October 13, 2025

Title: WARPED TOUR

Constructors: Amie Walker & Brian Callahan

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• NEXT ROUND'S ON ME (20A: "I'm buying drinks after you!")
• SO TRUE BESTIE (36A: "Couldn't have said it better, bud")
• AT LEAST YOU TRIED (55A: "Solid effort there")

WARPED TOUR: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word TOUR: NEXT ROUND'S ON ME, SO TRUE BESTIE, and AT LEAST YOU TRIED.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• SCENE IT (1D: DVD-based trivia game with a "Friends" edition) SCENE IT? is a trivia game based on pop culture and movies. The game was originally played using DVD clips. Newer versions use streaming functionality rather than DVDs. I've heard of this game, but couldn't bring it to mind without the help of crossing answers. (Side note: Considering how many movies and TV shows I haven't seen and mostly know about from crosswords – including Friends – I imagine I wouldn't be good at SCENE IT?!)
• ICE DANCER (8D: Skater such as Madison Chock) Madison Chock is a professional ICE DANCER and an Olympic gold medalist. Her current skating partner is Evan Bates, who is also her husband. (They were married last year.)
• STUTTER (41D: ___ step (basketball move)) The STUTTER step in basketball is a sudden, quick series of short steps (while dribbling the ball, of course). I learned this today from this crossword.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TITLE (16A: "Warped Tour," for this puzzle) I enjoyed this meta answer.
• O'NEIL (19A: Stuntwoman Kitty) I wrote about Kitty O'NEIL last month when we saw O'NEIL clued as [Kitty once called "the fastest woman in the world"].
• EDU (23A: www.asu.___) EDU is the URL ending used for educational institutions. The URL in this clue is for Arizona State University.
• ANT (24A: Hill worker) and AIDE (25A: Hill worker) This is a fun clue echo.
• TILE (33A: Azul piece) Azul is a TILE-based game in which players collect sets of similarly colored TILEs to place on their boards. The game's title is the Spanish and Portuguese word for "blue." I have played Azul; it is fun and the TILEs are quite pretty.
• OAR (35A: Magical rowing implement in "Moana 2") Moana 2 is a 2024 animated Disney movie, the sequel to Moana (2016). Moana's OAR has been given magical abilities by her ancestors that grant her the ability of wayfinding.
• SOIREE (41A: Swanky shindig) SOIRÉE is making back-to-back puzzle appearances, as we saw it yesterday clued as [Evening party].
• REVEAL (43A: "Scooby-Doo" episode endings, often) This is a fun way to clue the word REVEAL. It's true that Scooby-Doo episodes often end with the solution to the mystery being REVEALed and all being made clear.
• STU (44A: "Rugrats" dad) This is definitely knowledge I've gained from crosswords, and I was happy to be able to come up with it when I read the clue. On the animated TV series Rugrats, STU Pickles is the dad. He is married to Didi, and is father to Tommy and Dil.
• SAL (67A: Spanish seasoning) SAL is the Spanish word for "salt." Not to be confused with "sol," which is the Spanish word for "sun." (I knew that. I definitely didn't try to put SOL in for this answer at first...)
• WINNER (10D: Coco Gauff, at the 2025 French Open) This is a fun way to clue the word WINNER. I appreciate the choice to highlight a specific WINNER here. 
• RAT (21D: Templeton in "Charlotte's Web," for one) Charlotte's Web is a classic children's book by E.B. White. It was first published in 1952, and has been adapted into movies and video games. The title character, Charlotte, is a spider. Charlotte befriends Wilbur, who is a pig, and ultimately uses her webs to save Wilbur's life. Templeton is a RAT, who helps Charlotte and Wilbur in exchange for food.
• EAU (28D: Water in La Seine) The Seine (La Seine, in French) is a river in northern France. It flows through Paris and into the English Channel. EAU is the French word for "water." The use of the river's French name in the clue alerts solvers the answer will be a French word.
• TRES (32D: "Uno, dos, ___, cuatro, cinco, cinco, seis" (The Offspring lyric)) "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" is a 1998 song by The Offspring. The song includes the lyric, "Uno, dos, TRES, cuatro, cinco, cinco, seis." Why is cinco repeated? Apparently to make it catchy, help with the rhyme, and to sound cool. This is a nice clue because it's fun for solvers familiar with this song, but also accessible to solvers who don't know the song but have a basic knowledge of Spanish numbers.
• PREBUTTAL (34D: Debater's ploy) A PREBUTTAL is when a debater raises an objection to their own argument and then responds to it, thus refuting the argument before their opponent has an opportunity to raise it.
• KEANU (54D: Sad ___ (meme featuring a sandwich-holding actor)) Sad KEANU is a meme based on a paparazzi photo of Keanu Reeves sitting on a bench eating a sandwich.
• DYES (59D: Blue 1 and Red 40) Blue 1 (brilliant blue FCF) and Red 40 (Allura Red AC) are DYES used in food.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• TEA (38D: Drink that might be served with a scone)
• EVIL TWIN (39D: Classic villain in a daytime drama) with SOAPS (51D: Daytime dramas)
• RISES (53D: Reacts to yeast)

The WARPED TOUR is a touring rock music festival in the United States and Canada. The WARPED TOUR was held annually from 1995 to 2019. The WARPED TOUR returned this year, celebrating its 30th anniversary. Today, however, WARPED TOUR is this puzzle's TITLE and its theme. The word WARPED is acting as an anagram indicator, alerting solvers that the letters of the word TOUR have been "WARPED" and are no longer in their original positions. Thank you, Amie and Brian, for this delightful puzzle.