December 20, 2025

Title: CHAOTIC GOOD 

Constructor: K. J. Sarr

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• REVOLVING DOORS (20A: Entrances to some hotels)
• GO DOWN IN HISTORY (36A: Leave a lasting legacy)
• WILD GOOSE CHASE (53A: Futile pursuit)

CHAOTIC GOOD: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word GOOD: REVOLVING DOORS, GO DOWN IN HISTORY, and WILD GOOSE CHASE.

And now a word from our constructor:

K. J.: I put CHAOTIC GOOD into one of the first themeless puzzles I ever constructed…or tried to construct, at least. I actually never finished gridding that puzzle to my satisfaction, but reviewing it did inspire me to develop this theme instead!

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• ISLES (51D: ___ of Scilly (Cornish archipelago)) Cornwall is a county in South West England; it is the southernmost county of the United Kingdom. The ISLES of Scilly are an archipelago (a group of islands) in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cornwall. There are five inhabited islands in the ISLES of Scilly, with a total population of around 2,100.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• HOOP (14A: Embroidery aid) An embroidery HOOP is used to keep the fabric taut while stitching is done.
• EMIR (30A: Head of state in Qatar) EMIR is a title used by a ruler in Islamic countries. Qatar is a country located on the Qatar Peninsula off of the northeastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar is surrounded on three sides by the Persian Gulf and borders Saudi Arabia to the south. The capital of Qatar is Doha, and the current EMIR is Tamim bin Hamad.
• SEA FAN (43A: Coral that sounds like an accessory for a mermaid) I appreciated the "accessory for a mermaid" hint here as it helped me figure out the latter half of the answer. The coral variety known as the SEA FAN does indeed look like a FAN
• TEA SET (62A: Collection of dishes that might be doll-sized) I had a number of TEA SETs when I was growing up. My sister and I spent hours having TEA parties. Those are good memories. This answer reminds me of the August 14, 2023 puzzle titled "TEA SET."
• BTS (63A: K-pop group that reunited in July 2025) The K-pop band BTS is the best-selling musical act in South Korean history. In 2022, BTS paused their musical activities to allow the members to complete their 18 months of mandatory South Korean military service. As the clue informs us, BTS reunited in July of this year. Their next album release is planned for early 2026. 
• ALIVE (3D: "The hills are ___ with the sound of music") "The hills are ALIVE with the sound of music / With songs they have sung for a thousand years..." Thanks for this earworm, puzzle! These lyrics are from the song "The Sound of Music," the title song of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of the same name. In the 1965 movie version of the musical, "The Sound of Music" was sung by Julie Andrews.
• MISO (4D: Paste often mixed with dashi) MISO soup, also called omiotsuke, is a traditional soup in Japanese cuisine. It is made by adding MISO paste to dashi stock, forming a soup base to which other ingredients are added. Dashi stock is made by heating water containing edible kelp and other ingredients, and then straining the liquid. Dashi powder may be used instead of making homemade stock.
• STELLA (5D: Star, in Latin) In the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire, there is an iconic scene where one of the characters (Stanley) calls out for his wife, drawing out her name with emotion, "STELLLAAA!" In the 1951 movie version of A Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley and STELLA are portrayed by Marlon Brando and Vivian Leigh. All this is to say that whenever I read the name STELLA, I always hear it in my head yelled loudly and long and drawn out. I am sure people named STELLA are tired of hearing their name spoken like this! Anyway, it's a fun fact that the name STELLA comes from the Latin word for star.
• SONG (7D: Dance partner?) The question mark in the clue alerts solvers to expect wordplay. The "dance partner" here is not a person one would perform a waltz or tango with, but the word "SONG," which is partnered with "dance" in the phrase "SONG and dance."
• POODLES (15D: Pups on some 1950s skirts) and FELT (44D: Fabric in many kids' craft projects) In 1947, Juli Lynne Charlot needed a skirt to wear to a Christmas party. She made the skirt out of FELT, because it was wide enough to make a full circle skirt without seams (and Judith couldn't sew). She added some Christmas appliqués, and, liking the result, she made three more skirts and took them to a boutique to sell. The skirts proved to be popular, and after Christmas the boutique requested some non-Christmas designs; they suggested dogs. The first of Juli Lynne Charlot's skirts to feature a dog design was decorated with dachshunds. She then made some skirts featuring POODLES, resulting in the skirts eventually becoming known as POODLE skirts.
• ALI (27D: "Beef" star Wong) Beef is a Netflix TV miniseries about two people involved in a road rage incident that leads to them becoming enemies and getting involved in each other's lives. ALI Wong and Steven Yeun co-star in the show's first season, which premiered in April 2023. 
• THREES (34D: Smallest odd primes in Sudoku grids) Sudoku is a number puzzle that uses the digits one through nine. This is a tricky question, because although one is an odd number, it is not considered a prime number. While two is a prime number, it's an even number. Therefore, THREES are the smallest odd primes in Sudoku grids. 
• CREST (46D: Rockhopper penguin's feathery "hairdo") Rockhopper penguins are named because they hop about on the rocky habitat where they nest. These distinctive looking penguins have a feathery CREST that contains yellow feathers and resembles large eyebrows. 
• ARCHED (47D: Like a yoga practitioner's back during cat pose) Cat pose is a yoga asana that gently stretches the back. The asana is performed on one's hands and knees with an ARCHED back. My cat, Willow, contends that any pose she is in is a cat pose.

• GROW (54D: Reach new heights?) This is a fun question mark clue. When something GROWs, it reaches new heights.

The word CHAOTIC in the title is serving as an anagram indicator. Each theme answer has the letters of the word GOOD presented in a CHAOTIC manner: G/DOO, GO/DO, and D/GOO. The term "CHAOTIC GOOD" is used in some alignment charts (which I discussed in my write-up of the October 31, 2025 puzzle.) Thank you, K. J. for this (nonchaotic) GOOD puzzle.