January 8, 2026

Title: WRAP UP

Constructors: Wendy L. Brandes & Sally Hoelscher

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• SHRINK RAY (3D: Sci-fi device that miniaturizes objects)
• BUBBLE AND SQUEAK (7D: Classic British dish with an onomatopoetic name)
• BODY SHOP (36D: Places to get bumpers buffed and scratches sanded)

WRAP UP: The UPmost word of each vertical theme answer can be paired with the word WRAP: SHRINK WRAP, BUBBLE WRAP, and BODY WRAP.

And now a word from today's constructors:

Wendy: It is always great to work with Sally on a puzzle.  For this one, I learned more about BUBBLE AND SQUEAK.  

I loved how the gridding worked out so that ATOM landed next to SHRINK RAY.  

My favorite entry in this one is NO GOAL.  There is a commercial for MassMutual that showcases a pregame conversation between a goalie. Juuse Saros, and his teammate, Ryan O’Reilly, about their financial goals.  Saros, the goalie, who is laser focused on hockey, keeps repeating the phrase “NO GOALS.”  I thought the commercial was so cute.  Recently, we added Wingspan’s Oceania expansion pack to our collection of games.  In the expansion pack one of the end-of-round goals is “NO GOAL.”  It provided a great opportunity to reference Saros (endlessly, if you ask my kids…).  

Many thanks to Amanda for her thoughtful edits and for helping us shape the puzzle.  Also, much appreciation to the USA TODAY team for helping get this one out into the world.

Sally: Our initial theme query for this puzzle got lost in cyberspace, resulting in this puzzle taking a bit longer than usual to make it out into the world. I'm glad it finally made it! It's always a joy to collaborate with Wendy.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• NO GOAL (24A: Call after an offsides infraction in soccer) If you are a regular reader of this blog, you could probably guess that this sports-related clue was one of Wendy's rather than mine. You would be correct. I'm grateful to collaborate with those who know more about sports than I do (which is a lot of people...). Here's the MassMutual commercial that Wendy mentioned in her constructor's notes. "NO GOALs." (I am, however, familiar with the "NO GOAL" goal in Wingspan.)
• GIRLS (33A: "This One's for the ___" (Martina McBride song)) "This One's for the GIRLS" is a 2023 song by Martina McBride. The song's lyrics salute women of various ages, with the overarching message, "You're beautiful the way you are."
• SUNISA LEE (60A: Gymnast who was the first Hmong-American Olympian) SUNISA LEE was on the USA women's gymnastics Olympic team that won gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She also represented Team USA at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (held in 2021), where she was the all-around gold medalist in women's gymnastics. SUNISA LEE is the first Hmong American to win an Olympic gold medal. (The Hmong people are an ethnic group in China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. Many Hmong immigrated to the United States following the Vietnam War.)
• ILSA (64A: "Casablanca" heroine) Ingrid Bergman played the role of ILSA Lund in the 1942 movie, Casablanca. The movie won an Academy Award for Best Picture when it was released, and consistently appears on lists of the greatest films in history.
• TV SET (69A: Device with remote access?) Not a device in a remote, hard-to-get-to location, but a TV SET that can be accessed by a remote control.
• ATOM (2D: Small matter?) Not a trivial matter, but literally a small part of matter, an ATOM. As Wendy mentioned in her constructor's notes, it's especially fun that ATOM landed near SHRINK RAY in the grid.
• SHRINK RAY (3D: Sci-fi device that miniaturizes objects) A SHRINK RAY that can miniaturize objects and/or people is a somewhat classic sci-fi device. There's no such device in real life. Thank goodness!
• OSAKA (6D: Tennis star Naomi) and IGA (28A: Tennis star Swiatek) Sometimes it just works out that you end up with two women's tennis stars in your grid. Happy to give grid space to Naomi OSAKA and IGA Swiatek, both of whom I have written about previously.
• BUBBLE AND SQUEAK (7D: Classic British dish with an onomatopoetic name) BUBBLE AND SQUEAK is a traditional English breakfast dish that consists of cooked potatoes and cabbage, which are mixed together and then pan-fried in butter or oil. The dish's name, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, refers to the sounds the ingredients make while they're being fried.
• EMIL (8D: Name found in "Muscle Milk") Where's EMIL? He's swimming around in the Muscle Milk – that's quite a mental picture, isn't it?
• YOLO (9D: "Might as well" letters) YOLO = you only live once
• CAT (10D: Pet known for loving cardboard boxes) At our house, we refer to cardboard boxes as CAT traps. My CAT, Willow, simply cannot resist a cardboard box.

• ANIME (11D: "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," for example) JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an ANIME series based on the Japanese manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. The series has different parts, each following a member of the Joestar family, many of whom have names that can be abbreviated to "JoJo" (such as Jonathon Joestar or Joseph Joestar).
• RICE (29D: Nasi kandar grain) Nasi kandar is a dish in Malaysian cuisine. It consists of RICE served with meat and vegetable curries.
• CARS (46D: Pixar movie featuring a sky-blue Porsche named Sally) I'm quite fond of this clue, as you might guess. And blue is my favorite color, too! In the 2006 animated movie CARS, the role of Sally was voiced by Bonnie Hunt.
• I RULE (49D: "Please admire my awesomeness!") When I wrote this clue, I commented to Wendy, "I'm not sure if this really translates to I RULE – not something I generally say..." Wendy suggested I should try using the phrase "I RULE!" (I haven't taken that advice...)
• FLEA (56D: Boxer's annoyance?) The question mark here alerts solvers the clue is not referring to the sport of boxing, but to the dog breed.
• ODIE (58D: Only animal character in "Garfield" comics without a recurring voice bubble) As the clue indicates, ODIE is the only animal character in Jim Davis' Garfield comics that does not have a recurring voice bubble. This was an intentional choice, as ODIE is portrayed as a "normal" house dog. ODIE does sometimes have thought bubble, however. 

I hope you enjoyed solving this one. Many thanks to Wendy for this collaboration. Thanks, as always, to Amanda for great editing. And thanks to you for solving and reading!