February 21, 2026

Title: MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Constructor: Beth Rubin

Editor: Amie Walker


Theme synopsis:
  • OH NO YOU DON'T (17A: "Now, wait just a second!")
  • CREATE AN OPENING (41A: Make space)
  • TRUE OR FALSE (65A: Binary question format)
MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION: In each theme answer, the word on the RIGHT can be paired with the word MOVE to form a new phrase: DON'T MOVE, OPENING MOVE, and FALSE MOVE.

What I learned from today's puzzle:
  • AURA (12D: Energy field that might be "farmed") AURA farming refers to doing something in order to look cool or impressive. The term became popular on social media (where else). The idea of AURA farming is related to the collection of AURA points, which I have written about previously. 
Random thoughts and interesting things:
  • SHEILA (5A: Drummer ___ E.) SHEILA E. gave her first public performance, including a drum solo, at the age of five onstage with her dad, Pete Escovedo. Known as the "Queen of Percussion," SHEILA E. has performed with Prince, Beyoncé, and Phil Collins and also has a successful career of her own.
  • CAT (11A: Felix or Sylvester, e.g.) Felix the CAT is a cartoon character introduced in 1919 during the silent film era. Sylvester the CAT is a Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon character. He made his debut in 1945. My CAT, Willow, is not a cartoon character, but nonetheless, sometimes she is quite comical.
A calico cat is lying on a wooden chair and appears to be stuck in the slats on the back of the chair.
  • ARE (19A: "Where the Wild Things ___") Where the Wild Things ARE is a 1963 children's picture book by Maurice Sendak. The book was adapted into a 2009 movie of the same name. I am a fan of using book titles (or titles of other works) to add interest to clues for common three-letter words.
  • ANG (30A: Director Lee) ANG Lee's numerous directing credits include Sense and Sensibility (1995), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), and Brokeback Mountain (2005).
  • TROUT (38A: "Rainbow" fish) The quotation marks around the word "rainbow" in the clue indicate that it can be paired with the answer. Rainbow TROUT is a species of fish native to North America and Asia.
  • MIL (51A: _other-_n-_aw) In this kind of fill-in-the-blank clue, each blank corresponds to one letter. MIL is an abbreviation for Mother-In-Law. (There will be no MIL jokes here, as I am one!)
  • LOA (62A: Mauna ___ Observatory) The Mauna LOA Observatory is located on Mauna LOA, one of the five volcanoes that form the island of Hawai'i. Mauna LOA Observatory was established in 1956. It is an important site for atmospheric monitoring. 
  • SIA (68A: "Candy Cane Lane" singer) "Candy Cane Lane" is a song from SIA's 2017 Christmas album, Everyday is Christmas.
  • LEIA (70A: "Star Wars" princess) We first met Princess LEIA Organa, played by Carrie Fisher, in the 1977 movie, Star Wars. The character was also known as Princess LEIA in the movies The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). When Carrie Fisher reprised the role in the 2015 movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, LEIA had become General LEIA. Carrie Fisher died in 2016 at the age of 60. Before her death, she had completed filming of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was released in 2017, and that movie was dedicated to her. The 2019 movie, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker used archival footage of Carrie Fisher as General LEIA.
  • SHOULD (5D: First word of "Auld Lang Syne") All together now: "SHOULD auld acquaintance be forgot / And never brought to mind..."
  • END (7D: When the closing ceremony takes place at the Olympic Games) We've almost reached the END of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The closing ceremony is tomorrow, February 22. Then we will learn who is in the LEAD (60D: Be at the top of the medal standings, say).
  • YOGURTS (18D: Frozen desserts at Pinkberry) I learned about the Pinkberry franchise, which sells YOGURTS, from the August 26, 2025 puzzle.
  • SAM (23D: "Stay With Me" singer Smith) SAM Smith's song, "Stay With Me," was released in 2014.
  • TEA LEAF (39D: Bit of reading for a fortuneteller) and EARL GREY (42D: Hot beverage flavored with bergamot) This is a nice pair of consecutive clues. Let's read an EARL GREY TEA LEAF.
  • NIA (43D: "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" star Vardalos) I wrote about My Big Fat Greek Wedding a couple of weeks ago when we saw FAT clued as ["My Big ___ Greek Wedding"]. NIA Vardalos wrote the movie and starred as Toula Portokalos.
  • A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
    • LAIR (14A: Hideaway where evil laughter might be heard)
    • GLEE (25A: Feeling experienced by a gold medal winner)
    • AXE (64A: Lumberjill's tool)
It's always nice to MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, isn't it? I enjoyed this "word with" theme. Thank you, Beth, for this excellent puzzle.


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