December 19, 2025

 Title: STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU

Constructor: Kareem Ayas

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• COWBOY OUTFITS (19A: Ensembles for many fans who attended Beyonce's 2025 tour)
• MALALA YOUSAFZAI (35A: She said, "One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world")
• I'D STAY OUT OF IT (51A: "My opinion? Don't get involved")

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU: Each theme answer contains the word YOU in the MIDDLE of the entry: COWBOY OUTFITS, MALALA YOUSAFZAI, and I'D STAY OUT OF IT.

And now a word from our constructor:

Kareem: There are literally only 3 phrases that have the letters Y-O-U smack dab in the center (not including the pronoun), and they’re all in this puzzle! This was obviously inspired by the Stealers Wheel song, an iconic piece of music, that I listened to a billion times before I saw its inclusion in that equally iconic scene from Reservoir Dogs. Speaking of dogs, here’s mine waiting for his treat in the freshly fallen snow!

Kane in the snow

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• OER (46A: "Gliding ___ All" (Walt Whitman poem)) "Gliding O'ER All" is a poem from Walt Whitman's poetry collection Leaves of Grass. You can read the five-line poem on the Poetry Foundation website. 
• SOLOS (5D: Cadenzas, e.g.) Cadenzas are SOLOS in an aria or other work of music. These rhythmic flourishes are sometimes improvised and often occur at the end of a piece while the accompaniment is resting or sustaining a single note. Although I've certainly heard cadenzas before, the term is new to me.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• EURO (13A: Currency in Spain) Spain is located in southwestern Europe, and its capital is Madrid. Spain is a member of the European Union and uses the EURO as its currency.
• XENON (15A: Only element with an "x" in its name) XENON is in the class of chemical elements known as noble gases. XENON – like the rest of the noble gases: krypton, argon, neon, helium, and radon – is odorless and colorless. Unlike the other noble gases, or any other element, XENON has an "x" at the beginning of its name. As a commenter pointed out, XENON isn't actually the only element with an"x" in its name. Oxygen also has an "x."
• HADN'T (18A: "If You ___ Been There" (2025 Dolly Parton song)) Dolly Parton released "If You HADN'T Been There" in March of this year. The song is a tribute to her husband, Carl Dean (1942-2025).
• COWBOY OUTFITS (19A: Ensembles for many fans who attended Beyonce's 2025 tour) The COWBOY Carter Tour, officially the COWBOY Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin' Circuit Tour, lasted from April to July 2025, and included 32 concerts. It was Beyoncé's tenth concert tour and supported her album COWBOY Carter. I am sure many fans wore COWBOY OUTFITS to these concerts. 
• COMET (33A: Icy celestial body with a tail) You can think about a COMET as sort of a dirty snowball. Left over from the formation of the solar system approximately 4.6 billion years ago, COMETs are made of dust, rocks, and ice. COMETs orbit the Sun. When a COMET gets close to the Sun, it heats up, and releases dust and gases that trail behind the COMET, forming its characteristic tail.
• MALALA YOUSAFZAI (35A: She said, "One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world") MALALA YOUSAFZAI is a human rights activist known especially for her work advocating for the education of women and children in Pakistan. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17. The quote, "One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world," is from a speech MALALA YOUSAFZAI gave to the United Nations Youth Assembly on "MALALA Day" in 2013. She was invited to speak after surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban for speaking out about the education of girls. I'm always happy to see a mention of MALALA YOUSAFZAI in the puzzle. If you haven't read her 2013 autobiography, I am MALALA: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, I highly recommend checking it out.
• LOON (56A: Bird on the Canadian one-dollar coin) The Canadian one-dollar coin features a common LOON on the reverse side. This has earned it the name the "loonie." The Canadian two-dollar coin is referred to as the "toonie."
• ACCRA (58A: Capital on the Gulf of Guinea) Ghana is a country in West Africa with coastline on the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. ACCRA, the country's capital, is located on the southern edge of Ghana on the Gulf of Guinea.
• BEAST (61A: Prince Adam, while under a spell) This is a reference to Beauty and the BEAST. Prince Adam is the selfish prince who was turned into a BEAST by an enchantress. In order to break the spell, which also turned the prince's servants into household objects, Prince Adam must learn to love someone – and be loved in return – before the last petal of an enchanted rose drops.
• KOMBUCHA (4D: Fermented beverage with a vinegary smell) KOMBUCHA is a fermented black tea drink. It is made by fermenting sugared tea using a culture of bacteria and yeast.
• ROAR (28D: Lion's sound) Try as she might, my cat, Willow, can't actually ROAR. That's because she's a house cat, not a big cat. She can purr, however, which lion's can't do.

• OHIO (29D: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's state) The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, OHIO. It's located on Lake Erie, and the current building was designed by I.M. Pei.
• SLAM (32D: Serena ___ (tennis feat)) In tennis, the Grand SLAM tournaments are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Tennis players winning all four tournaments in the same year are said to have achieved a Grand SLAM. If a player wins all four championships consecutively, but not in the same calendar year, as Serena Williams did in 2002-2003, that is referred to as a non-calendar-year Grand SLAM, or a Serena SLAM.
• SAUNA (44D: Where you might find a sweater) That's a "sweater" – as in a person who sweats – that you'd find in a SAUNA, not a wool sweater that you'd wear.
• Other clues I especially enjoyed:
• E-MEET (8A: "Nice to ___ you!" (Zoom greeting))
• DUST (60A: What a microfiber mitt picks up)
• EXHIBIT A (8D: Primary piece of evidence)
• FACTOIDS (38D: Fun bits of trivia)

I appreciate the fact that the word YOU is found in the exact MIDDLE of each theme answer. This is an added restraint that I'm sure made finding theme answers more difficult (confirmed by Kareem's comment that there are only three theme answers the fit the bill!). However, this restraint elevates the theme to the next level. Oh, and if this puzzle has you in the mood to listen to the Stealers Wheel song, here you go: "STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU." Thank you, Kareem, for this delightful puzzle.