September 13, 2025

Title: THAT'S A PLUS (Freestyle)

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

THAT'S A PLUS (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless puzzle. The title is nodding at the grid art, which consists of a number of PLUS signs.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• TECHNO (1D: "Untz, untz, untz" genre) "Untz, untz, untz" is an onomatopoetic description of the repetitive driving beat of TECHNO, a genre of electronic dance music.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SEDARIS (8A: "At Home with Amy ___") At Home with Amy SEDARIS is a comedy TV show on which Amy SEDARIS plays several characters: herself, Patty Hogg, Ronnie Vino, Hobo, and Nutmeg. The show, which originally aired from 2017-2020, is a spoof of homemaking shows and features skits on entertaining, crafts, and cooking.
• HOME (19A: "___ is wherever I'm with you") "HOME is wherever I'm with you" is a line from the 2010 song "HOME" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. "HOME" has been featured in a number of TV shows (including Glee and Community), movies (including What to Expect When You're Expecting) and commercials (including for Best Friends Animal Society).
• TOWA (21A:"FML" artist Bird) I learned about TOWA Bird from the September 21, 2024 crossword. "FML" is a song from TOWA Bird's 2024 debut album, American Hero.
• NOB (22A: ___ Hill (San Francisco neighborhood)) The NOB Hill neighborhood in San Francisco, California is known for its luxury hotels and historic mansions. I have walked through the NOB Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, and it is quite ritzy. 
• LAT (24A: SoCal newspaper) The shortened form of Southern California (SoCal) in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation, in this case LAT for Los Angeles Times.
• SEDER (43A: Passover ___ plate) The SEDER is a ritual meal marking the beginning of the Jewish holiday Passover. The word "SEDER" means "order," which is appropriate, as the meal is eaten in a certain order. Throughout the meal that includes songs, prayers, readings, and questions, the foods on the Passover SEDER plate are explained. 
• OHIO (50A: The Buckeye State) OHIO's nickname of "The Buckeye State" comes from the OHIO Buckeye trees that grow across the state. The buckeye tree produces brown nut-like seeds that are round and have a lighter-colored circle on one side. Some people believe if you carry a buckeye in your pocket it will bring you good luck.
• CHAN (54A: "Eternals" star Gemma) The 2021 movie, Eternals is the 26th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the movie, the Eternals are immortal alien beings that have emerged from hiding to protect Earth. Gemma CHAN portrays Sersi, an Eternal who can manipulate matter.
• STINGER (61A: Vodka ___ (drink mentioned in "The Ladies Who Lunch")) and SINGER (46D: Person performing "The Ladies Who Lunch") "The Ladies Who Lunch" is a song from Stephen Sondheim's musical Company. The SINGER of "The Ladies Who Lunch" is the character Joanne (originated by Elaine Stritch in 1970). "...Another vodka STINGER– / Aaaaahhhhhh– / I'll drink to that..." 
• GLAMBOT (3D: High-speed camera that takes slow-motion videos of celebs on the red carpet) The GLAMBOT is used for capturing dramatic slow-motion videos of celebrities at red carpet events such as awards shows. It is directed by Cole Walliser. Every once in a while Cole Walliser's GLAMBOT posts show up on my Instagram feed. They're kind of fun to watch.
• KATIE (26D: Ledecky who swam the length of a pool with a glass of chocolate milk balanced on her head) KATIE Ledecky is a competitive swimmer and the most decorated American woman in Olympic history, with 14 Olympic medals (nine of those are gold medals). Also, as the clue informs us, she (at least once) swam the length of a swimming pool with a glass of chocolate milk balanced on her head. That's impressive!
• MAJOR (28D: "Changing My ___" ("Fun Home" song)) Fun Home is a musical adapted from Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir of the same name. "Changing My Major" is sung by Medium Alison, the 19-year-old version of the main character. 
• PERTH (29D: Capital of Western Australia) PERTH is located in southwestern Australia, along the country's western coast. PERTH is the capital of Western Australia, one of Australia's six states. The city was named after PERTH, Scotland.
• MEMPHIS (39D: Beale Street Music Festival city) I have previously written about Beale Street, which is located in MEMPHIS, Tennessee. The Beale Street Music Festival takes place in MEMPHIS on the first weekend of May, although the last two years the Beale Street Music Festival has been paused. Planning is underway for the return of the event in 2026.
• LIONEL (42D: Singer Richie) Do you need a LIONEL Richie earworm today? I'll give you a few to choose from: "You Are" (1983), "All Night Long (All Night)" (1983), and "Hello" (1983).
• RON (56D: Fictional Swanson who said "You had me at 'Meat Tornado'") RON Swanson is a character played by Nick Offerman on the TV series Parks and Recreation (2009-2015). Here's the "You had me at 'Meat Tornado'" clip in case you (like me) haven't seen it.

This is a striking grid with all of those PLUS signs formed by the black squares. I appreciate that the two grid-spanning answers are positive things, to go along with the grid art and the title. CHANGES THE WORLD (17A: Makes a meaningful impact) – I guess technically it does happen that someone CHANGES THE WORLD in a negative way, but I'm going to choose to think positively today. NATURE IS HEALING (55A: "Things are going back to how they should be") – when this happens, I'd say "THAT'S A PLUS." I enjoyed all the music vibes in this puzzle, something I always like about Amanda's puzzles. (Although I didn't see a Taylor Swift reference today – did I miss something...?) Thank you, Amanda, for this splendid puzzle.