Activist Copeny known as Little Miss Flint / FRI 5-7-21 / Caleb represents him in East of Eden / Liquor brand that inspired the name of a Grammy-winning rapper / Best-selling video game that takes place in space / Banned refrigerant for short / Roman god of beginnings and endings / Nonkosher deli order

Constructor: Brooke Husic

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: MARI Copeny (14A: Activist Copeny known as "Little Miss Flint") —

Amariyanna "Mari" Copeny (born July 6, 2007), also known as Little Miss Flint, is a youth activist from Flint, Michigan. She is best known for raising awareness about Flint's ongoing water crisis and fundraising to support underprivileged children in her community and across the country. // When Copeny was eight years old, she wrote a letter to President Barack Obama in order to draw attention to the water crisis in her hometown of Flint, Michigan. Her letter prompted a response from the president where he shared that "letters from kids like you are what make me so optimistic about the future". On May 4, 2016 he visited Flint to see first-hand the devastation to the lives of Flint's citizens as a result of their lead-poisoned water supply. That visit resulted in the declaration of a federal state of emergency in January 2016 and contributed to a nationwide awareness of the city's critical situation. [...] Media coverage of Copeny's work has made reference to her as "Little Miss Flint", a nickname that was coined following her win at a beauty contest in 2015. (wikipedia)

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This was hit and miss for me. Let's start with the good stuff. Crossing OUT OF LEFT FIELD (20A: Unexpected) with INSIDE BASEBALL (10D: Esoterica) is a beautiful move. I don't like when someone tries to foist a theme on me on Friday or Saturday, but I do not mind it all if someone makes a couple thematically-related answers dance around one another like this. You don't have to be a baseball fan to appreciate this kind of wink. In fact, the thing that relates both answers isn't just baseball, it's also the fact that both phrases are idiomatic expressions used outside of baseball. That's how they're clued, in fact, via their idiomatic meaning—nothing in the clues suggests baseball—which means that the baseballness of it all sneaks up on you and surprises you, in a good way. And thus we satisfy both the sports and the non-sports solvers. Win-win. I also loved the clue on BACARDI—here, the answer really snuck up on me. My first thought was "Who the hell is this rapper named BAC-something? Is BACURAU a liquor brand?" (I just saw the movie "Bacurau" last week, which is why that, and not the much more obvious BACARDI, leapt into my brain at BAC-). Then a few seconds later: "Oh, it's BACARDI. But who ... ohhhhhhhhhh ... OK, yeah, I hear it now." People say "fun fact" a lot, but for me, the fact that Cardi B's name was inspired by BACARDI is, indeed, fun. 

There are some issues with the fill today—ASPURE REDOS and INAT all caused some wincing, and stand-alone RICAN and oddly-adjectivized CADENT weren't helping. But the bigger problem for me was the cluing, which just missed big a couple of times. I was semi-mad about the clue on TOTE BAGS (37D: Common items at merchandise stands), since it's one of those "let's repeat the clue from that other answer (41D) where it was a much better fit"-type moments that allllllllways bug me (I have never understood the appeal of the repeated-clue gimmick; it usually just means that in one case the clue is far less apt). Merch stands def have SHIRTS (usually of the T-variety) but TOTE BAGS? There are many many TOTE BAGS lying around my house in various closets, and not one of them came from "merchandise stands." But ... like I said, semi-mad. The clue's not wrong, exactly, so ... not a major issue. The clue on PROUDEST rankled somewhat more (3D: ___ moment (crowning achievement)). When you put a parenthetical explainer after your fill-in-the-blank clue, it really implies that you're going after a very specific, tight phrase, one that actually needs parenthetical explanation. But our answer is just an ordinary superlative adjective. It was so anticlimactic to work cross after cross on that answer, only to end up with ... just ... PROUDEST. There is no necessary connection between "crowning achievement" and "PROUDEST moment." Henry Aaron's "crowning achievement" was breaking Ruth's home run record, but was it his "PROUDEST moment?" Maybe it was, I don't know. But pride deals with how *you* feel, where "crowning achievement" implies stature in the eyes of *others*. Also, I feel like "PROUDEST moment" is used more often in the self-deprecating phrase "... not my PROUDEST moment" than it is to refer to, say, breaking the four-minute mile or climbing Mount Everest. I am talking about this clue more than it warrants, but its slight offness is grating. Not, however, as grating as the clue on "IT'S SO YOU!," which is simply inaccurate (29A: "That fits perfectly!"). "IT'S SO YOU" expresses so much more than mere fit. Something might fit perfectly and not be YOU at all. It has to fit *and* look great on you *and* really express something about your particular style or personality. I could put on a leotard that fit perfectly and literally no one would say to me "IT'S SO YOU!" The botched clue here is a total unforced error. And it's so disappointing, because as fill, "IT'S SO YOU!" is amazing. Really great stuff. I just wish it had a clue worthy of its greatness.

No real missteps today except for YEARNSFOR before YEARNINGS (30D: Wishes). Oh, and no idea what "STARCRAFT" is, so that took a little work (41A: Best-selling video game that takes place in space). Had "MINECRAFT" in there for a bit. "MINECRAFT" takes place in space, right? I mean, we're all "in space," if you think about it. Well, that's all. Gonna go drink a pot of coffee and sit on the front steps and listen to the birds and go for a run and hold virtual office hours and then watch TCM Film Festival movies all day long. Hope your day is full and joyful as well.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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