September 8, 2025

Title: CODE WORDS

Constructor: Joe Rodini

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• COAL MINE (17A: *Proverbial spot for a canary)
• ARCADE GAME (26A: *Pac-Man or Donkey Kong)
• COMIC ACTOR (42A: *Ben Stiller, e.g.)
• UNITED STATES (52A: Country that will host the 2028 Olympics ... and a collective description of the letter pair abbreviations in the starred clues' answers)

CODE WORDS: Each theme answer is comprised of postal CODEs of U.S. STATES. 

• COAL MINE = CO (Colorado) + AL (Alabama) + MI (Michigan) + NE (Nebraska)
• ARCADE GAME = AR (Arizona) + CA (California) + DE (Deleware) + GA (Georgia) + ME (Maine)
• COMIC ACTOR = CO (Colorado) + MI (Michigan) + CA (California) + CT (Connecticut) + OR (Oregon)

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• PULP (12A: "Common People" band) "Common People" is 1995 song by the British rock band PULP. Now that I've listened to it, the song sounds familiar, but while solving I needed the help of crossing answers to come up with this answer.
• CADET (27D: "___ Kelly" (2002 film set in a military academy)) CADET Kelly is a Disney Channel Original Movie. Hilary Duff stars as the title character, a high school student whose mother marries a Brigadier General. When her stepfather becomes the Commandant of George Washington Military Academy, Kelly has to enroll at the school. Adventures ensue.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• FTW (19A: Celebratory online initialism) FTW = For The Win
• STL (28A: Cards' city) St. Louis, Missouri (STL) is the home of MLB's St. Louis Cardinals. The use of the shortened form of the team's name in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation. Go Cards!
• MACAW (32A: Type of parrot) The MACAW, native to Central and South American rainforests, is known for its colorful plumage. 
• RUSSO (36A: "Tin Cup" star Rene) Tin Cup is a 1996 sports-themed romcom starring Rene RUSSO and Kevin Costner. The film is set in the world of golf, and Kevin Costner's character ("Tin Cup") is a former golf prodigy attempting to make a comeback. Rene RUSSO's character (Dr. Molly Griswald) is a clinical psychologist, who offers to become Tin Cup's sports psychologist in return for golf lessons.
• OBIE (39A: Off-Broadway award) The OBIE Awards, also known as the Off-Broadway Theater Awards are presented annually to honor off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway theatre. The OBIE Awards were created in 1955 by The Village Voice newspaper. 
• DIORAMA (50A: Display in a shoebox, perhaps) I think I have mentioned before that when I was in school I would always choose to make a DIORAMA if that was one of the project choices. There's something satisfying about a recreated scene in a shoebox.
• ARIES (57A: Sign between Pisces and Taurus) Pisces is the astrological sign for people born between February 20 and March 20. ARIES is the astrological sign for those born between March 21 and April 20. Those born between April 21 and May 21 have the astrological sign Taurus. The crossword is giving us a bit of astrological sign review, as yesterday we saw GEMINI clued as [Sign after Taurus].
• DIE (61A: Cube with 21 pips) The dots on dice are called pips. A standard six-sided DIE has 21 pips, since 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 =21.
• DEY (63A: "L.A Law" actor Susan) The legal drama TV series L.A. Law originally aired from 1986-1994. Susan DEY portrays Grace Van Owen, a deputy district attorney who becomes a judge.
• TAI CHI (1D: Martial art with slow movements) The martial art TAI CHI involves slow gentle movements and physical postures, combined with controlled breathing and a meditative state of mind. TAI CHI is promoted for its health benefits of developing body awareness, retraining posture, and maintaining flexibility.
• ALTOID (2D: "Curiously strong" mint) The ALTOIDs brand of mints uses the advertising slogan, "The Original Celebrated Curiously Strong Mints." ALTOIDs are marketed in tins. (I may have previously purchased ALTOIDs simply to be able to reuse the tin.)
• NPR (6D: "All Things Considered" network) The NPR program, All Things Considered, debuted in 1971. The show highlights the news each day, providing analysis, commentary, and interviews. The current hosts of All Things Considered are Ailsa Chang, Mary Louise Kelly, Ari Shapiro, Juana Summers, and Scott Detrow.
• KEN (9D: "Jeopardy!" host Jennings) KEN Jennings appeared on Jeopardy! as a contestant in 2004. His 74-game winning streak remains the game show's longest winning streak. KEN Jennings has been a host of Jeopardy! since 2020 (initially as an interim, and then in conjunction with Mayim Bialik, and now the sole host).
• PESO (24D: Currency in the Philippines) The Philippines is an island country in Southeast Asia. Its currency is the Philippine PESO.
• TWO CENTS (29D: "Value" of an unsolicited opinion) As in, "Here's my TWO CENTS' worth..."
• ALOO (33D: Saag ___ (spinach-and-potato dish)) Here's my occasional reminder that ALOO is a South Asian term for potatoes, so when a dish in a crossword clue is described as containing potato, the answer may be ALOO.
• BALI (40D: Island near Java) The country of Indonesia consists of over 17,000 islands. Two of those islands are BALI and Java. 
• AMELIE (47D: 2001 title role for Audrey Tautou) In the 2001 French movie, AMÉLIE, Audrey Tautou portrays the title character. AMÉLIE is a waitress who, inspired by an accidental discovery, begins to concoct schemes to make other people happy.
• ERIE (53D: Great Lake near Niagara Falls) Niagara Falls is the main outlet for Lake ERIE. The Detroit River carries water from Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair into Lake ERIE. Water drains from Lake ERIE into Lake Ontario via the Niagara River and Niagara Falls. This is the first appearance this month for our crossword friend ERIE.

I had a nice "Aha!" moment when I hit the revealer, as I had not figured out the theme before then. I know that the 2028 Summer Olympics will be in Los Angeles, so I was easily able to fill in UNITED STATES, and then easily recognized the postal codes in the starred theme answers. Thank you, Joe, for this excellent puzzle.