September 22, 2025

Title: SPLIT PAYMENT

Constructor: Kareem Ayas

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• CORNED BEEF HASH (15A: Meat-and-potatoes diner dish often topped with an egg)
• CANDY CRUSH (37A: Match-three mobile app game with jelly beans and lemon drops, casually)
• CAST IRON STOMACH (64A: Ability to eat almost anything without experiencing ill effects)

SPLIT PAYMENT: The word CASH – a form of PAYMENT – is SPLIT by each theme answer: CORNED BEEF HASH, CANDY CRUSH, and CAST IRON STOMACH.

And now a word from our constructor:

Kareem: You know, growing up in Syria, my friends and family used to tell me: "the first time you go out and get some street food, you develop a CAST IRON STOMACH" – totally delicious, totally worth it, totally recommend – have you ever tried a Syrian man'ouche?! Anyway, thanks for solving!

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• CHLOE (19A: "American Horror Story: Asylum" actor Sevigny) American Horror Story is an anthology TV series, meaning each season is a self-contained miniseries with a different set of characters and story lines. American Horror Story: Asylum is the show's second season, which originally aired in 2012 and 2013. Asylum is set in 1964, and centers on the staff and patients at the fictional mental institution, Briarcliff Manor. CHLOË Sevigny guest-starred as Shelley, a nymphomaniac whose husband placed her in the Briarcliff Manor. I have written about American Horror Story previously, but this is the first time I've written about this particular season.
• EARL (20A: "My Name is ___" (Jason Lee sitcom)) My Name is EARL originally aired on NBC from 2005 to 2009. Jason Lee portrays EARL, a small-time thief who, after learning about karma from a talk show, makes a list of every bad thing he's ever done and sets out to make amends.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LOU (12A: Stand-up comedian Sanders) LOU Sanders is a British comedian. In 2024, she was a contestant on the British show Dancing on Ice. As I've mentioned previously, I am familiar with LOU Sanders because she was a contestant on the game show Taskmaster in 2019.
• SOUP (13A: Chowder or bisque) This is a fun call back to Kareem's September 6 puzzle titled "SOUP's On.
• PERU (14A: Machu Picchu's country) Machu Picchu is located in the Andes mountains in southern PERU. A 15th-century citadel and one of the most well-known examples of Incan architecture, Machu Picchu was most likely constructed as an estate of the Incan emperor, Pachacuti.
• ECHO (21A: "Hello! ... ello! ... llo! ...o ...o...," for example) Very fun clue!
• CANDY CRUSH (37A: Match-three mobile app game with jelly beans and lemon drops, casually) Did you know that the full name of this match-three mobile app game is CANDY CRUSH Saga? It is definitely known casually (and perhaps more widely) as simply CANDY CRUSH. I have played a fair amount of CANDY CRUSH, but not recently. I have a pattern with games like this. When I first discover them I spend far more time playing them than I probably should. Then I get the game out of my system, stop playing it, and delete it from my device. (I didn't say this was a particularly healthy pattern...) I no longer have CANDY CRUSH on my iPad, but I immediately knew this answer.
• ALOO (61A: ___ bodi tama (13-Across with bamboo shoots and potatoes)) ALOO bodi tama is a SOUP in Nepali cuisine. In addition to the fermented bamboo shoots (tama) and potatoes (ALOO), the SOUP also contains black-eyed peas (bodi). ALOO is a South Asian term for potatoes. Therefore, if you see the description of a dish that contains potatoes – as in this clue – it's quite possible the answer is going to be ALOO.
• ALCHEMY (1D: Medieval pseudoscience) ALCHEMY is a pseudoscience (a discipline often erroneously regarded as a science) that focused on the transmutation of lead into gold and the creation of an elixir of immortality. This clue reminds me of a book series I recently read, The Accidental Alchemist Mysteries by Gigi Pandian. I've previously written about this series that features a 300-year-old alchemist and a stone gargoyle who has come to life. 
• EUROS (3D: Italian bread?) The question mark here alerts solvers to be on the lookout for wordplay. This clue is not referencing the Italian bread you eat, but using the word "bread" to refer to money. EUROS are the currency used in Italy.
• OPERA (7D: "The Phantom of the ___") The Phantom of the OPERA is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. After its 1986 premiere in London, The Phantom of the OPERA opened on Broadway in 1988. It ran on Broadway until 2023, and is the longest running show on Broadway, with 13,981 performances. The Phantom of the OPERA won seven Tony Awards in 1988, including Best Musical.
• ELM (17D: Tree along NYC's Literary Walk) The Literary Walk is located in the south end of New York City's Central Park. The path is lined with ELM trees and features statues of famous writers, including William Shakespeare and Robert Burns.
• NOUNS (23D: Cats and dogs, e.g.) I adore seeing words like NOUNS in crosswords, because they have so many possible clueing angles. I particularly like the word NOUNS because it gives me an excuse to link to the Schoolhouse Rock song, "A NOUN is a Person, Place or Thing." Most importantly, the fact that Kareem chose "cats" and "dogs" as examples of NOUNS means I can use this as an excuse to share pet photos. (As regular readers realize, I will use almost anything as an excuse to share pet photos.) Please enjoy these photos of Kareem's dog, Kane, and my cat, Willow. Kane and Willow are proper NOUNS, after all.

On a recent trip to Rhode Island, Kane wades through the lake like he owns the place.

Willow walking on a table, because, let's be honest, she owns the place.

• DND (29D: Fantasy RPG) An RPG is a role-playing game, and refers to a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fantasy world. Dungeons & Dragons (DND) is a tabletop RPG first published in 1974. DND is considered the first modern RPG.
• C YA (39D: "ttyl") ttyl = talk to you later
• HATE MAIL (40D: Venomous letters) and MONOCLE (46D: Single-lensed eyepiece) and SMASHED (47D: Broke into smithereens) Sometimes I am inspired by the proximity of particular answers in a puzzle. I present to you the beginning of a short story inspired by the lower right corner of this grid (with special appearances by a few other answers in the grid. 

The brilliant detective adjusted her MONOCLE and peered at the PILE of HATE MAIL her client had received. Noticing bits of GOO on the corners of some of the letters, she sniffed hesitantly. As she did so, the MONOCLE fell away from her EYE and onto the floor. 

"Rats," she said looking at the shattered glass, "that's the third MONOCLE I've SMASHED this week. Never mind ... I have REASON to believe that the sender of these letters recently ATE CORNED BEEF HASH, ALOO bodi tama, SAMOSAS, and SOUP. To be continued... (or not. I think it's best if I stick to blogging.)

• SAMOSAS (43D: Fried savory pastries) SAMOSAS are often filled with potatoes, onions, peas, meat, and spices.
• OTIS (60D: Singer Redding) OTIS Redding (1941-1967) had his first single, "These Arms of Mine," in 1962. His last single was "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," which he recorded in 1967, shortly before his death in a plane crash. 
• OSLO (62D: Norwegian city home to the Fram Museum) OSLO is the capital and most populous city of Norway. The Fram Museum in OSLO tells the story of Norwegian polar exploration. Fram is the name of the original ship used by Norwegian polar explorers. This ship is housed in the museum, as is the Gjøa, the ship Roald Amundsen and his crew used to explore the Northwest Passage in the early 1900s..

The word SPLIT in today's puzzle immediately had me suspecting a SPLIT word theme. I wondered if the SPLIT word might be "fee" or "bill" or "rent." I was correct on the theme type, but did not guess the SPLIT word, so had an "Aha! It's CASH" moment after filling in CORNED BEEF HASH. I appreciate that each SPLIT of CASH is represented in the puzzle: C/ASH, CA/SH, and CAS/H. Thank you, Kareem, for this excellent puzzle.