August 27, 2025

Title: TENNIS, ANYONE?

Constructor: Daniel Grinberg

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• DOWN TO CLOWN (17A: *Game)
• STUDIO BACKLOT (37A: *Set)
• LIFE PARTNER (59A: *Match)

TENNIS, ANYONE?: The clues of today's theme answers are TENNIS terms – Game, Set, Match – that have been interpreted in non-TENNIS ways.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• ASST (67A: Smithers, to Mr. Burns (Abbr.)) Most (if not all) of my knowledge of the animated sitcom The Simpsons comes from crossword puzzles. Today I have learned a couple of new characters. Mr. Burns (Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns) is the owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. He is Homer Simpson's boss. Smithers (Waylon J. Smithers Jr.) is Mr. Burns' assistant.
• LILLE (7D: French city near the Belgian border) LILLE is located in northern France. It is – as the clue informs us – near the France-Belgium border. LILLE is the birthplace of Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), who was the President of France from 1959-1969, and microbiologist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895).

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ZEN (19A: School of Buddhism focused on meditation) The ZEN school of Buddhism originated in China during the Tang dynasty. ZEN emphasizes understanding of Buddhist texts and doctrine through spiritual practice and interaction with an accomplished teacher.
• POEM (20A: Many a Maya Angelou work) Maya Angelou (1928-2014) is perhaps best known for her seven autobiographies, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), but she considered herself a poet and a playwright. One of her well-known POEM, "Still I Rise," was first published in 1978. 
• FAR (23A: "Spider-Man: ___ From Home") Spider-Man: FAR From Home is a 2019 movie starring Tom Holland as the titular superhero. This clue is an example of a nice way to add interest to a common three-letter word. 
• MAPLE (31A: Kind of leaf on Canada's flag) The flag of Canada features vertical bands of red on the outer edges, with a white band in the center and a red MAPLE leaf on the band of white. The MAPLE leaf has been used as a symbol of Canada since the 18th century.
• XENON (33A: Colorless, odorless gas) XENON is in the class of chemical elements known as noble gases. XENON – like the rest of the noble gases: krypton, argon, neon, helium, and radon – is odorless and colorless. 
• GRAYED (41A: Lost melanin in one's hair, say) I'm not sure whether it sounds better to say "I've GRAYED," OR "I've lost melanin in my hair..."
• LA PAZ (42A: Administrative capital of Bolivia) The landlocked South American country of Bolivia has two capitals, Sucre and LA PAZ. Sucre is the constitutional and judicial capital, and LA PAZ is the administrative (executive and legislative) capital.
• LUKE (48A: Leia's brother) In the Star Wars franchise, LUKE is Leia's twin brother.
• OPERATES (52A: Makes the cut at work?) The question mark here means this is not "makes the cut" as in "gets chosen," but "makes the cut" as in OPERATES. (Hopefully it's a surgeon we're talking about here.)
• BOSE (55A: Audio equipment brand) The BOSE Corporation, founded in 1964 and headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, sells audio equipment. The company is named for its founder, Amar BOSE. 
• CACTI (65A: They've got some solid points?) Those "solid points" are the prickly spines characteristic of CACTI.
• EMO (2D: Brand New genre) It's important to pay attention to capital letters in clues. This clue isn't referencing a "brand new genre," but rather the genre of the EMO band Brand New. The band was active from 2000-2018, though they reunited in 2024 for a tour. Brand New's albums include Your Favorite Weapon (2001) and Science Fiction (2017).
• MEZCAL (10D: Smoky Mexican spirit) The sap of the agave plant is fermented to make an alcoholic beverage called pulque, which is distilled to produce the spirit, MEZCAL. Tequila is MEZCAL made from a variety of the plant known as blue agave. All tequila is MEZCAL, but not all MEZCAL is tequila.
• ANDRE (30D: Actor Braugher) ANDRE Braugher (1988-2023) portrayed Captain Raymond Holt on the TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-2021).
• IAN (38D: Gandalf portrayer McKellen) Sir IAN McKellen has been acting professionally since 1961. His acting credits are numerous and encompass stage and screen. He portrayed the wizard Gandalf in both The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) and The Hobbit (2012-2014) trilogies.
• REBA (47D: "Fancy" singer McEntire) Just as it's important to pay attention to capital letters, it's also important to notice quotation marks. This clue isn't referencing a "fancy singer," but rather the singer of the song "Fancy," who is REBA McEntire. "Fancy" was written by Bobbie Gentry, who recorded it in 1969. REBA McEntire covered the song "Fancy" in 1990, including it on her album Rumor Has It.
• LORDE (48D: Singer on the remix of "Girl, So Confusing") "Girl, So Confusing" is a 2024 song by Charli XCX from her album Brat. A remix of the song featuring LORDE was released in June 2024.
• ALI (53D: Emmy-winning "Beef" actress Wong) Beef is a Netflix TV miniseries about two people involved in a road rage incident that leads to them becoming enemies and getting involved in each other's lives. ALI Wong and Steven Yeun co-star in the show's first season, which premiered in April 2023. 
• TINA (54D: Eldest daughter on "Bob's Burgers") Bob's Burgers is an animated sitcom centered on Bob and Linda Belcher and their children – TINA, Gene, and Louise. As the name of the show suggests, the Belchers own a burger restaurant. 
• ORCA (56D: Sea creature that can weigh over six tons) Six tons is 12,000 pounds, which is a lot. Every once in a while, a clue such as this comes along to remind me that ORCAs are quite large.

Today's theme is found in the clues, rather than the grid. It could be a bit confusing to look at the grid after solving and try to figure out what DOWN TO CLOWN, STUDIO BACKLOT, and LIFE PARTNER have to do with "TENNIS, ANYONE?" However, taking a look at the clues for the theme answers – helpfully identified with asterisks – one finds [*Game], [*Set], and [*Match]. There's the TENNIS connection. Having the theme in the clues is less common than having it in the grid, and, in fact, USA Today just recently began accepting such themes. Some solvers are not fans of clue-based themes. I don't mind them. It keeps me on my toes! Congratulations to Daniel Grinberg making a USA Today crossword debut! Thank you, Daniel, for this interesting puzzle.