January 15, 2026

Title: TAILSPIN

Constructor: Larry Snyder

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• AIRTIGHT ALIBI (20A: What a master criminal might craft for themselves)
• MOVE IT ALONG (35A: "Quit loitering")
• WINNING AT LIFE (54A: Crushing it)

TAILSPIN: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word TAIL: AIRTIGHT ALIBI, MOVE IT ALONG, and WINNING AT LIFE. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ORCS (10A: Hobbits' foes) and ANDY (26A: Gollum portrayer Serkis) Here we have a pair of Lord of the Rings references. Hobbits and ORCS are fictional races (and foes) in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. Gollum is a character introduced in Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit, who played an important role in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955). In Peter Jackson's movie adaptations of the books, ANDY Serkis portrayed Gollum.
• ANTIPASTO (18A: Platter that might include cubed salami and marinated olives) ANTIPASTO is a term for the traditional first course of an Italian meal. ANTIPASTO usually consists of bite-size portions of food served on a platter from which guests serve themselves. 
• OPEN (33A: US ___ (event at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center)) The Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is located in Queens, New York City. The stadium complex was originally known as the USTA National Tennis Center, but it was rededicated as the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2006. Since 1978, the center has hosted the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, which is played in August and September. 
• ICON (40A: Snapchat's has a ghost on it) and APP (41A: Snapchat, e.g.) I enjoyed the pairing of these clues. Snapchat is a social media and messaging APP. The ghost on the Snapchat ICON is named Ghostface Chillah (a nod to Ghostface Killah from the Wu-Tang Clan) and symbolizes the temporary nature of Snapchat messages.
• ASA (49A; "Sex Education" actor Butterfield) Sex Education (2019-2023) is a Netflix TV series centered on the lives of the students, staff, and parents at Moordale Secondary School. ASA Butterfield plays the role of Otis Milburn, a teenager that gives sex advice to other students.
• NUDES (59A: Some Cezanne paintings) Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was a French painter. Around 200 of Cezanne's paintings depict NUDES, generally male and female bathers, either singly or in groups.
• ELLEN (67A: Actress Burstyn) ELLEN Burstyn made her Broadway debut in 1958 in Fair Game. The same year, she made her first TV appearance in an episode of Kraft Television Theatre. Since then she has appeared in numerous, plays, TV series, and movies. She turned 93 last month, and she's still acting. Over the course of her career, ELLEN Burstyn has received an Academy Award for Best Actress (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, 1994), a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Same Time, Next Year, 1995), and two Emmy Awards (for a guest role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 2009 and for a supporting role in Political Animals, 2013).
• AHA (2D: "It finally clicked!") As regular readers of the blog will appreciate, I am a fan of "AHA!" moments, so it's always fun to see AHA in the grid.
• ENTITY (4D: That's something!) An exclamation point in a clue is a hint to solvers to interpret the clue literally. An ENTITY is literally something that exists.
• PONG (7D: Game in the Smithsonian Institution's permanent collection) This is a fun fact. The classic arcade video game, Pong, was first released by ATARI in 1972. It had a table tennis theme, and featured simple two-dimensional graphics. Pong is notable as the first commercially successful video game.
• CAT BED (12D: Himalayan's sleeping spot) and PET (43D: Animal friend) A Himalayan is a long-haired CAT breed. The breed was established by cross-breeding Persian and Siamese CATs. My animal friend, Willow, is not a Himalayan, but she is a great PET. She also doesn't have a dedicated CAT BED, instead believing her CAT BED is wherever she chooses to sleep, such as on the back of our loveseat. Also, where is her head in this photo?!

• PATREON (19A: Crowdfunding source) PATREON is a platform that lets content creators run a subscription service. Supporters provide monthly payments to creators, and in exchange receive exclusive content. A variety of content creators use PATREON, including writers, video creators, and crossword constructors.
• LEI (28A: Garland with Polynesian origins) In the U.S. we often associate the LEI with Hawaii. That makes sense, because LEIs are common throughout Polynesia (a region of islands in the central and southern Pacific Ocean), and Hawaii is a part of that region.
• UNTIE (29A: Prepare to remove, like shoes) and UNZIP (51D: Prepare to remove, like pants) I appreciate the parallel clueing here.
• INN (31D: Place to rest in Baldur's Gate) Baldur's Gate is a franchise of role-playing video games.
• PEI (42A: Museum of Islamic Art architect I.M.) There are several museums of Islamic Art around the world. The Museum of Islamic Art designed by I.M. PEI is located in Doha, Qatar. The museum is built on an island, per I.M. PEI's specifications. The museum opened in December 2008.
• SSN (61D: ID meant to be kept secret) This is true; it is important to keep one's social security number (SSN) a secret. This also makes me laugh a little bit, because when I was in college, our student ID numbers were our SSNs, and they were displayed on our student IDs. Also, back then SSNs were often printed on people's checks. Wow, I shudder to think of it now.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• HONK (15A: Sound from a horn or a goose)
• EST (24A: Cutesy suffix with "best")
• SO RANDOM (3D: "Well, that came out of nowhere")

Today the puzzle's title let me know just what to expect theme-wise. The word SPIN in the title is acting as an anagram indicator, and each theme answer contains an anagram of the word TAIL. Thank you, Larry, for this enjoyable puzzle.