February 14, 2026

Title: THIS PUZZLE IS FULL OF HEART (Freestyle)

Constructors: Amanda Rafkin & Amie Walker

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

THIS PUZZLE IS FULL OF HEART (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless, puzzle. The title is a nod to the grid, which contains a HEART.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• SYNTH (14D: Instrument featured heavily in Yazoo's "Only You") "Only You" is a 1982 song by the British SYNTH-pop duo Yazoo.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• READER (1A: Person enjoying a romance novel, perhaps) I appreciate the choice of the romance genre here to tie in with Valentine's Day.
• In addition to the HEART in the grid, the puzzle contains multiple answers that relate to love:
• DESTINY (16A: What it might feel like when you meet the love of your life)
• HAD (23A: "I ___ the best time with you") 
• YOU'RE MY FAVORITE (43A: "There's no one I could love more")
• SECRET CRUSH (20D: Someone you might carry a torch for)
• LOVE STORIES (21D: They just might start in the DMs)
• HE'S (22A: "She's everything. ___ just Ken) "She's everything. HE'S just Ken," is a tagline for the 2023 movie Barbie. 
• ROB (24A: Take badly?) The question mark in the clue alerts the solver to expect wordplay. The clue isn't using the phrase "take badly" as in "be hurt by a remark," but rather is interpreting the phrase literally. To take something badly (in a bad way) is to ROB somebody.
• AOC (26A: Youngest woman to serve in Congress (Abbr.)) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) represents New York's 14th congressional district (which includes portions of the Bronx, Queens, and Riders Island in New York City) in the U.S. House of Representatives. AOC was 29 years old when she took office, making her the youngest woman to serve in the U.S. Congress.
• VET (27A: Medical pro who aptly rhymes with "pet") and TIGER (42A: Big striped cat) My cat, Willow, wonders if it was really necessary to bring up the VET. She is, however, happy to see her big cat cousin, the TIGER, in the puzzle. Here's Willow with her narwhal, one of the crocheted animals she likes to "hunt" and bring to me as presents.

• CPR (29A: First-aid procedure that can be done to the beat of "Tearin' Up My Heart") The Red Cross recommends doing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) at a rate of 100 chest compressions per minute. This means that songs with 100-120 beats per minute are useful tools to help you maintain the correct rate if you need to perform CPR. This includes (ironically) NSYNC's 1997 song, "Tearin' Up My Heart," which has a tempo of 110 beats per minute.
• ELO (30A: Chess or Board Game Arena rating system) I wrote about the chess rating system ELO last month. This rating system, which ranks players relative to one another, is also used by the web-based platform Board Game Arena.
• IS TO (33A: "To love another person ___ see the face of God") The lovely sentiment, "To love another person IS TO see the face of God," is the final line of the musical Les Miserables.
• DOCTOR (37A: "___ Odyssey" (medical drama)) DOCTOR Odyssey is a TV series that originally aired from September 2024 to May 2025. The show follows the experiences of a medical team on a luxury cruise ship.
• PLATE (49A: A 52-Across one has places for six items) and SEDER (52A: Passover ritual during which maror is eaten) Passover is a Jewish festival to commemorate and remember the Exodus, the story of Moses leading the Jewish people out of Egypt following years of enslavement. A SEDER PLATE is used during the celebration of Passover. During the SEDER meal, which includes songs, prayers, readings, and questions, the foods on the SEDER PLATE are explained. Maror are bitter herbs that symbolize the bitterness of being enslaved in Egypt. 
• RED (1D: Taylor Swift album with "Everything Has Changed") "Everything Has Changed" is a 2013 single by Taylor Swift, featuring Ed Sheeran. As the clue notes, the song is from the album RED. That's appropriate for Valentine's Day.
• ERICA (5D: Voice actor Mendez) I wrote about ERICA Mendez three days ago when we saw ERICA clued as ["LEGO Friends" voice actor Mendez].
• THA (19D: Theresa ___ S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D.) Theresa THA S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. is a spoken word artist. I encourage you to take a few minutes of your day to listen to her perform "I Am." The entire poem is worthy; I particularly liked the lines, "I'm giving myself grace / And taking up space."
• ACTED (26D: Performed in "Imagine Me & You") Imagine Me & You is a 2005 rom-com about a relationship between two women who meet on the day one of the women is getting married (to a man).
• IAGO (36D: "Aladdin" parrot) In the Disney animated movie Aladdin (1992), IAGO is a talking parrot voiced by Gilbert Gottfried. IAGO is the sidekick of Jafar, the movie's villain. In the sequels and TV series in the Aladdin franchise, IAGO is reformed into a better character. IAGO is named for the Shakespeare villain in Othello.
• GIVER (39D: "The ___" (Chappell Roan song with the lyric "I get the job done") Chappell Roan released "The Giver" in March 2025. 
• LYLE (41D: Kid-lit crocodile) LYLE is the crocodile star of Bernard Waber's picture books, The House on East 88th Street (1962) and LYLE, LYLE, Crocodile (1965). In the first book, a family moves into an old Victorian brownstone in Manhattan and discover a performing crocodile named LYLE living in the bathtub. The stories were adapted into a musical and a movie. I have good memories of reading these delightful books to my kids when they were younger.

As soon as I read the title of this puzzle, I just knew there was going to be a heart in the grid. How satisfying to open the puzzle and have that confirmed. Happy Valentine's Day! Solving this puzzle is a great way to celebrate the day. Thank you, Amanda and Amie, for this lovely puzzle.