November 27, 2025

Title: WARMING UP SOME LEFTOVERS

Constructor: Olivia Mitra Framke

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• COLD TURKEY (3D: Abrupt way to quit a habit)
• COOL BEANS (7D: "Sounds good to me!")
• HOT POTATO (11D: Game with a lot of quick passes)
• THANKSGIVING DAY (56A: When the foods in 3-, 7- and 11-Down might be cooked)

WARMING UP SOME LEFTOVERS: Each of the three vertical theme answers contains a temperature word (which is UP at the top of the grid) followed by a food word. As we move from left to right in the puzzle, the temperature words are WARMING UP: COLD -> COOL -> HOT.

And now a word from our constructor:

Olivia: When I first queried this rising temperature + Thanksgiving food theme, I submitted it with just the three themers. Amanda accepted it with the suggestion that they all hug the top of the grid so the "Warming Up" pattern would be easier to spot. When gridding, I realized that doing so opened up a ton of space in the bottom half of the grid, and suggested adding THANKSGIVING DAY as a spanner/revealer. As a result, this grid is very theme-heavy for USA Today, with what I believe is a super tight, fun theme set. Cheers and bon appetit, puzzlers!

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• BLITZO (26A: "Helluva Boss" boss) Helluva Boss is an animated musical series for adults created by Vivenne "VivziePop" Medrano. The show focuses on the employees of I.M.P. (Immediate Murder Professionals), a company in Hell that offers hitman services for the living. Helluva Boss is set in the same universe as the animated series Hazbin Hotel, but has different characters and storylines. BLITZO is the boss at I.M.P. Olivia says: My original clue was ["Helluva Boss" boss (the "O" is silent!)] - it's a running gag that his name is actually pronounced "Blitz." Please check out this incredible show, along with its sister show Hazbin Hotel (season 2 is airing now!). Warning: these are very adult cartoons!
• HORDE (61A: Alliance enemy in World of Warcraft) I have written about World of Warcraft – the massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in the fictional world of Azeroth – before. Having never played it, however, I did not know that the opposing factions in the game are the Alliance and the HORDE. Now I know.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LIV (22A: Nickname that drops "O" and "ia") Clever (O)LIV(ia) to get her nickname in the grid!
• NPR (24A: "Up First" airer) Up First is a daily news podcast by NPR. The podcast covers the "three biggest stories of the day" in a short, digestible format. The Sunday edition of Up First offers expanded coverage of the stories mentioned during the week.
• MCU (28A: "The Avengers" film franchise, to fans) MCU stands for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We see quite a bit of MCU content in puzzles (partly because there's just so much MCU content!), and it was fun to see MCU here.
• MEME (30A: Nyan Cat or Taco Cat) Nyan Cat is an animated cat with a cherry Pop-Tart for a torso. The original GIF animation showed Nyan Cat flying through space, leaving a rainbow trail. Nyan cat was based on a cat named Marty, the pet of MEME creator, Christopher Torres. Taco Cat is a MEME that can feature a variety of cat pictures (often in taco costumes or holding tacos) with the words "Taco Cat backwards is still Taco Cat." Of course, someone has combined these two MEMEs and created Mexican Nyan Cat. Olivia's cat, Whiskey, does not have a pop-tart or a taco for a torso – thank goodness!

Whiskey

• EAST (44A: "___ of Eden") EAST of Eden is a 1952 novel by John Steinbeck. The book tells the story of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, as their stories interweave over the years. I read EAST of Eden about 45 years ago now when I was in high school. I remember enjoying it, but don't remember much about the story.
• DYLAN (46A: "Paper Doll: Notes From a Late Bloomer" author Mulvaney) DYLAN Mulvaney is a trans actress, comedian, and content creator. I first learned about her from the January 1, 2024 puzzle. Paper Doll: Notes From a Late Bloomer is DYLAN Mulvaney's 2025 memoir that documents her life before, during, and after her gender transition.
• I LIED (64A: Admission of guilt in a social deduction game) Social deduction games are ones in which the players are trying to uncover each player's hidden role, while keeping their own role a secret. There's quite a bit of lying and bluffing involved in such games, so ultimately someone ends up admitting, "I LIED."
• ETTA (66A: "At Last" singer James) ETTA James (1938-2012) was a Grammy-Award-winning singer whose music encompassed the genres of R&B, gospel, blues, jazz, soul, and rock and roll. She recorded "At Last" in 1960 as the title track for her debut album. 
• ASH (1D: "Pokemon" protagonist) ASH Ketchum was the protagonist of the Pokémon anime series for its first 25 seasons. Pikachu was his first Pokémon.
• BLUE (2D: Color of bantha milk in "Star Wars") In the Star Wars franchise, bantha are large (elephant-sized) mammals with four legs, long, thick fur, and spiral horns. And, as the clue informs us, bantha produce BLUE milk.
• STAIR (4D: First step to a new story?) This is a fun clue. It's not referencing a story you might read, write, or tell, but a story of a building, which you might reach by stepping on a STAIR.
• POM (6D: Fluffy lapdog, for short) A Pomeranian, or POM, for short, is indeed a fluffy dog. Olivia's dog, Charlie is not fluffy, but is quite adorable.

Charlie

• TEN (27D: Number of seasons of "Smallville") Smallville is a TV series that takes place in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, and follows the story of Clark Kent before he becomes Superman. The show's TEN seasons originally aired from 2001 to 2011.
• KATY (37D: "Roar" singer Perry) "Roar" is a 2013 song by KATY Perry, from her fourth studio album, Prism."...'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar..."
• ISLANDER (40D: Moana or Lilo, e.g.) The title character of Disney's 2016 animated movie Moana is an ISLANDER living on the Polynesian island of Motonui. In the 2002 animated movie Lilo and Stitch, Lilo is an ISLANDER who lives in Hawaii.
• EMILY (49D: One of the Bronte sisters) The literary Brontë sisters were Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), EMILY Brontë (1818-1848) and Anne Brontë (1820-1849). All three of the Brontë sisters were writers. EMILY Brontë's only novel, Wuthering Heights, was published in 1847 under the pen name Ellis Bell.
• HOLE (57D: A straw has one) Brave of Olivia to take a stance here with this clue! In case you missed it, a few years ago many people on social media debated whether a straw has one HOLE or two HOLEs. Here's an article that recaps the debate.

Whether you are enjoying TURKEY, BEANS and POTATOES today or not, I hope you are doing something that makes you happy. (Like solving a USA Today puzzle and reading this blog, perhaps...) I enjoyed this clever theme, and THANKSGIVING DAY is a fun addition. Here's a fun thing: Earlier this year we saw a puzzle by Olivia (with a completely different theme) titled, "Warming Up." Thank you, Olivia, for this delightful puzzle. And for those of you who are reading this, know that I am thankful for you, today and every day. Happy THANKSGIVING!