
- YETI COOLERS (56A: Insulated containers named for a mythical beast) The YETI company was founded in 2006 by brothers Roy and Ryan Selders, who were frustrated with the quality of COOLERS on the market at the time. As the clue informs us, the company is named for the YETI, a mythical creature also known as the abominable snowman.
- BAHT (3D: Currency used in a Thai bar) The BAHT is the official currency of Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia.
- TROLL (5D: Doll with wild, bright hair) We saw TROLL dolls referenced two days ago in a clue for HAIR, [Distinctive feature of “Trolls” characters].
- MGM (8D: Studio with a lion mascot) Leo the Lion is the mascot of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) movie studio. Leo has introduced MGM movies since 1924. From 1924 to 1957, six different lions were filmed to introduce MGM movies, and only one of them was actually named Leo. The first MGM lion (and the only one that simply looked around but didn’t roar during his film appearance) was named Slats. Here’s another interesting thing about the MGM lion: since 2021, MGM’s lion mascot has been CGI animated.
- LOVE POTION (10D: Elixir that makes someone smitten) I think it’s probably a good thing that the LOVE POTION is a thing of fiction, don’t you?
- YOLO (24D: “Seize the day” acronym) YOLO = You Only Live Once
- GLOW STICKS (29D: Colorful items waved at a rave) According to Guinness World Records, the longest GLOW STICK ever made was 500 feet 3 inches long. It was created in 2018 to celebrate the University of Wisconsin’s 150th birthday, and it took over 100 volunteers to activate it.
- CRETE (32D: Greece’s largest island) CRETE is located about 100 miles south of the Greek mainland.
- PURR (38D: Content cat’s sound) and THU (34A: “Throwback” day (Abbr.)) We’re a day early for it to officially be “Throwback Thursday,” but I thought I’d take this opportunity to share a throwback photo of my cat, Willow, anyway. This photo was taken ten years ago. Willow is lying on top of a cow pillow, which makes me smile.
- DOE EYES (41D: Makeup trend that creates an innocent look) The article I found about DOE EYES trending on TikTok is from last September, so I don’t know if they’re still trending, since these things come and go quickly.
- NHL (44D: Org. for Ducks and Penguins) Here we have some more TEAMS, the Anaheim Ducks and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a fun choice to choose two NHL TEAMS that have bird names.
- CAPO (45D: Key-changing guitar gadget) A CAPO is a clamp-like device that is attached to the neck of a guitar (or other stringed instrument such as a ukulele or banjo). The CAPO shortens the length of the playable strings, thus raising the pitch.
- HELL (52D: “___ was the journey but it brought me heaven”) “HELL was the journey but it brought me heaven,” is a lyric from Taylor Swift’s 2020 song, “Invisible String.”
- OREO (53D: Cookie made in 18 countries) What other cookie would it be? Of course it’s our crossword friend OREO that is made in 18 countries. Although OREOs are made in 18 countries, they’re available in many more than that. You can buy OREOs in over 100 countries.
- TAU (58D: Greek letter T) TAU is the nineteenth letter of the twenty-four-letter Greek alphabet, making this a great opportunity to review the end of that alphabet. Following TAU, we have upsilon, phi, chi, psi, and omega.
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- Y CHROMOSOME (17A: One half of some genetic pairings)
- YE OLDE SHOPPE (24A: Quaint store name in tourist towns)
- YET HERE WE ARE (46A: “…but it still happened”)
- YETI COOLERS (56A: Insulated containers named for a mythical beast)
BUILD A SNOWMAN: As we move down the puzzle, a SNOWMAN – an abominable SNOWMAN, that is – is being built at the front of the theme answers. We start with Y, then YE, then YET, then YETI.
BUILD A word themes are fun, and this is no exception. When I filled in Y CHROMOSOME, the single Y at the beginning clued me in that we would be building a word. I admit that I didn’t catch on that we were building the word YETI until much later, making for a nice “Aha!” moment. I kept thinking of Olaf, the SNOWMAN from Frozen, even though there’s no Y in his name. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this delightful puzzle.
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