August 15, 2025

Title: AN AVERAGE PUZZLE

Constructor: Brian Gubin

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• OKAY SO GET THIS (20A: "You won't believe what I heard...")
• MID SEASON FINALE (38A: Climactic TV episode aired before a hiatus)
• FAIR AND SQUARE (53A: In a totally honest manner)

AN AVERAGE PUZZLE: The first word of each theme answer is a synonym of AVERAGE: OKAY, MID, and FAIR. 

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• IGOR (32A: Grammy-winning album for Tyler, the Creator) Tyler, the Creator is a rap artist, songwriter, and record producer. His 2019 studio album, IGOR, hit the top of the Billboard 200 chart the week it was released. IGOR won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.
• SUEDE (59A: Jacket material ruined by snow in a "Seinfeld" episode) This is a reference to a Seinfeld episode titled "The Jacket." In the episode, Jerry Seinfeld buys an expensive SUEDE jacket. He then has dinner with his ex-girlfriend, Elaine, and her father. It begins to snow before they walk from the hotel to the restaurant, and the snow ruins the SUEDE jacket. My Seinfeld knowledge is pretty limited, so I needed the help of crossing answers to figure out this answer.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• OMEGA (1A: ___-3 fatty acids) OMEGA-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients because mammals cannot synthesize them. Therefore, they must obtain them from their diet. Sources of OMEGA-3 include oily fish such as salmon and sardines, chia seeds, and flaxseed.
• SNAP (10A: Show appreciation at a poetry slam) A poetry slam is a spoken word competition. Poets perform before a live audience and judges. A SNAP is used to show appreciation at poetry slams, as SNAPs are less likely than claps to distract the performer.
• ELMO (15A: Red Muppet who appeared on "The West Wing") In the fifth season of the TV series, The West Wing, ELMO made a guest appearance on the show, along with Big Bird and Zoe. On the episode, ELMO received a medical checkup from the First Lady, Abbey Bartlet (Stockard Channing).
• ACES (19A: Vegas WNBA team) The Las Vegas ACES are a WNBA team that was founded in 1997 and has played in the Las Vegas metropolitan area (in Paradise, Nevada) since 2018. Prior to that the team was located in Salt Lake City, Utah and San Antonio, Texas. The Las Vegas ACES won WNBA Championships in 2022 and 2023.
• YEN (21A: Currency on Daiso price tags) Daiso is a franchise of Japanese 100-YEN shops, similar to dollar stores found in the United States. Daiso has over 3,500 stores in Japan, and over 2,000 stores in other countries. 
• DDR (23A: Arcade game that gets the heart pumping (Abbr.)) Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is a series of video games that encourage players to dance to music videos. DDR players stand on a "dance platform" and move their feet to step on colored arrows as directed by the game. This would definitely get the heart pumping.
• DUO (30A: Ben & Jerry, for one) and A LA (44A: Brownie ___ mode) For some reason I'm hungry for a brownie with ice cream...
• ANGELA (46A: "Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning" star Bassett) Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a 2025 movie that is the eighth film in the Mission: Impossible series. ANGELA Bassett portrays Erika Sloane, President of the United States. ANGELA Bassett also portrays Erika Sloane in the 2018 movie, Mission: Impossible – Fallout. In that movie her character is the director of the CIA.
• ESP (50A: Mentalist's alleged ability (Abbr.)) I appreciate when a clue for ESP (extrasensory perception) acknowledges that ESP is classified as a pseudoscience.
• SER (52A: Counterpart of "estar," in Spanish) In Spanish, the verbs "estar" and "SER" both mean "to be." The verbs are used in different situations. I found a handy overview from Duolingo about when to use "estar" and when to use "SER," if you're interested in learning more.
• AVEC (62A: "Voulez-vous coucher ___ moi?") AVEC is the French word for "with." "Voulez-vous couchez AVEC moi?" is a phrase familiar to many folks that don't speak French, because it is a repeated lyric in the song "Lady Marmalade." The song was a hit for Labelle in the 1970s. In 2001, the soundtrack for the movie Moulin Rouge! included a cover version of "Lady Marmalade" by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa, and Pink. "Voulez-vous couchez AVEC moi?" means "Do you want to sleep with me?"
• ORS (1D: Choice words?) Would you like to solve a crossword puzzle OR take out the trash? Would you like brownie À LA mode OR a bowl of fruit for dessert? ORS are important words when there are choices.
• ALTOS (7D: Vocal ranges below sopranos) and TENOR (37D: Vocal range above bass) The complete SATB range – soprano, ALTO, TENOR, bass – is represented today.
• GOD (33D: Odin or Thor) In Norse mythology, Odin is a GOD associated with wisdom and healing. He is married to the goddess Frigga. One of their sons is Thor, the GOD of lightning, thunder, and storms. 
• ATLANTIS (39D: Resort hotel in the Bahamas) ATLANTIS Paradise Island is a resort located in the Bahamas that incorporates the legend of the lost city of ATLANTIS into its design. The ATLANTIS resort spans 154 acres and includes a water park, beaches, a marine habitat, a casino, and a golf course, as well as other facilities.
• IRL (40D: Not online (Abbr.)) IRL = In Real Life
• AFLAC (46D: Company with a spokesduck) The idea for the AFLAC duck came from the Kaplan Thaler Group, an ad agency in New York City. Apparently one of the agency's art directors was wandering around Central Park trying to come up with an idea, and while muttering "AFLAC, AFLAC," realized it sounded like quacking.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• RUN-ON (43A: Sentence that keeps going and going and going)
• ERROR CODE (3D: 403 Forbidden, e.g.)
• RULE (56D: Game limitation)

I'm tempted to say this crossword is just OKAY, MID, or FAIR. Or perhaps just so-so, ordinary, run-of-the-mill... However, despite what its title and theme would have you believe, I thoroughly enjoyed today's puzzle. Interestingly, we saw a crossword titled "An Average Puzzle" in May of this year. Although these two puzzles share a title, their themes are completely different. We also saw a puzzle titled "About Average" in 2021. That puzzle has the same theme as today's puzzle, but uses completely different theme answers and synonyms. It's always fun to see different ways to interpret the same title and theme. Congratulations to Brian Gubin making a USA Today crossword debut with this "Average Puzzle." Thank you, Brian, for this excellent puzzle.