September 15, 2025

Title: GOING DOUBLE PLATINUM

Constructor: Maddy Ziegler

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• HUMPTY DUMPTY (20A: Nursery rhyme figure often depicted as an anthropomorphic 10-Down)
• FLIP THE SCRIPT (39A: Completely change it up)
• LAPTOP TABLES (57A: Lightweight stands for lightweight computers)

GOING DOUBLE PLATINUM: Each theme answer contains the letter pattern PT two times. PT is the chemical symbol for PLATINUM. We have HUMPTY DUMPTY, FLIP THE SCRIPT, and LAPTOP TABLES.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• SLOWPOKE (41D: Sluggish Pokemon) SLOWPOKE is a species of Pokémon known for being sluggish. SLOWPOKE is pink in color and it resembles a cross between a salamander and a hippopotamus. Since most of my Pokémon knowledge has come from crossword puzzles, I was grateful for the "sluggish" hint in the clue.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MATH (1A: Class that might require a calculator) Someone put MATH in our word puzzle!
• HUMPTY DUMPTY (20A: Nursery rhyme figure often depicted as an anthropomorphic 10-Down) Most of us know this verse well: "HUMPTY DUMPTY sat on a wall. / HUMPTY DUMPTY had a great fall. / All the king's horses and all the king's men / Couldn't put HUMPTY together again." Although HUMPTY DUMPTY is commonly depicted as an anthropomorphic (acting and speaking like a human) EGG, the nursery rhyme itself never specifies that HUMPTY DUMPTY is an EGG. One theory is that the rhyme doesn't explicitly state HUMPTY DUMPTY is an EGG because it may have originally been posed as a riddle (to which EGG was the answer).
• RAE (24A: "Barbie" star Issa) In the 2023 movie Barbie, Issa RAE portrays President Barbie.
• PEDRO (39A: "The Mandalorian" actor Pascal) The Mandalorian (2019-2023) is a Disney+ TV series that is part of the Star Wars franchise. The events of The Mandalorian take place five years after the events of the 1983 movie Return of the Jedi. Pedro PASCAL plays the title character, bounty hunter Din Djarin. Fun fact: His character is the only one that has appeared in every episode of the show.
• YO-YO (45A: "Walk the dog" toy) "Walk the dog" is a classic YO-YO trick in which the YO-YO is thrown and allowed to roll along the ground before coming back to the hand.
• ISLAM (47A: Malcolm X's faith) Malcolm X (1925-1965) was a human rights activist and a prominent figure in the civil rights movement. In the 1940s, he joined the Nation of ISLAM and adopted the name Malcolm X, using the X to symbolize his unknown African ancestral surname. In the 1960s, Malcolm X became disillusioned with the Nation of ISLAM and embraced Sunni ISLAM.
• CATAN (60A: Board game where you might trade wool for wheat) In the board game CATAN, players collect and trade resources – wool, wheat, ore, wood, and brick – that are used to build houses, roads, and cities.
• EROS (63A: Cupid's Greek counterpart) In Greco-Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction, and affection. EROS is Cupid's Greek equivalent.
• LAOS (64A: Neighbor of Vietnam) LAOS is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. In addition to Vietnam, LAOS borders Myanmar, China, Cambodia, and Thailand. The capital of LAOS is Vientiane.
• ELLE (67A: "Hi, I'm ___ Woods and this is Bruiser Woods, and we're both Gemini vegetarians") Reese Witherspoon portrays ELLE Woods in the 2001 movie, Legally Blonde. ELLE Woods is a sorority girl who attends law school in an attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend. "Hi, I'm ELLE Woods and this is Bruiser Woods, and we're both Gemini vegetarians," is ELLE's introduction of herself. (Bruiser is ELLE's dog.)
• LEA (69A: Stage and screen star Salonga) LEA Salonga has appeared in a number of Broadway stage productions, including Miss Saigon, for which she won a Tony Award. She also supplied the singing voices for Disney princesses Jasmine and Mulan.
• HEMP (4D: CBD oil source) HEMP is a Cannabis plant grown for industrial and consumable use. HEMP is a source of cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD does not appear to have psychoactive and intoxicating effects.
• EASY A (5D: 2010 teen comedy partially inspired by "The Scarlet Letter") The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 novel by Nathanial Hawthorne. The book is set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1640s. After giving birth to a baby whose father is unknown, Hester Prynne is required to wear a scarlet "A" for the rest of her life. EASY A is a 2010 teen rom-com in which high school student Olive Pendergast (Emma Stone) lies about having sex. At one point, Olive stitches a red "A" onto her clothes.
• EGO DEATH (6D: Loss of sense of self) The term EGO DEATH, meaning "a complete loss of subjective self-identity," is used in a variety of contexts, including psychology, rebirth mythology, psychedelic drug use, and New Age spirituality and mysticism.
• KENYA (9D: Nairobi's country) Nairobi is the capital and largest city of KENYA, a country in Eastern Africa. The city's name is derived from a Maasai phrase meaning "place of cool waters" ("Enkare Nairobi"). The Nairobi River flows through the city.
• EGG (10D: Common chilaquiles topper) Chilaquiles are a traditional dish in Mexican cuisine, often made from leftover tortillas and served for breakfast. Crisp tortilla triangles are topped with salsa (either green or red) and the mixture is simmered to soften the tortillas. Other toppings are added such as chicken, cream, queso fresco, onion, avocado, refried beans, or scrambled EGGs.
• WAR (11D: "This Is How You Lose the Time ___" (2019 novel)) This is How You Lose the Time WAR is a 2019 science fiction novel by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. The book is comprised of a series of letters between two characters, Red and Blue. They are both time travelers, who alter the history of multiple universes on behalf of their empires, which are at WAR with each other. As they time travel, the Red and Blue begin leaving messages for each other. When writing the novel, Max Gladstone wrote all of Red's letters and Amal El-Mohtar wrote Blue's letters. I read This is How You Lose the Time War four years ago, and writing about it makes me want to reread it.
• PRINCE (22D: "Raspberry Beret" singer) "Raspberry Beret" is a 1985 song from PRINCE & the Revolution's album, Around the World in a Day. This is one of those songs that sometimes pops into my head as an earworm (even if I haven't read a crossword clue about it). "She wore a raspberry beret / The kind you find in a second hand store..."
• EAST (27D: New York to York direction) If you begin in the U.S. state of New York and wish to arrive in the city of York in England, you will need to travel EAST. 
• LA LA LA (48D: Hands-over-ears syllables) "LA LA LA ... I can't hear you..." This clue made me laugh.
• CANDY (53D: Nerds or Smarties) I appreciate the choice of CANDY names here.
• A couple of other clues I especially enjoyed:
• DEEP CUT (51A: Song only a superfan might know)
• DADS (70A: Lovers of bad puns, stereotypically)

The chemical element PLATINUM is a highly unreactive, silverish-white metal. The important thing one needs to know to figure out the theme of this puzzle is that the chemical symbol of PLATINUM is PT. It took me a few moments of staring at the completed grid to see the DOUBLE PTs in each theme answer. This made for a nice "Aha!" moment. Thank you, Maddy, for this enjoyable puzzle.