December 29, 2025

Title: SHORT CHANGE

Constructor: Mark Budovitch

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• OR SO THEY SAY (21A: "...according to rumors, anyway")
• SAVORS THE MOMENT (41A: Drinks it all in)
• BOOSTER SHOT (57A: Follow-up vaccination)

SHORT CHANGE: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word SHORT: OR SO THEY SAY, SAVORS THE MOMENT, and BOOSTER SHOT.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• MOTH (28D: Insect in a meme that might be captioned "Got any lamps?") I was able to infer the answer here because I know MOTHs are attracted to light. I was not familiar with the "Got any lamps?" memes however. Apparently MOTH Lamp memes had a moment in 2018, particularly on Reddit. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LEGIT (14A: "2 ___ 2 Quit" (MC Hammer song)) "2 LEGIT 2 Quit" is a1991 song by MC Hammer. The song is from MC Hammer's fourth studio album, Too LEGIT to Quit. Today I learned there is a Wikipedia page titled "List of most expensive music videos." "2 LEGIT 2 Quit" comes in at number 12 on the list, with a cost of $2.5 million. 
• ARIA (15A: Sydney Opera House solo) The Sydney Opera House is located in Sydney, Australia. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the Sydney Opera House is considered one of the world's most distinctive buildings. 
• ON SALE (24A: Like many Halloween costumes on November 1) This clue made me smile.
• ROMAN (40A: Like Marcus Aurelius) Marcus Aurelius (121-180) was ROMAN emperor from 161 to 180. He was the last of the ROMAN emperors to rule during the Pax Romana, a period of relative peace and stability for the ROMAN Empire that lasted from 27 BCE to 180 CE.
• HOLE (45A: Jackson ___, Wyoming) Jackson HOLE, Wyoming is the valley between the Teton and Gros Ventre mountain ranges in Wyoming. The northwestern part of Jackson HOLE is located in Grand Teton National Park. The only incorporated area in the valley is the resort town of Jackson, Wyoming.
• ERA (51A: Mesozoic or Cenozoic) The Mesozoic ERA lasted from about 252 million to 66 million years ago. It was comprised of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods. The Mesozoic ERA includes the time of the dinosaurs. The Cenozoic ERA is the Earth's current geological ERA. The Cenozoic ERA, also known as the Age of Mammals, is considered to have begun about 66 million years ago.
• RAE (63A: "Barbie" star Issa) Issa RAE portrays President Barbie in the 2023 movie Barbie.
• XENON (2D: Gas used in many headlights) We often associate the noble gas neon with its use in lights, but other noble gases – such as XENON, argon, and krypton – are also used in lighting applications. Noble gases have low chemical reactivity, which makes them useful for this purpose. XENON is used in flash lamps, arc lamps, and headlights.
• BATS (6D: Baseball equipment often made from ash, maple or birch) Traditionally, ash has been the most popular wood used in baseball BATS. However, the ash tree population in the United States has been devastated by the Emerald ash borer, a beetle that targets ash trees. This has affected the supply of ash wood. Partly because of this, maple is currently the front-runner when it comes to material for BATS. 
• COMEDY (31D: Larry David genre) Larry David is the co-creator, with Jerry Seinfeld, of the TV sitcom Seinfeld (1989-1998). For his work on Seinfeld, Larry David won two Emmy Awards in 1993: Outstanding COMEDY Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.
• NEEDS (56D: Maslow's hierarchy of ___) Maslow's hierarchy of NEEDS is a psychology theory proposed by Abraham Maslow in 1943. Maslow's theory (which is widely used as well as contested) describes several levels of NEEDS that motivate human behavior: psychological NEEDS, safety NEEDS, belongingness and love NEEDS, esteem NEEDS, and self-actualization NEEDS. 
• SOME (60D: "___ Like It Hot" (Marilyn Monroe film)) SOME Like It Hot is a 1959 movie starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemon. The movie is set in the Prohibition ERA. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon star as musicians who disguise themselves as women to evade Chicago mobsters after witnessing a murder. Marilyn Monroe portrays Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk, who is a vocalist and ukulele player with an all-female band.

For some reason, this anagram theme took me by surprise. I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting, but the title had me thinking about CHANGE as in money. But no! CHANGE is acting as an anagram indicator, as in each theme answer the letters of the word SHORT CHANGE position. I had a nice "Aha!" moment when I realized what was happening. Thank you, Mark, for this enjoyable puzzle.