August 11, 2025

Title: LOW CEILING

Constructors: Sally Hoelscher & Olivia Mitra Framke

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• MAGNIFYING GLASS (3D: Tool on some "Where's Waldo?" book covers)
• STOVETOP POPCORN (9D: Kernels cooked in a pan)
• SLEEP DEBT (19D: "Deficit" that may result from restless nights)

LOW CEILING: The bottom (LOW) word of each vertical theme answer can pair with the word CEILING: GLASS CEILING, POPCORN CEILING, and DEBT CEILING.

And now a word from our constructors:

Sally: This puzzle's theme came about because I wanted to put STAINED GLASS in a puzzle as a way to honor my mom who has been a stained glass artist for many years and has recently had to (for a variety of reasons) stop making stained glass. As you can see, although the idea began with STAINED GLASS, that theme answer ended up getting replaced during our brainstorming process with the lovely grid-spanning MAGNIFYING GLASS. That happens! It just means that I still need to make a puzzle with STAINED GLASS in it... Thanks as always to Olivia for a joy-filled collaboration.

Olivia: I love the concept of SLEEP DEBT, and jumped at the chance to include it in this puzzle's theme. It's something that's been in my vernacular for many years now, and is such a useful term for something that everyone has experienced at some point in their lives. As someone who struggles with chronic fatigue, I am a big fan of naps as a way to recharge during the day! As for the clues in today's puzzle, I was happy to include a few personal references - it's always nice to reference Iranian cuisine, as I did in the STEW clue, and I, too, am an ALUMNA of Vassar College! Thanks, Sally, for a lovely collaboration.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ABC (4A: "Abbott Elementary" network) Abbott Elementary is a mockumentary on ABC. (A mockumentary is a show that presents fictional events as if they were being filmed as a documentary.) The show focuses on a group of educators in the Philadelphia public school system. Abbott Elementary was created by Quinta Brunson, who also stars in the show as a second grade teacher. 
• THAI TEA (12A: Morning brew often enjoyed with pathongko) THAI TEA is made from strong black TEA, milk, and sugar. In THAI cuisine, pathongko is a deep-fried strip of dough that resembles a donut. 
• TAG TEAM (15A: Tackle together) and AND (42A: You ___ me) These two clues / answers seem particularly applicable to a crossword collaboration.
• ANNA (17A: "Scrappy Little Nobody" memoirist Kendrick) My husband and I listened to the audiobook of ANNA Kendrick's memoir Scrappy Little Nobody (2016) on a road trip a couple of years ago. ANNA Kendrick reads the audiobook, and we really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed ANNA Kendrick in the Pitch Perfect movies (2012-2017).
• ALFIE (26A: "The Big ___ and Annie Rose Storybook" (collection of children's stories by Shirley Hughes)) Shirley Hughes (1927-2022) was an English author and illustrator. She wrote and illustrated many books during her career, including a number of books about a young boy named ALFIE and his younger sister Annie Rose. I have fond memories of reading The Big ALFIE and Annie Rose Storybook to my kids when they were young. I was really glad this angle for ALFIE made it through the editing process.
• ECO (32A: Friendly intro?) Not a friendly introduction to someone you've just met, but rather ECO can be an "intro" to the word "friendly," as in ECO-friendly.
• NOSE (33A: Pet part that might get booped) Here's a photo of my cat, Willow, hiding her NOSE. Perhaps she thinks I might boop it...

• OBI (36A: ___-Wan Kenobi) It seems appropriate to have OBI-Wan Kenobi immediately follow a pet-related clue, since Olivia and I do our best to work a cat reference and a Star Wars reference into each of our collaborations.
• GUESSES (46A: Makes a move in Mastermind) Mastermind is a game where one player sets a code of colored pegs, and another player makes GUESSES about what the code might be. It's one of my favorite games, so I was happy to highlight it in this clue.
• EBT (52A: Payment card letters) Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) is a system used to purchase food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• ABE (68A: Homer's dad) That's not Homer as in the ancient Greek poet, but Homer Simpson on the animated TV series The Simpsons. Homer's dad is ABE
• NES (69A: "Contra" console, for short) Contra is a video game released in 1988 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Electronic Gaming Monthly deemed Contra the Best Action Game of 1988.
• USD (8D: Currency in NJ and IA) The United States Dollar (USD) is the currency in all 50 states, of course, but it was fun to highlight Olivia and my home states, New Jersey (NJ) and Iowa (IA). The abbreviations NJ and IA in the clue alert solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation.
• ITALIA (13A: Roma's country) Rome is the capital of Italy. Since the clue uses the city's Italian name – Roma – the answer will be the Italian name of the country, which is ITALIA.
• CNN (25D: "The Amanpour Hour" channel) Christiane Amanpour is the Chief International Anchor for CNN. She is the host of The Amanpour Hour, an interview program that airs on Saturdays. She also hosts a nightly program for CNN International called Amanpour.
• STEW (34D: Ghormeh sabzi or lamb tagine, for example) Ghormeh sabzi is an herb STEW in Iranian cuisine. It is considered the national dish of IRAN. Lamb tagine is a STEW named for the clay pot with a wide and shallow base and conical lid in which it is often cooked.
• ALUMNA (45D: Meryl Streep, for Vassar College, e.g.) Vassar College is located in Poughkeepsie, New York. Meryl Streep is an ALUMNA of Vassar College. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama from Vassar College in 1971.
• TANS (60D: Sun signs, perhaps?) The question mark here puts solvers on alert for a bit of trickiness. The clue is not referring to sun signs in astrology, but rather to signs that a person has been out in the sun, or TANS.

When a puzzle's title contains a directional word such as up, down, high, or LOW, it's often a hint that the theme will be found in the vertical – or Down – answers. Such is the case today. I hope you had as much fun solving this puzzle as Olivia and I did constructing it. Thanks for solving. Thanks also to Amie for the fabulous editing.