September 14, 2025

Title: WHAT ARE WE? (Freestyle)

Constructor: Rafael Musa

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:
WHAT ARE WE (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless puzzle. The title is a nod to SITUATIONSHIP (8D: Romantic arrangement without labels or commitment).

What I learned from today's puzzle:
  • KHLOE (38A: Third child in the Kardashian family) Although I'm aware of the Kardashian family, I don't even make an attempt to follow their lives or keep the family members straight, so I simply relied on crossing answers to help me figure out this answer. As the clue informs us, KHLOÉ Kardashian is the third child in the Kardashian family. As such, from 2007-2021 she starred with the rest of her family in the reality TV series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Since 2022 she has starred on the Hulu reality TV series The Kardashians.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
  • POEM (1A: Amanda Gorman creation) Amanda Gorman was the National Youth Poet Laureate from 2017-2018. At President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021, she read her poem, "The Hill We Climb." 
  • CAT DAD (25A: Dude with a kitty) Here's a photo of my CAT, Willow, with her CAT DAD aka my husband aka her second favorite person.
A man wearing a yellow fleece jacket is holding a calico cat.
  • DEA (35A: Government org. in "Breaking Bad") More than once I have been amazed at being reminded that the TV series Breaking Bad originally aired from 2008-2013. It seems (to me) like just yesterday that everyone was talking about this show in which a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with Stage III lung cancer begins making meth to make money to provide for his family. Given the subject of the show, it's not surprising that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was mentioned at times.
  • YALE (43A: University in New Haven) YALE is located in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1701 as the Collegiate School, and is the third-oldest college in the United States, following Harvard and College of William & Mary. In 1718, the Collegiate School was renamed YALE College after Elihu YALE, who was persuaded to donate money to construct a new building for the school.
  • SADE (47A: "Smooth Operator" singer) I have had SADE's 1984 song, "Smooth Operator" going through my head since I read this clue.
  • SKI (51A: Enjoy Whistler, say) Whistler is a SKI resort town in British Columbia, Canada. It is located about 78 miles north of Vancouver in the Coast Mountains.
  • HOT GOSSIP (59A: What might be dished out at a meal?) The question mark here is the hint that the clue is not referring to delicious food that might be served, but the dishing out of HOT GOSSIP.
  • OOO (2D: "I'm on vacation letters) OOO = out of office
  • MOBILE (4D: Port city on Alabama's coast) Located on the Gulf Coast, MOBILE is Alabama's only port city. It's understandable then, that one of the nicknames of MOBILE is "The Port City." 
  • OREOS (5D: Cookies with creme) I was on vacation while celebrating my recent birthday. Since I didn't have a birthday cake, I did what any crossword person would do, and used OREOS as a holder for my birthday candles. It took some finagling, but I made it work.
A woman is sitting in front of a plate with two OREOS. Birthday candles in the shape of a 6 and a 0 are being held in the cookies.

  • BEND (11D: Oregon city home to the last remaining Blockbuster) BEND is a city in central Oregon. And yes, it's true: BEND is the home to the last remaining Blockbuster. Since 2019, the BEND, Oregon Blockbuster has been the only remaining store of the once popular video rental franchise.
  • FRENCH (22D: "J'adore les mots croises" language) The FRENCH phrase, "J'adore les mots croises," means, "I love crosswords." This is cute.
  • TBH (27D: "Frankly..." in a text) TBH = to be honest
  • SHE'S (51D: "You're on the phone with your girlfriend, ___ upset" (Taylor Swift lyric)) "You're on the phone with your girlfriend, SHE'S upset" is the opening lyric of Taylor Swift's 2008 song, "You Belong With Me."
  • KONA (52D: Hawaiian coffee) KONA coffee is the name used to refer to coffee cultivated on the slopes of the Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes on Hawai'i, the largest of the Hawaiian islands..
  • DIY (55D: Like some reno projects) DIY = do it yourself
  • ORE (61D: Bauxite, e.g.) The sedimentary rock known as bauxite was first discovered in the early 1800s near the village of Les Baux in southern France. The reddish brown , white, or tan ORE is a source of aluminium and gallium.
  • A few other clues I especially enjoyed: 
    • ERA (31A: "I'm in my villain ___")
    • WE HAD A DEAL (9D: "You promised!")
    • DYSTOPIA (39D: Imaginary unjust society)
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word SITUATIONSHIP emerged in the 2000s and has been in widespread use since the early 2020s. Though Merriam-Webster has it listed in their "Slang & Trending" section, they define SITUATIONSHIP as "When you're more than friends and less than official." I think the title, "WHAT ARE WE?" goes quite well with this answer. I also liked seeing some other relationship-related answers in the puzzle such as DOUBLE DATES (16A: Outings for two couples) and I DOS (19A: Words exchanged at the altar). Thank you, Rafa, for this enjoyable puzzle.


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