September 19, 2025

Title: SIDESWIPE

Constructors: Carina da Rosa & Sally Hoelscher

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• STEAL THE SHOW (20A: Really stand out onstage)
• TAKE A KNEE (39A: Protest like Colin Kaepernick in 2016)
• PINCH PENNIES (59A: Be frugal)

SIDESWIPE: The word on the right SIDE of each theme answer is a synonym for SWIPE: STEAL, TAKE, and PINCH.

And now a word from our constructors:

Carina: I’m the luckiest constructor: Sally’s my mentor over at Lil AVCX. So when she asked me to collaborate, I said those magic words, “Absolutely! Should we set up a Zoom?” We toyed with other theme ideas, but SIDESWIPE was her genius brainchild that stuck—and we made a big ol’ spreadsheet full of synonyms and fun phrases and nailed it down to these, et voila. Thanks to Sally (and Amanda) for my official USAT debut!

Sally: Lil AVCX is the midi branch of the indie publication AVCX. As I've mentioned before, if you enjoy crosswords and don't have an AVCX subscription, I recommend checking it out. With an AVCX subscription, you get access to all of the archived puzzles as well, which means you could check out the three fabulous midi puzzles Carina has already constructed this year, as well as being among the first to be able to solve her upcoming puzzles. (And there are many other constructors making excellent puzzles at Lil AVCX and the other AVCX branches. Check it out!) I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Carina this year at Lil AVCX, and it was delightful to be able to collaborate with her on this puzzle. When choosing theme answers (from that spreadsheet Carina mentioned), we looked for phrases in which the first word had a different meaning than SWIPE. For example, the phrase TAKE A KNEE doesn't mean SWIPE A KNEE. This transformation of the word TAKE from the theme answer to its application in the theme makes discovering the theme a bit more interesting (in my opinion!).

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• OMAHA (9A: Nebraska city home to America's largest indoor rainforest) That rainforest is the "Lied Jungle" at OMAHA's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The Lied Jungle occupies an 80-foot tall building that covers 1.5 acres and is home to about 90 different species of animals.
• HAIL (14A: Frozen precipitation) and RAIN (66A: Liquid precipitation) Lots of precipitation in this puzzle. 
• POETS (19A: Amanda Gorman and Mary Oliver) Amanda Gorman was the National Youth POET Laureate from 2017-2018. Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning POET whose writing was often inspired by nature. Taking a few minutes to listen to these POETS read their poetry would be a great addition to any day. Here's a recommendation if you'd like one: Amanda Gorman reading "Ode to Our Ocean," and Mary Oliver reading "Wild Geese."
• SOY (33A: Bean in shoyu sauce) Shoyu is Japanese-style SOY sauce, made from a combination of soybeans and wheat.
• THEME (37A: Feature of some crosswords) Like this one, for instance ... this puzzle has a THEME!
• TAKE A KNEE (39A: Protest like Colin Kaepernick in 2016) In 2016, Colin Kaepernick, who was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, began to TAKE A KNEE during the national anthem at the start of NFL games. His action was a form of protest against police brutality and racial inequality. Black lives matter.
• ICE (49A: That's cold!) The exclamation point at the end of this clue is an indication to solvers that this clue is to be taken literally. ICE is indeed cold!
• MISS (50A: "Did you ___ me?") I haven't written a blog post since yesterday. Did you MISS me?
• REASON (55A: "Give Me One ___" (Tracy Chapman song)) Tracy Chapman's song, "Give Me One REASON" won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 1997. "Give me one REASON to stay here / And I'll turn right back around..."
• SEA (58A: Coral or Caspian) The Coral SEA is off of the northeast coast of Australia, and is a marginal SEA of the South Pacific Ocean (A marginal SEA is the term for a part of an ocean near land, between the coastal zone and open ocean.) The Coral SEA is home to the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest reef system. The Caspian SEA is the world's largest inland body of water. It is located between Europe and Asia, and is bordered by Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan.
• CAPER (63A: "The Great Muppet ___") The Great Muppet CAPER is a 1981 musical movie directed by Jim Henson. The movie features the Muppets (of course!) who get caught up in a jewel heist while investigating a robbery in London. The Great Muppet CAPER is the only Muppets feature film directed by Jim Henson, who was the creator of the Muppets. 
• BANKS (71A: Buildings where dough is stored?) The question mark at the end of the clue alerts solvers to expect some trickiness. The clue is not referring to buildings where pizza dough or bread dough is stored, but to BANKS where money – aka dough – is stored.
• CAT TREE (2D: Structure that may include a scratching post) Please don't tell my CAT, Willow, that there is such a thing as a CAT TREE. If she knew these existed she would definitely have a few MEOWS (10D: Catty remarks?) to say to me. And really, our entire house is, in a sense, Willow's CAT TREE.

• ELLA (4D: Jazzy Fitzgerald) During her career as a jazz singer, ELLA Fitzgerald (1917-1996) earned the nicknames "First Lady of Song," and "Queen of Jazz." 
• MOM (27D: Lisa Bonet, to Zoe Kravitz) Lisa Bonet is known for her portrayal of Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show (1984-1992). Zoë Kravitz's breakthrough role was playing Angel Salvadore (Tempest) in the 2011 movie X-Men: First Class. As the clue informs us, Lisa Bonet is Zoë Kravitz's MOM.
• EYE (28A: LASIK ___ surgery) LASIK stands for "laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis" – is it any wonder it's referred to as LASIK? LASIK EYE surgery is performed to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.
• BALDERDASH (41D: Nonsense) Just noting that BALDERDASH is a fun word to say.
• KEA (44D: Mauna ___ (Hawaii's highest peak) Mauna KEA is one of five volcanoes that form the island of Hawai'i. Mauna KEA is a dormant volcano, and its peak is the highest point in Hawaii.
• MUSICAL (47D: "Six" or "& Juliet") If you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably realize I am a fan of MUSICALs. I like all (well, most of...) the MUSICALs! Therefore, it was hard to choose just two MUSICAL examples for this clue. I finally landed on Six and & Juliet, because to me the two MUSICALs have a similar vibe. Six is a MUSICAL whose characters are the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. The MUSICAL is a modern retelling, imagining the queens telling and reframing their story in the form of a singing competition to determine which of them had the worst experience being married to Henry VII. The MUSICAL & Juliet features William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway, as characters. It imagines what might happen if Juliet did not die at the end of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. 
• PREEMIE (48D: Baby born early) A PREEMIE is a baby born at 37 weeks of gestational age or earlier; full term is 40 weeks. I have a special spot in my heart for PREEMIEs, as my son was a PREEMIE, born at 31 weeks. He was actually large for how early he was, but still quite tiny, weighing just 4 lbs. 4 oz. Fortunately, he did great, and looking at him now (looking up at him, actually, since he's 6' 4"), it's hard to remember how small he was.
• ANN (53D: Author Patchett) ANN Patchett has written novels, nonfiction, and children's books. Her 2001 novel Bel Canto won the PEN/Faulkner Award (given for the year's best works of fiction by living American authors) and the Orange Prize for Fiction (a UK literary award given to a female author of any nationality for the best original novel). Fun fact: After college, ANN Patchett attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa, where she obtained a Master's degree. She lived in Iowa City from 1985-1987, just missing me by a few years, as I started graduate school at the University of Iowa (though in Pharmacology not writing) in 1990.
• HALO (61D: Beyonce song with the lyric "I got my angel now") Beyoncé's 2008 song, "HALO," is from her album, I Am...Sasha Fierce. "Standin' in the light of your HALO / I got my angel now..."
• A LA (64D: Boeuf ___ mode) I tend to associate the phrase "À LA mode" with ice cream. So is "boeuf À LA mode" beef with ice cream? Thankfully, it is not. The ice cream definition is a U.S. usage of the phrase. "À LA mode" also means "fashionable," and in cooking it means "of beef." I guess that means boeuf À LA mode is beef of beef. But I digress... Boeuf À LA mode is a French dish consisting of beef that is braised in beef stock and wine.

Did this SIDESWIPE theme STEAL your heart, TAKE your breath away, or make you want to PINCH someone's cheeks? Congratulations to Carina da Rosa on a USA Today crossword debut! Thanks for collaborating with me. Thanks to Amanda for her usual fabulous editing. I hope you had as much fun solving this puzzle as Carina and I had making it.

One more thing today: I want to remind you about a couple of crossword tournaments that are coming up. The Midwest Crossword Puzzle Tournament will be Saturday, October 4 in Chicago, Illinois. Registration is open until September 29, and there are still a few spaces left for in-person solvers. There's plenty of room in the online version of the tournament, of course. And if you'd like to attend in person but don't want the stress of competing, you could sign up to be a volunteer. If you do come to the tournament, please find me and say hello!

Also, registration is happening now for Boswords Fall Themeless League. This is a virtual event that happens on Mondays in October and November, but even if you're not available on Mondays, you can still participate. Boswords is always a fun time; I encourage you to check it out.