August 10, 2025

Title: I CONFUSED THE DATES

Constructor: Sam Cordes

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• SECRET ADMIRERS (18A: Senders of unsigned love letters)
• TARGETED ADS (36A: Promos based on someone's search history)
• JOINED AT THE HIP (54A: Inseparable)

I CONFUSED THE DATES: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word DATE: SECRET ADMIRERS, TARGETED ADS, and JOINED AT THE HIP.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• OWL (22A: ___ City ("Fireflies" artist)) OWL City is an electronic music project by Adam Young. "Fireflies" is the 2009 debut single from OWL City. The song reached the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
• GEMMA (35A: ___ Scout ("Severance" role for Dichen Lachman)) I have written about the TV series Severance previously, but until today, I hadn't learned about Dichan Lachman's role on the show. Severance premiered in February of 2022. Adam Scott plays the role of Mark Scout, one of the workers at Lumon Industries who agrees to a "severance" procedure that separates work memories from non-work memories. Dichen Lachman portrays GEMMA Scout, Mark Scout's deceased wife. (It's a little more complicated than that, but I don't want to give anything away.)
• ORTEGA (41A: "Death of a Unicorn" actress Jenna) Death of a Unicorn is a comedy horror movie released in March of this year. Paul Rudd and Jenna ORTEGA star as a father and daughter who accidentally kill a unicorn, leading to an unexpected series of events.
• BLOSSOM (8D: Cherry ___ (Flower frequently mentioned in waka)) Waka is a type of classical Japanese poetry. Cherry BLOSSOMs are a frequent topic in waka. They often symbolize impermanence. Although I didn't know the answer here, it was fairly inferable after I had a few letters filled in from crossing answers.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• BBC (7A: "Fleabag" network) Fleabag is a BBC TV series that was adapted from a one-woman show by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The show centers on the title character, Fleabag – portrayed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge – a free-spirited single young woman living in London. 
• EMAIL (14A: Inbox Zero target) Inbox Zero is exactly what it sounds like, the goal of having zero EMAILs in your inbox. The idea is to deal with EMAILs as they come in, and move them out of your inbox. I rarely get to inbox zero, though I do try to move EMAILs out of my inbox (and into my elaborate folder system) fairly quickly. 
• REAL (16A: ___ ID (driver's license with a special marking)) The REAL ID Act of 2005 established specific requirements for U.S. driver's licenses and ID cards. Those requirements include verification of the personal information on the IDs. Since May of this year, a REAL ID is a requirement for U.S. domestic flights. Most states (every state except Washington) use a star symbol to indicate a REAL ID.
• I DOS (17A: Words exchanged under a chuppah) A chuppah is a canopy that Jewish couples stand under during their wedding.
• OSU (24A: In-state rival of 33-Down, for short) and OREGON (33D: The Ducks of college sports) OSU can refer to Ohio State University, Oklahoma State University-StillWater, or OREGON State University. From the clue we know that here it is referring to OREGON State University, the school that is an in-state rival of the OREGON Ducks, the sports teams at the University of OREGON. OSU is located in Corvallis, OREGON, and the University of OREGON is located in Eugene, OREGON.
• IGLOOS (30A: Traditional Inuit shelters) Inuit are an indigenous people of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska. Some Inuit people – mainly those in certain areas of Canada and Greenland – lived in IGLOOS built out of snow.
• FERRET (40A: Pet that's illegal in California) Interestingly, although it is illegal to keep a FERRET as a pet in the state of California, it is not illegal for veterinarians to treat FERRETs kept as pets. FERRETs are also illegal in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and New York City.
• LAOS (58A: Country west of Vietnam) and TOGO (59A: Country east of Ghana) This section of the puzzle is providing us with a geography review. LAOS is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. In addition to Vietnam, LAOS borders Myanmar, China, Cambodia, and Thailand. The capital of LAOS is Vientiane. TOGO is a country in West Africa, located between Ghana and Benin. Ghana, which lies to the west of TOGO is approximately 70 miles from Benin, because TOGO is a narrow country. To the north, TOGO borders Burkina Faso, and to the south it has coastline along the Gulf of Guinea. The capital of TOGO is Lomé.
• EVENS (60A: 2, 4, 6, 8, etc) and ONES (61A: Low odds) Although these two clues aren't really related, it was fun to fill in EVENS and then immediately read the clue [Low odds?]. ONE is an odd number, and it's a low number, so ONES are "low odds."
• TESLA (10D: Inventor Nikola) I have previously written about Nikola TESLA.
• LEO (15D: Summer zodiac sign) This is the third appearance of LEO in the last four days. When we saw it Thursday and yesterday, LEO was clued in reference to Pope LEO. Today we see the more common clue angle for LEO, the zodiac sign for those born between July 22 and August 22. We are in LEO season; happy birthday to all of my fellow LEOs!
• USA (25D: Network that aired "Suits") Suits is a legal drama TV series that aired on the USA Network from 2011 to 2019.
• TERRITORY (34D: Risk factor?) The question mark here alerts solvers that the clue is being tricky. This clue is referring to the board game Risk in which a TERRITORY is a factor.
• SOB (38D: React to the "Up" montage, perhaps) Every. Single Time.
• TROJANS (39D: "Iliad" warriors) Attributed to Homer, the Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem set during the 10-year siege of Troy known as the TROJAN War. It depicts a fierce quarrel between a warrior named Achilles and King Agamemnon.
• SAINTS (46D: New Orleans team that Steve Gleason played for) Steve Gleason is a former professional football player. He played for the New Orleans SAINTS from 2000-2007. I have previously written about Steve Gleason as the recipient of the 2024 Arthur Ashe Courage Award. In 2011, Steve Gleason revealed that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). His experiences with ALS are the subject of the 2016 documentary Gleason.
• SHE (52D: "Hey Leonardo (___ Likes Me for Me)") "Hey Leonardo (SHE Likes Me for Me)" is a 1999 song by the alt rock group Blessid Union of Souls. "SHE likes me for me not because I hang with Leonardo / Or that guy who played in "Fargo," I think his name is Steve..."
• EVAN (57D: "The Studio" co-creator Goldberg) The Studio is an Apple TV+ series that premiered in March of this year. The series is a satire of the movie industry. The show was created by EVAN Goldberg, Seth Rogen, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez.

The title of today's puzzle made me a little anxious, because "I CONFUSED THE DATES" is relatable. The word "CONFUSED" is signaling an anagram theme. We have three different anagrams of the word DATE: ET/AD, TED/A, and ED/AT. Thank you, Sam, for this enjoyable puzzle.