August 29, 2025

Title: KICKS BACK

Constructor: Ryan Mathiason

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• WATER SLIDES (17A: Theme park rides that end with a splash)
• FIST PUMPS (36A: Triumphant gestures)
• MOSCOW MULES (56A: Cocktails made with vodka, ginger beer and lime juice)

KICKS BACK: At the BACK (end) of each theme answer is a word that is a type of shoes aka KICKS: SLIDES, PUMPS, and MULES.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• SUDAN (48A: Country where Manute Bol was born) Manute Bol (c. 1946-1962 - 2010) was a professional basketball player and political activist. From 1985 to 1995, Manute Bol played for the NBA, with the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat. At a height of 7'7", he was one of the two tallest players to have played for the NBA. Manute Bol was born in SUDAN and advocated for human rights in his native country.
• LSU (34D: Baton Rouge sch. where Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne met) Paul Skenes is a pitcher for MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates. He attended Louisiana State University (LSU), where he was part of the baseball team's pitching staff when they won the 2023 College World Series. Livvy Dunne is an influencer and a former gymnast. In college she was a member of the LSU Tigers women's gymnastics team. Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne have been dating since their days at LSU, and made their relationship public in August 2023. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• DENIM (6A: Jorts material) Jorts are DENIM shorts. The term "jorts" is a portmanteau of "jeans" and "shorts."
• ANORA (14A: Film that won Best Picture in 2024) I wrote about ANORA a couple of weeks ago when we saw it clued as [2024 Oscar winner starring Mikey Madison].
• GHANA (20A: Country whose capital is Accra) GHANA is located in West Africa, and has coastline on the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. GHANA's neighbors are Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Togo. Accra – the country's capital and largest city – is located on the southern edge of GHANA on the Gulf of Guinea.
• DRACULA (21A: Literary vampire from Transylvania) Bram Stoker's novel DRACULA, was originally published in 1897. It is an epistolatory book, told through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. The titular character, Count DRACULA, is a Transylvanian nobleman ... oh, and a vampire. The novel has, of course, been the basis for numerous stories, movies, and plays.
• IRIS (23A: Apt name for a flower lover) I do enjoy an "apt name" clue, and IRIS is indeed an apt name for a flower lover. Five days ago when we saw NOEL clued as [Apt name for someone born on Christmas], I joked that one day I might compile a list of all the "apt name" clues we've seen during my time blogging. Instead, maybe I'll just revisit a few each time we see one. The November 20, 2023 puzzle treated us to two such clues: [Fitting name for a sincere person] for ERNEST and [Like the name Herb, for a gardener] for APT.
• HAIR (27A: It might get put into a bun) and HARE (31A: Tortoise's opponent in a fable) It's fun to see HAIR and HARE together in the grid.
• PANEL (28A: "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" group) Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me is a weekly NPR podcast that combines news and comedy. Peter Segal is the host, Bill Kurtis is the announcer, and each week a PANEL answers questions about the week's news. The show tapes on Thursday evenings in front of a live audience, usually in Chicago, but sometimes in other places around the country. Each new episode is available the Saturday following the taping. My husband and I went to a live taping of Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me last month in Des Moines, Iowa. That night the PANEL consisted of Emmy Blotbick, Hari Kondabolu, and Faith Salie.

• DORY (35A: "Finding ___" (Pixar sequel)) Finding DORY is a 2016 animated movie that is a sequel and a spin-off of the 2003 Pixar movie Finding Nemo.
• PERU (38A: Machu Picchu's country) Machu Picchu, located in the Andes mountains of southern PERU, is one of the most well-known examples of Incan architecture. Machu Picchu is a 15th-century citadel most likely constructed as an estate of Pachacuti, an Incan emperor.
• DRAMA (45A: Emmy category for "The Last of Us") The TV show The Last of Us premiered in January 2023. It is based on a 2013 video game of the same name. On the show, Joel (Pedro Pascal) is a smuggler tasked with escorting the teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States. For the 2025 Emmy Awards, the ceremony for which is scheduled for September 14, The Last of Us is nominated for Outstanding DRAMA series, Pedro Pascal is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a DRAMA series, and Bella Ramsey is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a DRAMA series.
• ANAGRAM (2D: Live for evil?) I adore a fun ANAGRAM clue.
• EDGAR (13D: ___ Allan Poe ("The Raven" poet)) "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary..." So begins EDGAR Allan Poe's narrative poem, "The Raven," which was first published in 1845. Fun Fact: The name of the NFL team, the Baltimore Ravens (chosen in a fan contest), was inspired by EDGAR Allan Poe's poem.
• PODCAST (38D: "Call Her Daddy" or "Smartless") Call Her Daddy is an advice and comedy podcast hosted by Alexandra Cooper. (Sofia Franklin was a co-host from 2018-2020.) SmartLess is a weekly comedy PODCAST co-hosted by Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman, and Will Arnett. Each week, one of the co-hosts introduces a mystery guest to the others.
• AUSSIE (44D: Hugh Jackman or Kylie Minogue, for short) Actor and singer Hugh Jackman was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Singer and actress Kylie Minogue was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. That makes both of them AUSSIEs.
• ASPEN (47D: "Quaking" tree) The quaking ASPEN is named because its leaves appear to tremble in even the slightest breeze. A fun fact about ASPEN trees is they propagate through their roots, so when you see a grove of ASPEN trees, it is often one organism sharing a common root system.
• AMES (54D: Iowa State's city) Unless this is among the first crosswords you've solved (and if it is, good for you!), you're probably well aware by now that our crossword friend AMES is home to Iowa State University. That's not to be confused with the University of Iowa, which is located in Iowa City.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• EASEL (53A: Support for an artist?)
• SEE ME (64A: Question asked by someone waving in a crowd)
• STONE (48D: Item skipped on a pond)

From the title, I guessed the theme might involve a synonym of the word KICKS going BACKwards in the theme answers. However, as soon as I filled in WATER SLIDES, I had  nice "Aha!" moment as I recognized SLIDES as a type of shoe and realized that KICKS is a synonym of shoes. Nice. Thank you, Ryan, for this enjoyable puzzle.