November 3, 2025

Title: HORSE AROUND

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• PRIVATE BALCONY (16A: Feature of some suites on a cruise)
• PENGUIN COLONY (36A: Group of tuxedoed birds in Antarctica, say)
• PREGAME CEREMONY (58A: On-field event where an athlete's number might be retired)

HORSE AROUND: The word PONY is found AROUND each theme answer: PRIVATE BALCONY, PENGUIN COLONY, and PREGAME CEREMONY.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• LEVER (19A: Decorative part of some slot machines) The design of slot machines – with a LEVER that pulls down and wheels that turn to display a variety of pictures – is classic at this point. When I first figured out this answer I thought, "I didn't know that slot machines have decorative LEVERs..." I was thinking that perhaps I had missed out on a  trend of highly ornate LEVERs on slot machines. To be fair, my personal experience with slot machines is extremely minimal to nearly nonexistent, so it wouldn't have surprised me in the least if this were the case and I didn't know it. However, the word decorative here doesn't mean ornate, but instead is used to mean "non-essential" or "for looks only." Although many slot machines still include a LEVER, on some machines it's merely decorative and not functional. Instead, many slot machines feature a digital display and are activated by pushing a button or touching the screen.
• ADAM (68A: ___ Warlock (MCU character)) In the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), ADAM Warlock, portrayed by Will Poulter, appears in the 2023 movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The character is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. In the MCU, ADAM Warlock is an artificial being created by the Sovereign (a humanoid race) as a weapon to use against the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SAKE (13A: Izakaya drink) An izakaya is a type of informal Japanese bar. Dining at an izakaya is generally done slowly, with food being ordered in several courses rather than all at once. SAKE is a Japanese rice wine.
• OBOE (14A: Double-reed in baroque pop) Baroque pop – also known as baroque rock or chamber pop – is a fusion genre that combines elements of classical music and rock music. The music genre developed in the 1960s when groups such as the Beach Boys ("I Get Around" – 1964), the Righteous Brothers ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" – 1964), and the Mamas & the Papas ("Monday, Monday" – 1966) began to incorporate the harpsichord in their arrangements. Other instruments that feature in baroque pop are OBOEs, French horns, and string quartets. I was only mildly familiar with the term "Baroque pop," but "double-reed" was a good hint that let me know the answer here was OBOE.
• POD (26A: Group of porpoises) We often see the word POD clued in relation to peas, and I appreciate this change of pace. Peas can indeed be found in a POD, and so can porpoises, whales, dolphins, narwhals, and pelicans.
• SLAVS (27A: Serbs or Slovaks) SLAVS are a group of people who speak any of the Slavic languages: Russian, Belarusian, Ukranian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, and Slovene. Serbs, an ethnic group native to the Balkans and Slovaks, an ethnic group native to Slovakia, are SLAVS. The Slavic people are the largest ethnographic-linguistic group in Europe.
• FIN (34A: Nemo's "lucky limb") Just yesterday we saw NEMO clued as [Animated fish with a "lucky fin"]. 
• TED (40A: "Chopped" host Allen) As I have mentioned before, one of the things I like to do when I am staying in a hotel is binge-watch shows on the Food Network. Chopped is one of my favorite Food Network shows. TED Allen hosts the cooking competition on which four chefs compete against each other for a chance to win $10,000. There are three rounds of competition - appetizer, entree, and dessert. For each round, contestants are given a basket of four "mystery" ingredients that must be incorporated in their dish. At the end of the round, a panel of judges weighs in on each dish, and one contestant hears TED Allen say those fateful words, "You've been chopped."
• CUMIN (44A: Chili powder ingredient) Chili powder is a blend of crushed dried chili peppers and other spices, commonly CUMIN, onion, garlic powder, salt.
• MTV (55A: "Daria" network) Daria is an animated MTV show aimed at adults.  It originally aired from 1997 to 2002. The show was a spin-off from Beavis and Butt-Head, on which Daria was a recurring character. The show revolves around two teenage girls, the title character and her best friend Jane Lane.
• EURO (63A: Coin used at a Vienna gift shop) and PESO (57D: Cancun coin) Today's puzzle is providing a little review of world currency. Vienna is the capital and most populous city of Austria, and Austria uses the EURO as its currency. Cancun is a city in Mexico, and Mexico uses the PESO as currency.
• OSLO (67A: Capital with a daily ferry to Copenhagen) OSLO is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It is located on a fjord known as Oslofjord. Copenhagen, Denmark isn't the only place you can reach by ferry from OSLO, Norway. You can also take a daily ferry to Frederikshavn, Denmark, or Kiel, Germany. 
• SEVEN (4D: Number of colors in a rainbow) The mnemonic ROY G. BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet) is useful for remembering the SEVEN colors of a rainbow in order. Of course, in actuality, a rainbow is a continuous spectrum of millions of colors. However, traditionally, a rainbow is described as having SEVEN colors. 
• COTE (5D: ___ d'Azur (French Riviera)) The French Riviera is the area along the coastline in the southeast corner of France. In French, this area is known as the CÔTE d'Azur. The CÔTE d'Azur is a popular resort area.
• TAY TAY (12D: "The Life of a Showgirl" artist, to fans) TAY TAY is a fan nickname for Taylor Swift. The Life of a Showgirl is Taylor Swift's 12th studio album, which was released a month ago today. I've been wondering when we would begin to see The Life of a Showgirl references in the puzzle. Unless I've missed one, this is the first.
• LEA (18D: Broadway great Salonga) LEA Salonga has appeared in a number of Broadway stage productions, including Miss Saigon, for which she won a Tony Award. She also supplied the singing voices for Disney princesses Jasmine and Mulan. In August of this year LEA Salonga played the Witch in a Philippine production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods.
• SPY (22D: Bond, for one) That's "Bond, James Bond."
• EVEN PAR (24D: Not over or under?) EVEN PAR is a golf term used to refer to a score that is not over PAR or under PAR. In September we saw EVEN PAR (in another Zhoquin Burnikel puzzle) clued as [Score after two birdies and two bogeys].
• GENEVA (36D: Swiss city known as the "Peace Capital") Although GENEVA is not the capital of Switzerland (that's Bern), it has earned the nickname of "Peace Capital" because of its role as a worldwide center for diplomacy. GENEVA is home to the headquarters of many international organizations including many United Nations agencies and branches of the Red Cross. 
• CAMPER (44D: Happy one in the woods?) This clue is playing on the term HAPPY camper.
• CAL (60D: UC Berkeley, for short) UC Berkeley, also known as CAL, is the University of California, Berkeley. It is located in Berkeley, California (as one might expect from its name!). The school was founded in 1868, and it was California's first land-grant university, and the first campus in the University of California system. 
• NBA (61D: Phoenix Suns' org.) The Phoenix Suns are an NBA team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are one of four major league sports teams based in Phoenix. The other three are NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NHL's Arizona Coyotes, and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
• YAM (62D: Tuber in asaro) Asaro is a dish that originated from the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Benin. This traditional dish is also known as YAM porridge, and may be eaten as a main dish or a side dish.

Today's title points perfectly at the theme. I suspected that a HORSE-related word would be found AROUND each theme answer. This theme could have been done using HORSE as the bookending word, but I quite like it when there's another step involved to figure out the bookending word. This allowed for a nice "Aha!" moment when I filled in PRIVATE BALCONY and recognized PONY as the bookends. Thank you Zhoquin, for this enjoyable puzzle.