Peppery orange-red condiment / FRI 12-30-22 / "September 1, 1939" poet / Metric unit equal to 100 square meters / Cuppa from China / World capital whose name means "elephant trunk" in Arabic

THEME: NONE— Welcome to Friday

Word of the Day: ANNATTO (16A: Peppery orange-red condiment) —

Annatto (/əˈnætoʊ/ or /əˈnɑːtoʊ/) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana), native to tropical America.^[1] It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavor as "slightly nutty, sweet and peppery". (wikipedia)

Happy Friday! It's Eli back again after a one day hiatus. I'm writing this on Thursday night, which means I'm sipping on a strong rum drink from a fancy carved mug. At the beginning of home isolation during the pandemic, my wife and I setup a weekly Thursday happy hour over Zoom with some friends who had moved to Maryland. Those friends have now moved back to Los Angeles, but the happy hour tradition has carried on. Tiki is the order of the evening this week, so I'm in an exceptionally good mood. Oh, right, the puzzle. Let's get into it!

Today's puzzle is by the man, the myth, the legend: Brendan Emmett Quigley. BEQ was the first indie crossword blog I discovered, and it really opened up the puzzle world to me. I still solve his puzzles twice a week, and he's one of the first constructors I recommend if people ask me for NYT alternatives. This wasn't my favorite puzzle of his that I've solved, but I didn't really have many issues with it. Maybe it's the rum. I'm also blaming the rum for my slower than average solve time. The cocktail is called the Spirit of Aloha, and I guess I'm feeling that spirit tonight.

I like a themeless, and I felt like this played appropriately for a Friday. Starting off with SOFA LEG at 1A wasn't an auspicious beginning. It took me a long time to see and something about it just seems off to me. Don't know why. It's not quite Green Paint, and seems legit enough, it just feels a little arbitrary somehow. Maybe it's just me. DOG SHOW JUDGE has a similar vibe to me, though the clue is top notch (18A: Toy inspector?). A OR B (33A: Simplest choice) jumps out as less than ideal, and I've never liked having to figure out how a puzzle wants me to spell UEY (21A: Missed-the-turn manuever). Other than that, I'm not seeing anything to really carp on. 

Overall, it was a pretty straight-forward themeless. The grid-spanning answers are fine and in the language but not the flashiest phrases. Maybe I'll just throw out a few of the things that crossed my mind while I solved. 

Highlights:

• ELTON JOHN (6D: His "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" was the first album to debut at #1 on Billboard) — Fun trivia, but I mostly wanted to brag that I was on the field for his final concert at Dodger Stadium (the one that was streamed on Disney+). It was an amazing night. Here's a picture of the hoodie I bought there with my tiki drink setup for the evening:

• SCROOGE (54A: One who is mean as the Dickens?) — I liked the clue and the seasonality, but I've used weaker excuses to share Muppet Christmas Carol clips:

• JOE D (39A: M.L.B. great with a famous "unbreakable" streak, familiarly) — I knew this was Joe DiMaggio immediately, but I don't think I've ever heard him called Joe D. Joltin' Joe is the nickname I always think of.
• BAT (45A: Mexican free-tailed ___ (world's fastest horizontal flier) — BAT!

• ANNATTO (16A: Peppery orange-red condiment) — I cook a lot, but this is entirely new to me. I'll have to try it!

Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld

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