October 28, 2025

Title: YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY

Constructor: CJ Tan

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• MOBILE GAMES (20A: Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans, e.g.)
• I AM LEGEND (36A: 2007 film with the tagline "The last man on Earth is not alone")
• GOOGLE IMAGES (56A: Search engine introduced due to a demand for pictures of Jennifer Lopez's green Versace dress)

YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word MILEAGE: MOBILE GAMES, I AM LEGEND, and GOOGLE IMAGES.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• SETH (32A: WWE wrestler Rollins) SETH Rollins is the ring name of professional wrestler Colby Daniel Lopez. Although currently out of action because of a shoulder injury, SETH Rollins is considered one of the top professional wrestlers. Sports Illustrated named him Wrestler of the Year in 2022. In learning about SETH Rollins I discovered he was born in Davenport, Iowa, just 60 miles east on I-80 from where I live.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• RULE (15A: ___ of thirds (composition guideline)) The RULE of thirds is a guideline for visual art. Essentially the RULE of thirds suggests using imaginary lines to divide an image in thirds horizontally and vertically and using those lines to guide the composition. For example, in a landscape photo the horizon might be place on the upper or lower horizontal line. Objects of interest are often placed at the imaginary intersections of the vertical and horizontal lines. This clue reminds me of the RULE OF THREE writing principle, which we recently saw as a theme answer.
• EMMA (19A: "Love Actually" actor Thompson) The 2003 movie Love Actually is set during the six weeks prior to Christmas and features multiple interconnecting story lines. EMMA Thompson portrays the character of Karen, who is married to Harry (Alan Rickman). The story line also involves Harry's secretary, Mia (Heike Makatsch).
• MOBILE GAMES (20A: Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans, e.g.) I recently wrote about the match-three MOBILE GAME Candy Crush Saga. I have not played Clash of Clans, but I've seen this MOBILE GAME advertised. It's a strategy game in which a player seeks to upgrade their village by attacking other players' villages in order to gain resources. Personally, I'll stick to crushing candy.
• CAT TREE (31A: Perch for a kitty) My CAT, Willow, does not have a CAT TREE, so she just perches wherever she likes – on the fireplace mantel, atop the dresser, in the bookcase, in the Christmas TREE... (Disclaimer: This photo is from a previous year; we don't have our Christmas TREE up quite yet.)

• I AM LEGEND (36A: 2007 film with the tagline "The last man on Earth is not alone") I AM LEGEND is loosely based on Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name. The movie is set in a post-apocalyptic New York City. Will Smith stars as the last remaining human inhabitant of the city following a viral pandemic.
• PHI (40A: Greek letter before chi) In the 24-letter Greek alphabet, there are two three-letter strings of rhyming letters. The first one is the alphabet's sixth through eighth letters: zeta, eta, theta. The second rhyming string is the alphabet's 21st to 23rd letters: PHI, chi, psi.
• ORANGE (52A: Garfield's color) My cat, Willow, approves of the mention of Garfield, the ORANGE cat of comics created by Jim Davis.
• ELMO (53A: Ticklish Muppet) I'm always happy to see a mention of the red, ticklish Muppet ELMO. The character of ELMO was first introduced on Sesame Street as a supporting character in 1980. ELMO, who is permanently three-and-a-half years old and refers to himself in the third person (as many toddlers do), became a permanent character on Sesame Street in 1985.
• A LA (55A: Arroz ___ cubana) Arroz A LA cubana is a rice dish that originated in Cuba, and typically consists of white rice, tomato sauce, and a fried egg. The dish often includes a fried plantain as well.
• GOOGLE IMAGES (56A: Search engine introduced due to a demand for pictures of Jennifer Lopez's green Versace dress) GOOGLE IMAGES, which allows users to specifically search for IMAGES, was introduced on July 12, 2001. The Versace green dress in question – which featured a plunging, navel-bearing neckline – was worn by Jennifer Lopez (J. Lo) to the Grammy Awards on February 23, 2000. Following that appearance, a lot of people did GOOGLE searches for "J. Lo Versace green dress." GOOGLE realized they needed to do something ... GOOGLE IMAGES was the ultimate result. In September of 2019 Jennifer Lopez paid homage to that dress by wearing an even more daring version of it on the Versace runway in Milan. It's a good thing GOOGLE IMAGES had already been created.
• VIVA (62A: "___ la Vida" (Coldplay song)) "VIVA la Vida" (Spanish for "long live life") is a 2008 song by Coldplay. "VIVA la Vida" won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year.
• TIM (1D: ___ Hortons (coffee chain))  If you are Canadian, or if you've ever visited Canada, you are likely familiar with TIM Hortons. The coffee chain – also known for its doughnuts – was founded by TIM Horton (1930-1974), who was a professional hockey player in the NHL.
• ANIMATE (2D: What some Studio Ghibli employees do) Studio Ghibli is an animation film studio headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The studio took its name from the Italian word "ghibli," which is based on a Libyan Arabic word referring to a hot desert wind. Studio Ghibli's ANIMATEd movies include My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Spirited Away (2001), and Howl's Moving Castle (2004).
• KNOB (4D: Handle turned slowly in a horror film) The slowly-turning-KNOB is a horror film classic. I don't watch horror movies, but I admire this clue.
• SERIES (5D: Name for a TV season in the U.K.) I have watched just enough British TV shows that I knew this one immediately.
• EEL (28D: Unadon fish) and AHI (30D: Poke bowl fish) There's something fishy about these two clues.
• IPA (42D: _ndia _ale _le) With a split fill-in-the-blank clue such as this one, each blank represents one missing letter. In this case, the missing letters are IPA, which stands for India Pale Ale.
• ANAGRAM (45D: Lot lease for all to see?) The question mark in the clue alerts solvers to expect some trickiness. The phrase "lot lease" is an ANAGRAM of "all to see." It's a nice bonus to have ANAGRAM as an answer in a puzzle with a hidden ANAGRAM theme.
• PALETTE (46D: Bob Ross' paint board) BOB Ross (1942-1995) is known for his instructional TV program, The Joy of Painting, on which he – while holding a paint PALETTE – painted many "happy little trees." This Bob Ross reference is timely, as next month some of his paintings are going to be auctioned off to raise money for public broadcasting. 
• ROM-COM (50D: "The Big Sick" genre) The Big Sick is a 2017 movie written by Emily V. Gordon and her husband, Kumail Nanjiani. The film is loosely based on their real-life courtship. Holly Hunter portrays the character Emily Gardner in the movie. Kumail Nanjiani portrays a fictionalized version of himself.
• AARI 58D: Indiana Fever player McDonald) AARI McDonald is a professional basketball player. She joined WNBA's Indiana Fever in June of this year.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• PRIES (6D: Asks too much, in a way)
• FLEA (8D: Bug on a pug)
• TEAMMATE (9D: Person whose jersey matches yours, maybe)

YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY is such an intriguing puzzle title. I did not catch on immediately to this being an anagram theme, making for a nice "Aha!" moment when I figured it out. The word "VARY" in the title is serving as an anagram indicator, had I been a little more astute I might have realized that. Thank you, CJ, for this enjoyable puzzle.