August 5, 2025

Title: KNOCK DOWN

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• CUPCAKE PAN (3D: Tray for baking frosted treats)
• COUNTRY RAP (7D: "Old Town Road" genre)
• SERENA SLAM (27D: Tennis feat achieved twice by a Williams sister)
• GO ON STRIKE (29D: Stage a walkout)

KNOCK DOWN: The last word of each vertical (DOWN) theme answer is a synonym of KNOCK: PAN, RAP, SLAM, and STRIKE.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• CHOW (14D: Chicken ___ fun) Chicken CHOW fun is a stir-fry dish in Cantonese cuisine. It is made with chicken, bok choy, onions, and noodles.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ORCA (1A: Whale that can outsmart sharks) ORCAs are the apex predators of the ocean. They are highly intelligent and often hunt in groups to take down their prey, which can include sharks.
• CDC (5A: Health org. based in Atlanta) The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. CDC headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1946, the CDC is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. 
• RSVP (8A: Reply to a party invitation) RSVP is making back-to-back puzzle appearances, as we saw it yesterday clued as [Letters on an invitation].
• NOUGAT (21A: Baby Ruth ingredient) In 1920, the Curtiss Candy Company (based in Chicago, Illinois) introduced a candy bar made of peanuts, caramel, NOUGAT, and chocolate. It was called Baby Ruth. Although Babe Ruth was making waves in the world of baseball at the same time, the candy company claimed that their candy bar was not named for him, but for Ruth Cleveland, the eldest daughter of President Grover Cleveland. Cynics say this story was concocted in order to avoid paying any royalties to Babe Ruth. Fun fact: In the 1920s, as a marketing stunt, Baby Ruth candy bars – attached to paper parachutes – were dropped from airplanes over several major cities.
• KEDS (26A: Alternatives to Vans) The answer here is not SUVS. The capital V of Vans indicates the word is a brand name. That means the Vans here are shoes, and an alternative to Vans is KEDS.
• HRT (28A: Treatment that might use androgens or estrogens. HRT=hormone replacement therapy
• RARER (37A: Like blue lobsters, compared to red ones) Some lobsters have a genetic mutation that results in a blue shell. A blue lobster is a one-in-two-million occurrence. That's certainly RARER than a red lobster.
• LIFE (62A: "Story of my ___!") LIFE is also making back-to-back puzzle appearances. Yesterday it was clued as [Collecting 100 coins earns you an extra one in many Mario games].
• OGRES (1D: World of Warcraft foes) World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). In the game, OGRES are large, brutish humanoids.
• CHINA (5D: Country with the highest demand for instant noodles) It is estimated that people in China consume over 42 billion servings of instant noodles every year. That's a lot of noodles!
• COUNTRY RAP (7D: "Old Town Road" genre) "Old Town Road" (2019) is a COUNTRY RAP song by Lil Nas X. The song is tied (with "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey) for the most weeks (19) at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
• ACE (13D: One in the hand?) The "hand" here is referring to a hand of cards. In many card games, an ACE is worth one point. 
• PEDI (20D: Tootsie treat?) A PEDI (short for pedicure) is a treat for one's tootsies (toes).
• KENNY (23D: "Hocus Pocus" director Ortega) The 1993 movie Hocus Pocus, directed by KENNY Ortega, features a trio of witches named the Sanderson sisters, portrayed by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. The three reprised their roles for Hocus Pocus 2, which was released in 2022 and directed by Anne Fletcher. A third Hocus Pocus movie is in the works, but no release date has been set. 
• SERENA SLAM (27D: Tennis feat achieved twice by a Williams sister) In tennis, the Grand SLAM tournaments are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Tennis players winning all four tournaments in the same year are said to have achieved a Grand SLAM. If a player wins all four championships consecutively, but not in the same calendar year, as SERENA Williams did in 2002-2003 and 2014-2015, that is referred to as a non-calendar-year Grand SLAM, or a SERENA SLAM.
• RIVAL (51D: Boeing, to Airbus) Boeing and Airbus are RIVAL aerospace manufacturers. Boeing was founded in Seattle, Washington, and its headquarters are currently located in Crystal City, Virginia. Airbus has its headquarters in Leiden, Netherlands and Blagnac, France.

This synonym theme snuck up on me. I expected to find the theme in the Down answers, but I had guessed there might be a hidden word (related to KNOCK) in the theme answers. That made for a nice "Aha!" moment when I realized that PAN, SLAM, RAP, and STRIKE are all KNOCK synonyms. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this enjoyable puzzle.