February 1, 2026

Title: COVER UP

Constructor: Jess Rucks & Ben Findley

Editor:  Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• FORT LAUDERDALE (4D: City in Florida known as the "Venice of America")
• STATEMENT PIECE (16D: Attention-demanding garment or accessory)
• HOG HEAVEN (21D: Total bliss)

COVER UP: The UPmost word of each theme answer can be paired with the word BLANKET, which is a synonym of COVER: BLANKET FORT, BLANKET STATEMENT, and BLANKET HOG.

And now a word from today's constructors:

Jess: Ben had an idea for a theme that revolved around "Blanket Solutions." Somehow, through the squishy, amorphous process of settling on theme answers, this puzzle was made (with nary a blanket solution to be found)! The theme went through so many different iterations -- in fact, Amie Walker came up with turning the grid so the theme answers were vertical -- which is so simple in its genius (tysm Amie!). My favorite clues are for ECHO and NICE [Minnesota ___ (culture of kindness)]. Ben and I are both Minnesotans, and now more than ever, finding ways to highlight the amazingness that is that state and its people is important to me. Thanks for solving!

Ben: I made this puzzle with longtime friend Jess Rucks. She was very kind to encourage me to join her in building this. This is my first crossword, so it was quite a learning curve for me as to how to think about how to title a theme especially... It's a different way of thinking than my usual day to day linear way of thinking for sure. Clue writing was very fun, but also a challenge as to think about the way I see the world and things and how others perceive things to make clues less obscure at times and more fun and challenging at other times. The whole experience was wonderful! I owe Jess a great big "Thank you!", and my thanks to editor Amanda Rafkin for the support and encouragement on first go around.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• LIV (46A: "The Leftovers" star Tyler) The Leftovers is a TV series that originally aired on HBO from 2014-2017. It is based on Tom Perotta's 2011 novel of the same name. The show takes place in a dystopian future, three years after a global event called the "Sudden Departure," that resulted in the disappearance of 140 million people. LIV Tyler portrays Meg Abbott, a woman who becomes involved with a cult known as the Guilty Remnant.
• NERO (60D: "___ Walks on Rome's Cinders" (von Piloty painting)) Karl von Piloty (1826-1886) was a German painter who was known for his historical subjects. His painting NERO Walks on Rome's Cinders depicts the emperor NERO walking through the streets of Rome after the great fire in 64 CE.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TOM (7A: Jerry's frenemy in old cartoons) TOM (a cat) and his frenemy Jerry (a mouse) are animated characters created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. TOM and Jerry made their first appearance in 1940, and since that time have appeared in short films, TV shows and movies. TOM and Jerry cartoons generally focus on TOM's largely unsuccessful attempts to capture Jerry. My cat is named Willow, not TOM, and she doesn't have a mouse frenemy, which I am thankful for! She is friends with some crocheted animals, like this beaver. (Side note: Frenemy is a great word!)

• DEPOSIT (13A: Take it to the bank!) An exclamation point at the end of a clue alerts solvers to interpret the clue literally. A DEPOSIT is something one literally takes to the bank.
• ALASKAN (15A: Person from Juneau) Juneau is the capital of ALASKA.
• AOC (27A: "The Squad" congresswoman (Abbr.)) The Squad" is a group of progressive Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives who were all under the age of 50 when they were elected. The original members of "The Squad" were elected in 2018: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC, for short, NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-5), Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13). Two additional members of "The Squad" were elected in 2020: Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) and CORI Bush (MO-1), though neither of them are still in Congress. Another three members were elected and joined "The Squad" in 2022: Greg Cesar (TX-35), Summer Lee (PA-12), and Delia Ramirez (IL-3). AOC coined the term "Squad" in a 2018 Instagram post.
• EDAM (30A: Cheese named after a Dutch town) Named after the town in the northwest Netherlands where it was originally made, EDAM is a semi-hard cheese traditionally sold in spheres wrapped with red paraffin wax.
• GOLDEN RETRIEVER (39A: Common therapy dog breed) GOLDEN RETRIEVERs make excellent therapy dogs due to their gentle nature and innate intelligence. This is a great grid-spanning answer.
• EARLOBE (61A: Place to hang a chandelier?) The question mark here alerts solvers to be on the lookout for trickiness and wordplay. The chandelier here is not a light fixture, but rather a style of earring, which might be hung on an EARLOBE.
• PALE ALE (63A: Sierra Nevada, e.g.) Sierra Nevada here is not referring to the mountain range, but to the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, founded in Chico, California in 1980. The Sierra Nevada PALE ALE was the company's first product. 
• A.P. BIO (3D: Sitcom set in a H.S. science course) The TV series A.P. BIO is set at the fictitious Whitlock High School, and centers on the staff and students of the school. Glenn Howerton plays the role of Jack Griffin, a philosophy professor fired from Harvard, who ends up teaching A.P. BIO in his hometown.
• FORT LAUDERDALE (4D: City in Florida known as the "Venice of America") FORT LAUDERDALE is located on the southeast coast of Florida. Its nickname, "Venice of America," is a reference to the city's 165 miles of inland waterways. FORT LAUDERDALE is also known as the "yachting capital of the world," a nod to its 100 marinas and over 50,000 registered yachts.
• NICE (6D: Minnesota ___ (culture of kindness)) Minnesota NICE is a stereotype that implies residents of Minnesota are unusually courteous, polite, and mild-mannered, while also being emotionally reserved. It has been theorized that Minnesota NICE may have its origins in Scandinavian culture, an agrarian economy, or perhaps it's just a myth perpetuated by cultural narrators such as Garrison Keillor (creator of the radio show A Prairie Home Companion). I'm sending good vibes of strength, resistance, and perseverance to Minnesota today and every day.
• TARO ROOT (7D: Main ingredient in poi) Poi is a traditional Polynesian food made from TARO ROOT. A week ago I learned about the one-finger, two-finger, and three-finger classification of poi.
• MARY (33D: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Oliver) MARY Oliver (1935-2019) was a poet whose writing was inspired by nature and often contained imagery from the daily walks she took near her home. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1984 for her fifth collection of poetry, American Primitive. I recommend taking a couple minutes of your day to listen to MARY Oliver read her poem "Wild Geese."
• TGIF (34D: ABC's end-of-the-week programming block in the '90s) Although the name of this ABC programming block was taken from the popular initialism TGIF, which stands for "thank God it's Friday," some of ABC's stars claimed it stood for "Thank Goodness It's Funny."
• RAIN GEAR (40D: Shower supplies?) The question mark in this clue alerts solvers that it is not looking for supplies needed to take a shower, but RAIN GEAR for a RAIN shower.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• I'M A FAN (1A: "LOVE your work!")
• ECHO (20A: Repeated ... ted ... ted ... sound ... ound ... ound)
• SPEEDO (69A: Big name in tiny swimwear)

For a few moments I thought this theme had stumped me and I was going to need to message Jess and beg her to tell me what was going on. I deduced from the word UP in the title that the theme was going to be in the Down answers. I said to myself, "COVER FORT ... COVER HOG... "I could convince myself those were a thing (maybe), but I was stuck at COVER STATEMENT ... is that a thing? Then I said, "Nobody calls it a COVER FORT, right? They call it a BLANKET FORT ... oh!" There was my "Aha!" moment. A BLANKET STATEMENT is most definitely a thing, and I live with a BLANKET HOG (ha!). I needed to take that extra step. And actually, I think possibly the theme works with the word COVER (and maybe that’s what the constructors intended…), but it also works with BLANKET, so I’m happy with making it a bit more complicated for myself. Gosh that was gratifying when it clicked. Congratulations to Ben Findley making a USA Today crossword debut! Thank you, Jess and Ben, for this delightful puzzle.