September 12, 2025

Title: TOP DOG

Constructor: Emily Biegas

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• SHOW ME THE MONEY (4D: "Jerry Maguire" catchphrase)
• PARK AVENUE (7D: Ritzy Manhattan boulevard)
• FOOD FOR THOUGHT (9D: Mental stimulus, idiomatically)

TOP DOG: The TOP answer of each vertical theme answer can be paired with the word DOG to form a new phrase: DOG SHOW, DOG PARK, and DOG FOOD.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• FORBID (18A: "God ___ people have hobbies") "God FORBID people have hobbies is a catchphrase used in memes. The phrase is generally used in a humorous way with reference to behavior that is normally considered unacceptable.
• KURD (21A: "Rifqa" poet Mohammed el-___) Mohammed el-KURD is a Palestinian writer and poet. Rifqa (named for his grandmother) is his debut collection of poetry, published in 2021. In addition to writing poetry, Mohammed-el KURD is a Palestinian correspondent for The Nation. He has written extensively about the experience of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and about the Israel-Gaza war.
• SHOW ME THE MONEY (4D: "Jerry Maguire" catchphrase) Jerry Maguire is a 1996 sports movie starring Tom Cruise as the title character. I'm aware of Jerry Maguire, but I haven't seen it, so I needed the help of crossing answers to come up with the catchphrase "SHOW ME THE MONEY."
• SAXON (50D: Piper and Lochlan's brother, on "The White Lotus") I have previously written about The White Lotus, an HBO TV series about a fictional resort chain called White Lotus. The show, which premiered in 2021, is an anthology series, one that presents a different story or may have a different cast or be set in a different location each season. The third season of The White Lotus is set in Thailand, and the Ratliff family is among the guests. The Ratliff family, who are from Durham, North Carolina, is comprised of parents Timothy (Jason Isaacs) and Victoria (Parker Posey), and their children: SAXON (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), and Lochlan (Sam Nivola). Although I've written about the show, I wasn't familiar with the characters. That's what crossing answers are for.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LABS (1A: Research sites) I realize a deliberate choice was probably made to clue LABS scientifically, rather than in reference to the DOG breed, but I still enjoyed the aptness of the first  (and TOPmost) answer in this TOP DOG puzzle being LABS.
• EPA (13A: Org. with an Office of Water) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a U.S. government agency whose mission is to protect human health and the environment. The EPA is organized into multiple "offices," one of which is the Office of Water. The Office of Water "ensures drinking water is safe, and restores and maintains oceans, watersheds, and their aquatic ecosystems." 
• ORCHID (32A: Plant with pink and white flowers in a LEGO Botanical Collection set) LEGO's Botanical Collection contains a number of plant-themed kits. I actually have a couple of these kits – both gifts from my son – but not the ORCHID. (Not yet, anyway...)
• HUMANS (36A: Omnivores who occupy a position in the middle of the global food chain, contrary to popular belief) I imagine many people would consider HUMANS to be apex predators and to be at the top of the global food chain. However, in a 2013 study, ecologists discovered that HUMANS are somewhere in the middle of the global food chain – somewhere between pigs and anchovies. If you're wondering which animals are at the top of the global food chain, that would be polar bears and orcas. One reason HUMANS don't rank higher is because about 80% of our diet (although that percentage varies among certain populations) comes from fruits, vegetables, and grains. Since only 20% of the diet of HUMANS comes from meat, we don't need to be a top predator. (To be clear, this doesn't imply that we routinely get eaten by those animals higher in the global food chain.)
• EUROS (47A: Money in Belgium) Belgium is a country in Northwestern Europe. Its capital is Brussels. Belgium is one of the 20 member states of the European Union that uses EUROS as currency.
• MEN (55A: "Mad ___" (AMC series)) Mad MEN (2007-2015) is a TV series centered on a fictional advertising agency. The show ran on the AMC cable network.
• V-DAY (62A: Feb. 14) Valentine's Day, or V-DAY, is celebrated on February 14 each year. The abbreviation of February in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation or shortened form of the holiday's name.
• ROAD (63A: Word before "work" or "trip") On our recent ROAD trip – when we traveled over 5,100 miles – my husband and I encountered quite a bit of ROAD work. It is the season for it, after all.
• PEG (65A: Piece in Plinko) Plinko is a game that originated on The Price Is Right in 1983. It involves a disc falling through a pegboard, randomly ricocheting off of the PEGs until it falls into a slot at the bottom of the board. The game was named because of the sound the discs make when it bounces against the PEGs.
• SHE'S (67A: "I've got your picture, ___ got you" (Patsy Cline lyrics)) "SHE'S Got You" is a 1962 song by Patsy Cline. The song was a number one country hit. "The only thing different, the only thing new / I've got your picture ... SHE'S got you."
• APR (10D: National Haiku Poetry Day mo.) Did you know that April (APR) is National Poetry Month? This annual celebration of poetry is organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness of poetry. In the midst of this month-long observance, April 17 is celebrated as National Haiku Poetry Day. As a reminder, the short form of poetry known as Haiku originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese Haiku consists of three lines, with a syllabic pattern of 5,7, 5 and contains a seasonal reference. The seasonal reference may be a word related to a specific season. Modern Haiku and non-Japanese Haiku do not always include a seasonal reference. 
• LOS (17D: ___ Lobos (rock group)) LOS Lobos is a rock band whose version of "La Bamba" rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1987. Their recording of the song was the title track for the soundtrack of the 1987 movie of the same name.
• TIO (25D: Padre's hermano) "Padre's hermano" is Spanish for "father's brother." The brother of one's father is one's uncle, or TIO.
• CONAN (26D: "___ O'Brien Must Go") CONAN O'Brien Must Go is a travel TV series. The show, which premiered last year, features former late-night talk show host CONAN O'Brien traveling to meet fans in person. In the show's first two seasons, CONAN traveled to Norway, Argentina, Thailand, Ireland, Spain, New Zealand, and Austria.
• PULPS (31D: Dime novels) It was interesting to see the phrase "dime novels" in a clue, as we saw it as an answer in a puzzle a week ago.
• HER (33D: "Tell ___ About It" (Billy Joel song)) "Tell HER About It" is a 1983 song by Billy Joel. This song was released the summer after I graduated from high school. Well, that's been a minute! (No wonder Billy Joel looks so young in the music video.) "Tell HER about it / Tell HER everything  you feel / Give HER every reason to accept that you're for real..."
• SHUCKED (37D: 2023 Broadway musical about corn) If you think a musical about corn sounds, well, "corny," you would be right. My husband and I saw the musical SHUCKED early this year, and I can report that it leans in to the corniness and contains an earful of corn puns ... so many corn puns. This makes it extremely fun and entertaining, and we enjoyed it immensely.
• SAHARA (46D: Desert that spans 11 African countries) The SAHARA is the world's largest hot desert. The 11 African countries that contain part of the SAHARA are Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan, and Tunisia.
• TORAH (52D: Bar mitzvah scroll) Bar mitzvah is a Jewish rite celebrating coming-of-age for a (usually 13-year-old) boy. For girls, the equivalent rite is called the bat mitzvah. During a bar mitzvah ceremony, passages of scripture from the TORAH are recited.
• EDDIE (53D: Oscar winner Redmayne) EDDIE Redmayne won an Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for Best Actor for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the 2014 movie The Theory of Everything.
• CLAY (57D: French Open surface) The French Open, which begins in late May each year, is one of the four major tennis tournaments known as the Grand Slam tournaments. The other three Grand Slam Tournaments are the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. The French Open is the only one of these four tournaments held on a CLAY court.
• MVP (59D: WNBA award) In 2024, WNBA's MVP award was won by A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces. This was her third time to be named MVP, as she also won the award in 2020 and 2022.

The word TOP in the title alerted me that the theme might be found in the vertical answers. I paused a bit when I encountered the aforementioned LABS as the puzzle's first answer, but once I discovered PARK AVENUE, I recognized that answer led to DOG PARK and knew I was on the right track. We've seen a "Top Dog" puzzle previously – November 2, 2020 – but that puzzle has a different theme (in fact, it has two themes!). Thank you, Emily, for this delightful puzzle.