August 24, 2025

Title: O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!

Constructor: Rebecca Goldstein

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• TIME CRUNCH (18A: *Dwindling hours before a deadline)
• I'M ALL EARS (41A: *"Please share your honest feedback with me)
• OFF THE HOOK (62A: *Free from culpability)

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!: The last part of each theme answer is the name of a fictional CAPTAIN: CAPTAIN CRUNCH, CAPTAIN ALL EARS, and CAPTAIN HOOK.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• FLAME (9A: NHL player from Calgary) The Calgary FLAMEs are an NHL team that was founded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1972. The FLAMEs won the Stanley Cup (the NHL championship) in the 1988-89 season.
• CAPTAIN ALL EARS and BLUNT (42A: First Officer ___ (role-playing character who always speaks their mind on "The Rehearsal")) The Rehearsal is an HBO docu-comedy series created, written, and directed by Nathan Fielder. He also stars in the show, as a fictionalized version of himself who helps people rehearse difficult conversation or events by recreating the situations, often using elaborate sets and actors. The show's second season, which aired this year, focuses on flight safety. In one episode, pilots and first officers were given scripts to role play as the characters CAPTAIN ALL EARS (ALLEARS, ALL-EARS? I had difficulty finding a definitive spelling) and First Officer BLUNT. The idea is to get them to practice sharing feedback and encourage them to bond over the silliness of the role play, with the ultimate goal of improving communication.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• JAVA (1A: Indonesian island) Indonesia is an island country in Southeast Asia. JAVA is one of Indonesia's over 17,000 islands, and home to over half of Indonesia's population. Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is located on JAVA.
• JUAN (5A: San ___ (Puerto Rico's capital) San JUAN is the capital of Puerto Rico, and is its largest city. Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean Sea, between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but because Puerto Rico is a territory rather than a U.S. state, they cannot vote for president or have voting representation in Congress.
• ONTO (15A: "Hold ___ your butts") "Hold ONTO your butts" is a line often associated with Samuel L. Jackson's character in the 1993 movie Jurassic Park.
• FUNK (17A: Strong smell) and AROMAS (20A: Alluring smells) This section of the puzzle is a bit smelly.
• RAMEN (24A: Noodle soup with a shoyu variety) Shoyu RAMEN is a variety of RAMEN characterized by a soy sauce-based broth.
• SINUS (37A: Cavity cleared with a neti pot) A neti pot is a container used to rinse SINUS cavities to remove mucus and debris. Neti pots can be used to relieve allergy symptoms, as they can remove allergens from SINUS cavities.
• SUEDE (68A: "Blue ___ Shoes") The song "Blue SUEDE Shoes" was written by Carl Perkins, who recorded it in 1955. Elvis Presley recorded "Blue SUEDE Shoes" in 1956, and the song was the opening track of his debut album, Elvis Presley.
• LEOS (69A: Late July babies, astrologically) LEO is the zodiac sign for those born between July 23 and August 22. LEOS have had their moment for another year, and now we are in Virgo season.
• JAFAR (1D: "Aladdin" villain) JAFAR is the villain in Disney's 1992 animated movie Aladdin. Jonathan Freeman voiced the character of JAFAR in the original film. In the 2019 live-action adaptation of the movie, JAFAR is portrayed by Marwan Kenzari.
• NOEL (8D: Apt name for someone born on Christmas) A couple of days ago we saw the clue [Like the name Dawn, for an early riser] for the word APT. Perhaps someday I'll collect all the APT name clues we've seen over the last five years. Here's a couple of teasers: We've seen OREO clued as [Apt name for a black-and-white cat] and APT clued as [Like the name Reed for a book lover].
• LSU (10D: Shaq's alma mater) Shaquille O'Neal, whose nickname is Shaq, is a former professional basketball player and a current sports analyst for Inside the NBA. Before joining the NBA, Shaq played college basketball for Louisiana State University (LSU).
• ASNER (11D: "Elf" actor Ed) The 2003 movie Elf stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human who grows up as an elf working in Santa's workshop at the North Pole. Ed Asner portrays Santa.
• MECCA (12D: Holiest city in Islam) MECCA, Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, and is considered to be the holiest city in Islam. It is the destination for Hajj, an annual Islamic pilgrimage. MECCA is home to Masjid al-Haram, Islam's most important mosque. At the center of the mosque is the Kaaba, a building considered Islam's most sacred site. When Muslims pray, they face the direction of the Kaaba.
• LESBIAN (26D: Dyke March participant, maybe) A Dyke March is an event whose purpose is to encourage activism within the LESBIAN community. Dyke Marches often occur the Friday or Saturday before a city's Pride Parade.
• TIM (32D: ___ Hortons (Canadian coffee chain)) If you are Canadian, or if you've ever visited Canada, you are likely familiar with TIM Hortons. The coffee chain – also known for its doughnuts – was founded by TIM Horton (1930-1974), who was a professional hockey player in the NHL.
• BAT (34D: Cricket club) Cricket is a game played between two teams of eleven players each. The game is played on a pitch with a wicket at each end. A BAT is used to strike the cricket ball. Although cricket has many similarities with baseball, the sports have significant differences in rules of play and in strategy. Everything I know about cricket I have learned from the Lord Peter Wimsey novels, the game show Only Connect, and crossword puzzles.
• CONGO (50D: Second-longest river in Africa) The only African river longer than the CONGO River is the Nile. By discharge volume, the CONGO is the second-largest river in the world, following the Amazon River. The CONGO River crosses the Equator twice, and flows through the CONGO Rainforest, the second-largest rainforest area in the world (after the Amazon rainforest).
• DOLE (57D: ___ Whip (dessert served outside the Enchanted Tiki Room)) The Enchanted Tiki Room is an attraction at Disneyland and at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. DOLE Whip is a pineapple-flavored, dairy-free soft serve dessert. Prior to 2023, DOLE Whip was only served at Disney theme parks. Elsewhere, the product was called DOLE Soft Serve. 

The title of today's puzzle "O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!" is also the title of an 1865 poem by Walt Whitman about the death of President Abraham Lincoln. Some people are familiar with the poem because it featured in the 1989 movie Dead Poets Society. I knew these things, and upon solving the puzzle, I immediately recognized CRUNCH and HOOK as CAPTAINS. I knew that the third theme answer was I'M ALL EARS, thanks to the helpful use of asterisks today. (Often the theme answers are the longest entries in a puzzle. Since that's not the case today, the theme answers have been indicated with asterisks.) I did not recognize CAPTAIN EARS as a character (and googling "captain ears" confirmed there isn't such a character). I spent quite some time being stumped. I was almost ready to admit defeat and email Amanda or Rebecca for a hint, when on a whim I googled "CAPTAIN ALL EARS." Oh! There was my "Aha!" moment. Extra satisfying since it took some time to get there. Thank you, Rebecca, for this enjoyable (and a bit tricky) puzzle.