September 4, 2025

Title: D3 SWIMMING FINALS

Constructors: Beth Rubin & Will Nediger

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• ARTICHOKE DIP (20A: Bowlful made with hearts)
• ONE-HANDED DUNK (36A: Impressive basketball shot that requires a high vertical jump)
• DUMPSTER DIVE (54A: Salvage waste)

D3 SWIMMING FINALS: The FINAL word of each of these 3 theme answers begins with the letter D and is related to SWIMMING: DIP, DUNK, DIVE.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• DALE (60A: Hank and Peggy's neighbor on "King of the Hill") King of the Hill is an animated sitcom that originally aired from 1997-2010. The show is centered on the lives of the Hill family – Hank and Peggy and their son Bobby – who live in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas. Each episode of the show opens with Hank standing and drinking with three of his neighbors: DALE, Bill, and Boomhauer.
• ALAN (25D: "Faded" musician Walker) "Faded" is a 2015 song by ALAN Walker, a Norwegian DJ and record producer. Norwegian singer Iselin provides vocals. "Faded" is a rework of ALAN Walker's 2014 song "Fade." Fun fact: "Faded" was the "most Shazamed song" (song identified with the help of the Shazam app) in 2016. This clue is an example of the importance of quotation marks. Without them, we would be talking about a faded musician, rather than the musician with the song "Faded."

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ATARI (16A: Arcade game pioneer that had its 50th anniversary in 2022) It's true, ATARI is 53 years old. The company was founded in June 1972. Five months later, ATARI released its first game, Pong. 
• LENA (17A: "Too Much" creator Dunham) The rom-com TV series Too Much premiered on Netflix in July of this year. Created by LENA Dunham and Luis Felber, the show stars Megan Stalter as a  commercial producer who has moved from New York City to London and Will Sharpe as a London-based indie musician.
• STILL (23A: ___ waters run deep) and SPLASH (1D: Big impression) I consider "STILL water" and SPLASH fun bonuses for this swimming-themed puzzle.
• TERRE (24A: ___ Haute, Indiana) TERRE Haute, Indiana is located on the Wabash River near the Indiana-Illinois border. Indiana State University is located in TERRE Haute.
• ATP (34A: Men's tennis org.) ATP here stands for Association of Tennis Professionals. ATP is the governing body of men's professional tennis. The ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour are men's tennis circuits run by ATP. The organization also publishes weekly rankings of professional men's tennis players.
• REM (42A: "Losing My Religion" band) "Losing My Religion" is a 1991 song by R.E.M., from their Out of Time album. The song and its music video won Grammy Awards for Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. "Losing My Religion" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017.
• CABARET (43A: Musical set in Berlin) The 1966 musical CABARET (music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb) was based on a 1951 play by Joe Druten, I Am a Camera. The play, in turn, was adapted from a semi-autobiographical 1939 novel, Goodbye to Berlin. CABARET is set in 1929-1930 Berlin, as the Nazis are ascending to power. The musical centers on a relationship between an American writer, Clifford Bradshaw, and a CABARET singer, Sally Bowles. Overseeing the musical's action is the "Emcee," the Master of Ceremonies at the seedy Kit Kat Club. A revival of CABARET is currently playing on Broadway.
• NYT (45A: Strands publisher (Abbr.)) Strands is an online game published by The New York Times (NYT). Strands is a word search game, and a new puzzle is released every day. The puzzles are themed, with all of the words to be found falling within a category hinted at by the title. Strands is one of the puzzles I play every morning, and it was fun to see it highlighted here.
• DUMPSTER DIVE (54A: Salvage waste) The term DUMPSTER DIVE is fairly self-explanatory. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term "DUMPSTER diving" was first used in 1983. Fun fact: We saw DUMPSTER DIVE as a theme answer May 17, 2024. Although the theme of that puzzle is different from today's theme, both puzzles are water-related.
• ASIA (59A: "Billions" actor ___ Kate Dillon) Billions is a TV series that originally aired on Showtime from 2016-2023. The show depicts a hedge fund manager's accumulation of wealth and power. ASIA Kate Dillon portrays market analyst Taylor Amber Mason. This is the second appearance of our crossword friend ASIA this month, and it's fun to see a non-geographic clue.
• DUOS (62A: Bert and Ernie and Tom and Jerry) I was happy to see both of these iconic DUOS mentioned.
• SNAIL (4D: Animal that kind of resembles an "at" sign) Yep, I can see it. This is a cute clue!
• PITH (5D: White part of an orange) When I read this clue, I knew the answer immediately. And then I wondered, "Why do I know that the white part of an orange is the PITH?" This certainly isn't a word I use often.
• SNOOTS (6D: Boopable pet parts) Sometimes I look at my cat, Willow, and I think, "How can I not boop that adorable SNOOT?!"

• ANAHEIM (30D: City of Angels) ANAHEIM, California is part of the Greater Los Angeles area. ANAHEIM is known as the "City of Angels" because it is the home of the MLB team, the Los Angeles Angels. In spite of the team's name, it has been based in ANAHEIM since 1966.
• OMAR (36D: Egyptian actor Sharif) OMAR Sharif (1932-2015) is generally considered one of Egypt's greatest film stars. His filmography includes the movies Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Did you know that OMAR Sharif's personal passion was contract bridge. He represented the United Arab Republic at the 1964 World Bridge Olympiad, and Egypt at the 1968 Olympiad. The OMAR Sharif Bridge Circus was formed in 1967 to tour the world and promote the game via exhibition matches. OMAR Sharif even contributed to a Chicago Tribune bridge column and authored books on bridge. 
• REVLON (47D: ColorStay cosmetics company) REVLON was founded in 1932 by two brothers – Charles and Joseph Revson – and a chemist, Charles Lachman. In naming their company, the brothers took their last name and changed the "s" to an "l" to include Lachman. ColorStay is REVLON's line of longwear makeup designed to resist fading.

I appreciate the extra effort put into today's theme. It's a nice touch that all of the FINAL words of the theme answers begin with the letter D, elevating the theme from SWIMMING FINALS to D3 SWIMMING FINALS. Thank you, Beth and Will, for this enjoyable puzzle.