February 19, 2026

Title: PRIME CUTS

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• PARTNER IN CRIME (16A: Person to cause mischief with)
• CHORAL SERVICE (25A: Church offering that includes singing)
• SENATOR ELECT (49A: Incoming Capitol Hill figure)
• BEEF TIPS (63A: Bite-size cuts of meat, and a hint to this puzzle's theme)

PRIME CUTS: At the TIPS of each theme answer are found PRIME CUTS of BEEF: PARTNER IN CRIME (prime), CHORAL SERVICE (choice), and SENATOR ELECT (select).

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• IRAN (13A: Country for which Olympian Samaneh Beyrami Baher will compete) Samaneh Beyrami Baher is an Iranian cross country skier. She is representing IRAN at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. She is one of just four athletes from IRAN competing at this year's games. Samaneh Beyrami Baher also competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics, where she was the flag bearer for IRAN in the opening ceremony.
• GONG (45A: Common instrument in gamelans) Gamelans are traditional instrumental ensembles of Indonesia, particularly the islands of Java and Bali. Gamelans feature percussion instruments, including GONGs, metallophones, and drums.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• UTAH (32A: State where the 2002 Winter Games were held) The 2002 Winter Olympics, also known as the 2002 Winter Games, were held in and around Salt Lake City, UTAH. The Olympics are scheduled to return to UTAH in 2034. 
• DRAKE (39A: Duckling's daddy) As I've previously written, I always remember that DRAKE is the term for a male duck, because I attended DRAKE University in Des Moines, Iowa. A female duck is called a duck or a hen. I like the alliteration of "duckling's daddy" in this clue.
• RUBEN (55A: "Soulful" singer Studdard) Soulful is RUBEN Studdard's debut studio album, released in 2003. RUBEN Studdard won the second season of the singing competition TV series American Idol (2003).
• SKYE (66A: ___ terrier (dog breed))  The Scottish dog breed known as the SKYE terrier is named for the Isle of SKYE, where the breed was discovered. This breed is considered vulnerable and in danger of extinction.
• LAS (27D: The "L" of UNLV) The University of Nevada, LAS Vegas (UNLV) is located in Paradise, Nevada.
• ILANA (29A: Emmy winner Glazer) In 2023, ILANA Glazer won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Special (as a host) for the YouTube series, Recipe for Change: Standing Up to Anti-Semitism. Idina Menzel and Moshe Kasher were also hosts on the series.
• EPEES (31D: Heaviest fencing swords) ÉPÉES are one of three types of swords used in fencing; the other two fencing swords are foils and sabres. As the clue notes, ÉPÉES are the heaviest of these three swords.
• PGA (41D: Org. with carts and caddies) The abbreviation of the word organization (org.) in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation. PGA is the Professional Golfers' Association.
• GRU (46D: The Minions' boss) The animated movie Despicable Me was released in 2010, introducing the world to GRU (voiced by Steve Carell), a supervillain who turns out to be not as evil as he thought he was. Despicable Me also introduced the Minions, GRU's childlike yellow assistants. The most recent movie starring GRU – now a reformed supervillain – is Despicable Me 4, which was released in 2024. The Minions have also starred in their own series of movies. Minions 3 is scheduled to be released in July of this year.
• EVENT (50D: Nordic Combined, e.g.) Nordic Combined is a sport that combines cross-country skiing and ski jumping. Nordic Combined has been an EVENT at the Winter Olympics since the first Winter Olympics in 1924.

After reading today's title, I guessed that the theme would be the word PRIME being CUT by each theme answer. I felt quite smart as I filled in PARTNER IN CRIME. Then I came to CHORAL SERVICE ... "uh oh." Upon further inspection, I did notice the word CHOICE at the edges of the answer. And then came SENATOR ELECT, in which I found SELECT. Okay, different PRIME CUTS. A nice "Aha!" moment when I came to the revealer of BEEF TIPS, which tied everything together. We only occasionally see revealers in USA Today puzzles, and it makes for a fun change. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this enjoyable puzzle.

One more thing today: Several weeks ago, I told you about the ORCAS Awards for crossword folks. Just a reminder that voting for the ORCAS ends today. The ORCA Awards ceremony will be broadcast online on February 23 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET.