January 5, 2026

Title: LETTER OPENERS

Constructor: Sam Cordes

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• FAN BRUSHES (16A: Contouring makeup tools with bristles)
• CAPITAL CITY (38A: Boston or Salem, e.g.)
• COVER BANDS (61A: The Iron Maidens and Dread Zeppelin, for two)

LETTER OPENERS: The OPENER (i.e. first word) of each theme answer can be paired with the word LETTER: FAN LETTER, CAPITAL LETTER, and COVER LETTER.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• COVER BANDS (61A: The Iron Maidens and Dread Zeppelin, for two) I was not familiar with these two COVER BANDS, but the answer here was inferable once I had a few letters filled in from crossing answers. The Iron Maidens are an all-female COVER BAND for the heavy metal BAND Iron Maiden. Dread Zeppelin is a COVER BAND that performs the songs of Led Zeppelin "reimagined through laid-back reggae grooves, fronted by the Vegas-styled Elvis impersonator Tortelvis." All I can say to that description is "Wow."
• COSMIC (21D: ___ Crisp (apple variety)) COSMIC Crisp is an apple cultivar developed at Washington State University and commercially released in 2019. This is a new apple variety to me, so I was thankful for help from crossing answers here.
• CRICKET TEAM (24D: Squad with spinners and seamers) Everything I know about CRICKET I have learned from the Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy L. Sayers, the BBC game show Only Connect, and crossword puzzles. Today's crossword is adding the terms spinner and seamer to my knowledge. On a CRICKET TEAM, a spinner is a bowler (the player delivering the ball to the batter) who puts a spin on the ball. A seamer is a bowler who uses the raised seam of the CRICKET ball to make it bounce off the pitch. (No, I really don't fully understand anything I just wrote...)

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ISAAC (11A: Violinist Stern) ISAAC Stern (1920-2001) was a noted violinist who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and six Grammy Awards.
• AARP (13A: "Wish of a Lifetime" org.) Wish of a Lifetime is an affiliate program of AARP whose mission is to "spark hope and joy in the hearts of older adults by fulfilling their dreams through personalized experiences that promote healthy and purposeful aging." 
• NINE (15A: Number of pitches in an immaculate inning) NINE strikes equals three strikeouts, and that's an immaculate inning. If you're wondering how often this happens, well, you're in luck, I'm going to tell you. Since 1889 there have been 118 immaculate innings pitched by 110 different pitchers. The most recent immaculate inning was pitched by Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres on September 3, 2025 in the eighth inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles. I don't know how many innings of baseball have been played in MLB's history, but it's safe to say that 118 is a very small percentage of those innings, making this a rare and impressive feat.
• BICYCLES (22A: Tour de France vehicles) The Tour de France is a multiple stage road cycling race held annually. As you might guess from the name of the race, it is held mainly in France.
• OREOS (26A: Cookies with a Blueberry Pie variety) Blueberry Pie OREOS were a limited release flavor in 2016, and they were rereleased last year. They feature vanilla cookies filled with blueberry pie flavored creme.
• EURO (28A: Currency in Germany) Germany is one of the 21 member states of the European Union that uses the EURO as its currency.
• CAPITAL CITY (38A: Boston or Salem, e.g.) Boston is the CAPITAL CITY of Massachusetts. Salem is the CAPITAL CITY of Oregon.
• THEO (60A: "Divergent" actor James) Divergent is a dystopian sci-fi movie based on Veronica Roth's 2011 novel, the first of The Divergent Series. The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic Chicago and people are divided into factions based on human virtues: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the kind), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). THEO James portrays Tobias "Four" Eaton, a member of Dauntless. 
• SINAI (68A: Egyptian peninsula) The SINAI Peninsula is the only part of the country of Egypt that is located in Asia rather than Africa. The peninsula is a land bridge between Asia and Africa, with the Mediterranean Sea to its north, and the Red Sea to its south.
• EDM (69A: Genre played at raves (Abbr.)) EDM stands for electronic dance music.
• EPS (70A: Showrunners, for short) EPS here stands for executive producers.
• BABY YODA (4D: Nickname for "The Mandalorian" character Grogu) Grogu, colloquially known as BABY YODA, is a character from the Star Wars TV series, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
• ANDROID (9D: Mobile operating system with a robot logo) The logo and mascot for the ANDROID operating system is a green ANDROID robot. In 2024, Google revealed in a blog post that the robot's official name is "The Bot."
• BEA (22D: "The Golden Girls" star Arthur) BEA Arthur (1922-2009) portrayed Dorothy Zbornak on the TV series The Golden Girls (1985-1992). In 2002 she starred on Broadway in a show based on her life and career, BEA Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends. Before taking up acting, BEA Arthur served in the U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve during World War II.
• AIR (54D: Ben Affleck film about Michael Jordan's Nike deal) The movie AIR, released in 2023, is based on true events about the basketball shoeline AIR Jordan. Michael Jordan was not directly involved with the making of AIR, but he did consult with Ben Affleck. Apparently one of Michael Jordan's suggestions was the casting of Viola Davis as his mother (a suggestion that Ben Affleck took).
• SIT (65D: Eager word from someone who's placed a whoopee cushion) This clue made me laugh! Such a great visual image of someone saying, "SIT, SIT, SIT!"
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• LATTE (51A: Drink sometimes topped with foam art)
• STOMPS (56A: Annoys downstairs neighbors, perhaps)
• WILE E. COYOTE (8D: Road Runner's nemesis, in "Looney Tunes")

The word OPENERS in today's title made me pay special attention to the first words of the theme answers. I wasn't sure if those words were going to be some sort of LETTERs or homophones of LETTERs, or what exactly. There was a nice "Aha!" moment therefore, when I filled in FAN BRUSHES and realized that pointed to FAN LETTER. Thank you, Sam, for this enjoyable puzzle.