September 25, 2025

Title: TAIL END

Constructors: Sally Hoelscher & Jess Rucks

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• BOOSTER SEAT (19A: Cushion that can give a child a lift)
• BIKINI BOTTOM (36A: SpongeBob SquarePants' city)
• RUNNING BACK (53A: The Eagles' Saquon Barkley, e.g.)

TAIL END: A synonym for the word TAIL is found at the END of each theme answer: SEAT, BOTTOM, and BACK.

And now a word from our constructors:

Jess: Sally and I met at ACPT (the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament), and then had a chance to connect again when I drove through Iowa. It was only a matter of time before we collaborated. Sally graciously shared this theme idea with me, and here we are! I think our clue for CATS is purr-fect for our collaboration. I love my clue for NICE, and I love Sally's clue for EASY A. Hope you had as much fun solving as I did working on this puzzle with Sally!

Sally: It's always fun to meet crossword friends in real life, and I have enjoyed being able to connect with Jess. As she said, we had a lot of fun collaborating on this puzzle. Jess and I share a love of CATS, and it makes me happy that we got CATS in the puzzle with a purr-fect clueing angle from Jess! This is my first collaboration with Jess, but it won't be the last.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• RUNNING BACK (53A: The Eagles' Saquon Barkley, e.g.) Saquon Barkley is a professional football player. He played for NFL's New York Giants from 2018-2023. Since 2024, he has been a RUNNING BACK for NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. In his first season with the Eagles, he helped them win the Super Bowl (in February of this year) and was named AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year. During that Super Bowl game, Saquon Barkley broke the record for most rushing yards in one season. I have often said that (almost) everything I know about sports I learned from crossword puzzles. One nice thing about collaborating is that you can rely on your collaborator to write clues for those things you don't know much about. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SEAL (13A: "Earless" marine mammal) Earless SEALs, also referred to as true seals are one of three groups of mammals known as Pinnepeds; the other two groups are eared SEALs and walrus. The quotation marks around the word "earless" in the clue is a hint that the word is directly paired with the answer. Earless SEALs are so named because they lack an external ear flap, a characteristic of eared SEALs such as sea lions and fur SEALs.
• EMMA (16A: Watson who helped launch the U.N. campaign HeForShe in 2014) In addition to her successful acting career, EMMA Watson was appointed as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014 and helped launch the HeForShe campaign advocating for gender equality. In a speech to the United Nations in September 2014, EMMA Watson discussed the launch of the initiative and encouraged men and boys to step up and speak up for gender equality, saying, "...ask yourself if not me, who? If not now, when?"
• TATE (17A: ___Modern (London gallery)) Located in London, TATE Modern is one of four TATE galleries that house the United Kingdom's national art collection.
• AMA (22A: Reddit Q&A) AMA stands for Ask Me Anything. The abbreviation Q&A (for Question & Answer) in the clue alerts solvers the answer will be an abbreviation.
• ARE (26A: "We ___ Family" (Sister Sledge hit)) "We ARE Family" was released in 1979 and became Sister Sledge's signature song. You ARE welcome for the "We ARE Family" earworm. "We ARE family / I got all my sisters with me / We ARE family / Get up everybody and sing..."
• NICE (27A: Minnesota ___ (culture of kindness)) Ope, I'm a fan of this clue Jess came up with for NICE! Minnesota NICE is a stereotype that implies residents of Minnesota are unusually courteous, polite, and mild-mannered, while also being emotionally reserved. It has been theorized that Minnesota NICE may have its origins in Scandinavian culture, an agrarian economy, or perhaps it's just a myth perpetuated by cultural narrators such as Garrison Keillor (creator of the radio show A Prairie Home Companion). 
• SHOW (32A: "Mean Girls" or "Wicked") As a constructor, answers such as SHOW are fun because there are so many options for clueing. I'm a fan of both of these SHOWs, Mean Girls and Wicked, and it's fun that the words "mean" and "wicked" have a similar vibe. If you, like me, are eagerly awaiting the second part of the Wicked movie – Wicked: For Good, I'm happy to tell you that the final trailer for the movie was released yesterday. It looks amazing!
• IDA (42A: Investigative journalist ___ B. Wells) IDA B. Wells (1862-1931) was an investigative journalist and a co-founder of the NAACP.  In 2020, IDA B. Wells was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for "her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans during the era of lynching."
• PODCAST (45A: "The Happiness Lab," e.g.) The Happiness Lab is a PODCAST hosted by Dr. Laurie Santos, a Yale professor who studies the science of happiness. The PODCAST grew out of a course that Dr. Laurie Santos taught at Yale, Psychology and the Good Life. The course became the most popular course in Yale's history. 
• PRO-AM (59A: Annual Pebble Beach golf tourney) The AT&T Pebble Beach PRO-AM is held annually, usually in February. This professional golf tournament is held in Pebble Beach, California, and is part of the PGA Tour. (Given my earlier comments about sports, you will probably not be surprised to learn that I did not write this clue.)
• EASY A (63A: Sailing course?) The question mark in this clue alerts solvers that the "sailing course" is not a route to sail a boat, but rather a class that one might sail through – an EASY A.
• STEEL (66A: "___ Magnolias" (play adapted into 1989 and 2012 movies)) STEEL Magnolias tells the story of a group of woman in a small southern town as they face life's challenges together. The play was written by Robert Harling; it opened Off-Broadway in 1987 and made its Broadway debut in 2005. The 1989 movie adaptation of STEEL Magnolias is the one I am most familiar with. It starred Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, and Olympia Dukakis. In 2012, STEEL Magnolias was adapted into a TV movie with an all-Black cast that included Queen Latifah, Jill Scott, Condola Rashad, Adepero Oduye, Phylicia Rashād, and Alfre Woodard.
• TOE BEAN (1D: Pet's paw pad, in slang) and IAMS (55D: Pet food brand with a paw-print logo) Always happy to work pet content into a puzzle. I especially like that both of these clues reference pets' paws.
• BEAR (5D: Fat ___ Week (annual Alaska competition)) When Jess and I were writing clues for this puzzle, we didn't know when it would be published. By a happy coincidence of timing, this is Fat BEAR Week! The National Park Service along with Explore.Org hosts Fat BEAR Week every year as a celebration of success and survival. Each year the public is invited to weigh in on which of the BEARs in Katmai National Park will be crowned Fat BEAR Champion. 
• CATS (6D: The perfect predators, according to evolutionary biology) Anjali Goswami, an evolutionary biologist at the Natural History Museum in London, has studied CATS and come to the conclusion that CATS are the perfect predators. While some species have evolved over the years, CATS have not – because they haven't needed to. CATS have perfected their ecological role as predator. As you can see in these photos, Jess's CAT, Milo, and my CAT, Willow, take their roles as perfect predators quite seriously. 

Milo

Willow

• NOVA SCOTIA (9D: Canadian province home to Peggy's Cove) NOVA SCOTIA, whose name translates to New Scotland, is a province in Eastern Canada. NOVA SCOTIA is Canada's second-smallest province by area, bigger only than Prince Edward Island. Peggy's Cove is a small community in NOVA SCOTIA that is most known for its lighthouse. Peggy's Cove lighthouse, which is officially named Peggys Point Lighthouse, is an active lighthouse operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. It's one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. I have a photo of Peggy's Cove lighthouse, taken when my husband and I visited there on our honeymoon. That was in the age before digital photos, however, and the photo isn't that great. The memories of visiting there, however, are fabulous.
• CREME (10D: ___ de la ___) When we wrote this clue, we didn't know the phrase CREME de la CREME would be a theme answer in the puzzle five days earlier, but it's a fun coincidence.
• ONTARIO (14D: Southernmost Canadian province) In addition to being the southernmost province of Canada, ONTARIO is also the country's most populous province. The capital of Canada, Ottawa, is located in ONTARIO. Jess and I didn't set out to put two Canadian provinces in our puzzle. It just worked out that way!
• CHIA (28D: "Pet" with green "hair") That's a CHIA pet, of course, whose "hair" is made up of sprouted CHIA seeds. CHIA pets were a 1970s fad. They're still around, but not nearly as popular as they were 50 years ago.
• BROWNIES (38D: Chocolaty treats) Hmmm, I might need to bake some BROWNIES today.
• SEURAT (43D: Artist who is the main character in "Sunday in the Park With George") Sunday in the Park with George is a 1983 musical by Stephen Sondheim. The musical was inspired by Georges SEURAT's painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, and centers around George, a fictionalized version of SEURAT.
• SMU (44D: Dallas sch.) Southern Methodist University (SMU) is located in University Park, a suburb of Dallas, Texas. 
• DOG (46D: Boston terrier or pug) Although Jess and I both adore CATS, we're happy to highlight DOGs as well. This clue has personal meaning for me, as when I was growing up my family had a DOG that was part Boston terrier and part pug. His name was Boston. I have previously shared memories (and a photo) of Boston.

When Jess and I were brainstorming about this theme, we started by compiling a list of TAIL synonyms. Then we came up with phrases featuring those synonyms. When deciding which phrases to use as theme answers, we looked for those in which the TAIL synonym does not mean TAIL. This (hopefully) gives a bit more of an "Aha!" feeling to the identification of the theme. We were happy with the set we ended up with – especially BIKINI BOTTOM, a particularly nice find. Thanks to Jess for the collaboration, thanks to Amanda for editing, and thanks to you for solving and reading.