September 3, 2025

Title: YOUR FLY IS DOWN

Constructor: Emma Oxford

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• COCOA BUTTER (3D: Ingredient in some body lotions)
• WHERE'S THE FIRE (13D: "Why are you in such a hurry?)
• PETE'S DRAGON (23D: 1977 animated musical about an orphan and his reptilian friend)

YOUR FLY IS DOWN: The last (DOWNmost) word of each vertical theme answer can be paired with the word FLY: BUTTERFLY, FIREFLY, and DRAGONFLY.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• CECIL (1A: "Invincible" character Stedman) Invincible is an animated Amazon Prime TV series for adults that premiered in 2021. The superhero show is based on the comic book series of the same name from Image Comics. The show follows the story of teenager Mark Grayson (voiced by Steven Yeun), who is the titular superhero, Invincible. CECIL Stedman (voice by Walton Goggins) is a recurring character who works at the Global Defense Agency.
• CLEOPATRA (58A: British girl group that shares its name with an Egyptian queen) The British girl group CLEOPATRA consists of sisters Cleo, Zainam, and Yonah Higgins. The group's most popular single in the U.S. was "CLEOPATRA's Theme" (1998). I was unfamiliar with this group, so was thankful for the "Egyptian queen" hint.
• LES (66A: "___ Liaisons dangereuses") LES Liaisons dangereuses is a 1782 French novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. It is an epistolary novel, made up of letters written by the characters to each other. The main characters are lovers-turned-rivals who amuse themselves by ruining the lives of others. LES Liaisons dangereuses has been adapted multiple times, including into a 1985 play of the same name and a 1988 movie, Dangerous Liaisons.
• EMILE (24D: Novelist Zola) ÉMILE Zola (1840-1902) was a French novelist, journalist, and playwright. His life has been the subject of a couple of movies. The biographical film The Life of ÉMILE Zola (1937) won an Academy Award for Best Picture. The French movie Cézanne et moi (2016) is based on the friendship between ÉMILE Zola and painter Paul Cézanne. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MOCAP (15A: Animation technique frequently used with green screens, for short) MOCAP, short for motion capture, is the process of recording the actions of human actors and using the gathered information to animate characters. 
• TROPES (22A: "Fake dating" and "enemies to lovers," e.g., in rom-coms) This clue made me smile; these are such classic rom-com TROPES! We know how these stories turn out, don't we? Several years ago, my son introduced me to the website TVTROPES. It's a fun website to peruse, as it discusses TROPES used in TV shows, books, anime, and movies.
• TIN (35A: "Sn" on the periodic table) The chemical element TIN has an atomic number of 50. Its chemical symbol, Sn, is from the Latin word "stannum." TIN is a soft metal, and can be bent by hand. 
• CAT (40A: See 5-Down) and LAP (5D: With 40-Across, certain cuddly house pet) My CAT, Willow, is definitely a cuddly LAP CAT. Her favorite place to be is on my lap, whether I'm sitting in a recliner, at my desk, or (as pictured here) at our kitchen counter.

• REE (46A: Food writer Drummond) REE Drummond is a blogger, food writer, and TV personality. Her blog, which she started writing in 2006, and her subsequent Food Network TV program that premiered in 2011, are both called The Pioneer Woman. The content focuses on her life in rural Oklahoma. REE Drummond has also written a number of cookbooks and some children's books.
• HOV (62A: Carpool lane initials) HOV here stands for high-occupancy vehicle.
• ACME (63A: Company whose No. 1 customer seems to be Wile E. Coyote) This clue made me laugh! The ACME Corporation is a fictional business featured in the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. ACME is the source of many devices used by Wile E. Coyote in his futile attempts to outwit the Road Runner. ACME sells invisible paint, anvils, exploding tennis balls, dehydrated boulders, rocket-powered roller skates, etc.  
• STOLE (64A: Took badly?) The question mark in the clue alerts solvers that there is some trickier going on here. The clue isn't using "took badly" in the sense of getting one's feeling's hurt, but literally as in took something that didn't belong to one (which is bad), or STOLE.
• ARI (10D: "Wicked" star Grande, to fans) Ariana Grande, known as ARI to her fans, plays the role of Galinda "Glinda" in the 2024 movie Wicked and in the upcoming 2025 movie Wicked: For Good. Cynthia Erivo portrays Elphaba. The movies are an adaptation of the 2003 stage musical Wicked. The good news here is that we only have two and a half more months to wait, as Wicked: For Good is set to be released on November 21!
• YEN (11D: Currency in Osaka) and ASAHI (32D: Beer brand in Osaka) Fun to see a pair of Osaka clues. Osaka is a city in Japan. The currency in Osaka is the Japanese YEN. ASAHI Breweries was founded in 1889 as the Osaka Beer Company. ASAHI is the largest beer brewer in Japan.
• PETE'S DRAGON (23D: 1977 animated musical about an orphan and his reptilian friend) PETE'S DRAGON (1977) is a live-action/animated movie about an orphan – the titular PETE – who escapes from an abusive family with the help of Elliott – the titular DRAGON, who can turn invisible. Adventures ensue. Disney made a remake of PETE'S DRAGON in 2016, though the remake is not a musical.
• SEE NOTE (43D: [Look below]) *SEE NOTE
• NEPAL (49D: Country on the southern side of Mount Everest) Earth's highest mountain, Mount Everest, is located on the NEPAL-China border.
• EVE (60D: WALL-E's crush, in "WALL-E") WALL-E is a 2008 animated movie. The title character, WALL-E, which stands for "Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth Class," has been left on an uninhabitable, deserted Earth. WALL-E's crush, who he meets as the movie progresses, is EVE, an Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• PHONE IT IN (16A: Give the bare minimum)
• BIBS (26A: Accessories for race participants)
• SIGHT (41A: "You're a ___ for sore eyes!")

The word "DOWN" in the title alerted me that the theme might be found in the vertical answers, which it was. My guess was that the word "FLY" might be hidden in the theme answers. I had a nice "Aha!" moment, therefore, when I filled in COCOA BUTTER and "saw" BUTTERFLY. Along with FIREFLY and DRAGONFLY, we have a lovely trifecta of FLYing insects. Thank you, Emma, for this delightful puzzle.

*NOTE: Nothing more to say, really. I just couldn't resist this opportunity!