Venn Mini 8

Words: 11

Average Length: 4.55

online | puz | pdf | solution

This is the last Venn Mini for a bit – they’re a bit of a pain to construct, to be honest.  Same rules as always:  each half of the clue is like a circle in a Venn Diagram; the answer falls in the intersection of the clues and is something they have in common – it could be a name, a place, the same word used in different context, or some other commonality.  Explanations follow the photo.

1A – You BASTE a turkey and a seam

6A – Shaq and the Great One both played CENTER, though in different sports.  (Seeing Shaq ice skate might be interesting!)

7A – HAVANA was a hit for Camilla Cabello, and the USS Maine sank in Havana harbor, igniting the Spanish-American War

8A – EDITS as a verb includes cuts; director’s cuts may be considered EDITS used as a noun.  I apologize for this one, which is the real weak link in the grid.

9A – Spike LEE; a shelter is on the LEE side

1D – BEAD is associated with drops of sweat and Mardi Gras

2D – One of the bones in your ear is the ANVIL, which is also used in a forge

3D – STATE of matter (liquid) and of the union

4D – Future is a TENSE, a cliffhanger is tense

5D – ERA – as an acronym for the Equal Rights Amendment, which was supported by NOW (the National Organization for Women), and for Earned Run Average, a key pitching stat

6D – CHE is the narrator of Evita, and Michael Che is known from SNL