December 18 2025

Title: RENDEZVOUS (Freestyle)

Constructor: Willa Angel Chen Miller

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

RENDEZVOUS (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless puzzle. The title is a nod to LOVER'S LANE (14A: Secluded spot for kissing in the car) and ARE WE ALONE (17A: Question concerned with privacy).

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• SECOND LIFE (55A: Virtual world since 2003) SECOND LIFE is a virtual world that allows users to create an avatar (a virtual representation of oneself) and then interact with other users. SECOND LIFE was launched in 2003 (as the clue indicates). It has hundreds of thousands of users and features thousands of virtual experiences and communities. Although the virtual world is similar to a massively multiplayer online role-playing video game, it differs in the fact that there's no set objective. 
• HOMIE (28D: "I'm the big ___, but I ain't the oldest, hmm" (Megan Thee Stallion lyric)) "I'm the big HOMIE, but I ain't the oldest, hmm" is a line from Megan Thee Stallion's 2021 song "Thot Shit." The song is performed from the perspective of Megan Thee Stallion's alter ego, Tina Snow. 
• CLIENTS (39D: People tracked in a CRM system) CRM here stands for "customer relationship management." Businesses use CRM systems to track their CLIENTS.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• UTAH (16A: Arches National Park's state) Arches National Park is one of five National Parks in the state of UTAH. The other UTAH National Parks are Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. My husband and I are on a quest to visit as many National Parks as we can, and we have been to all five of UTAH's National Parks. They are all fabulous in their own way. Arches National Park is named for its rock formations; there are over 2,000 natural sandstone arches in the park. This photo shows one of the arches in the park; if you look closely you can see my 6'1" husband helpfully providing scale.

• PEN NAME (19A: Mark Twain or George Sand) Mark Twain was the PEN NAME of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1920). His works include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I am quite familiar with Mark Twain, as from the age of TEN (in the fifth grade) to 12, I lived in Hannibal, Missouri, which was Mark Twain's boyhood home. I even attended Mark Twain Elementary School. George Sand, on the other hand, I learned about from a crossword puzzle. George Sand was the PEN NAME of Amandine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (1804-1876), a French novelist who was one of the notable writers of the European Romantic era.
• SANTA HAT (27A: Accessory for a holiday costume party) and TIARA (31A: Accessory that might say "Birthday Queen") This puzzle's accessories are on point!
• AGE (35A: Get older) and TEN (43A: 35-Across for many fifth-graders) I enjoyed this cross-reference.
• BILE (37A: Word in two of Hippocrates' four humors) Hippocrates (c. 460 BCE to c. 370 BCE) was a Greek physician and philosopher. He is often referred to as the "Father of Medicine" and is credited with the Hippocratic Oath, an oath of ethics still in use today. Hippocrates formulated a humoral theory (that has since been discredited), which hypothesized that there were four vital bodily fluids, or humors: blood, phlegm, yellow BILE, and black BILE. 
• GIN (38A: Herbal spirit) GIN is flavored with juniper berries and other herbal ingredients.
• COMIC (39A: ___ Sans (cartoonish font)) COMIC Sans was created in 1994 for use in informal documents and children's materials. The font inspires strong feelings in some people, with some people suggesting its use should be banned. However, COMIC Sans has been shown to be a helpful font for people with dyslexia, partly because of wider spacing between letters than what is seen with other fonts.
• DREIDELS (40A: Four-sided tops with Hebrew letters) This entry seems timely, as tonight is the fifth night of Hanukkah. If you'd like a refresher on DREIDELS and the Hebrew letters on each side of these tops, I refer you to Rebecca Goldsteins, lovely December 14, 2025 puzzle. 
• STARS (61A: Set of 27 on the Brazilian flag) The flag of Brazil features a yellow rhombus on a green background. On the rhombus is a blue disc depicting a starry sky spanned by a banner with the national motto, Ordem e Progresso (Order and Progress). Each of the 27 STARS on the flag represents a Brazilian Federation Unit (26 states and one federal district). The STARS are sized in proportion to the geographic size of the Federative units.
• CLAP (1D: Indicate that you're happy and you know it) This clue made me happy! "If you're happy and you know it, CLAP your hands!"
• ALLEN (6D: Brand known for their hexagonal wrenches) An ALLEN wrench, also known as an ALLEN key, a hex wrench or a hex key, is a simple tool used with bolts and screws with internal hexagonal sockets. If you have ever assembled IKEA furniture, you have used an ALLEN wrench. IKEA includes an ALLEN wrench with each box of flat-packed furniture they sell (that's over 100 million ALLEN wrenches a year).
• MAO (7D: Game in which new players are informed "The only rule you may be told is this one") I learned about the card game MAO from the January 14, 2022 puzzle. The goal of the game sounds easy: get rid of all your cards. The catch is that players are penalized (given extra cards) whenever they break a rule, and you don't always know what the rules are. This sounds like enjoyable chaos or unbearable anxiety, depending on one's personality.
• OTIS (11D: "Made to move you" company) The OTIS Elevator Company, whose slogan is "Made to move you," manufactures and markets elevators, escalators, and moving walkways. The company was founded in 1853 by Elisha OTIS, the inventor of the safety elevator (which prevented the fall of the cab if the cable broke).
• SHE'S (13D: "___ Always a Woman" (Billy Joel song)) "SHE'S Always a Woman" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 album, The Stranger. "Oh, she takes care of herself, she can wait if she wants / SHE'S ahead of her time / Oh, and she never gives out and she never gives in / She just changes her mind..." Thanks for this earworm, puzzle.
• YELP (53D: Foursquare competitor) Foursquare and YELP are both companies that allow users to view reviews of businesses written by other users.
• A few other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• OUT ON A LIMB (10D: Vulnerable)
• PALE (12D: Adjective describing baby blue, but not navy blue)
• KEEP (47D: "___ the change")

I like that the answers LOVER'S LANE and ARE WE ALONE? are stacked in the top right corner. Fun to also have CLOSE (1A: Like bosom buddies) up there. It gives the impression that this RENDEZVOUS is happening up there in that corner of the puzzle. Thank you, Willa, for this enjoyable puzzle.