February 27, 2026

Title: HIGH SCHOOL

Constructors: Olivia Mitra Framke & Sally Hoelscher

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• BELL HOOKS (3D: "Ain't I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism author)
• SPIRIT HALLOWEEN (5D: Retailer with pop-up stores during spooky season)
• BOARD GAME (35D: Flamecraft or Everdell)

HIGH SCHOOL: The HIGHest word of each vertical theme answer can be paired with the word SCHOOL to make a new phrase: SCHOOL BELL, SCHOOL SPIRIT, and SCHOOL BOARD.

And now a word from our constructors:

Sally: What's better than making two puzzles with Olivia? Making three puzzles with Olivia! Having moved from PRESCHOOL to MIDDLE SCHOOL, Olivia and I now find ourselves in HIGH SCHOOL. In case you're wondering whether we're going to college tomorrow, I will let you know that this is the end of Olivia and my puzzle SCHOOL journey. It's always a joy to collaborate with Olivia and especially when we can have three puzzles in a row! (Thank you, Amanda and Amie!)

Olivia: Here endeth the series! So fun to have three puzzles in a row at a single outlet, definitely a first! I'll share that originally Sally and I submitted queries for the first and last of these, and Amanda came back and asked, hmm, think you could come up with a "Middle School" concept? Absolutely we could! Thanks to my crossword bestie Sally for another great set of collabs!

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• BABE (1A: Fictional pig who dreams of herding sheep) The 1995 movie BABE is an adaptation of Dick King-Smith's 1983 book, The Sheep-Pig. In the movie, BABE is a pig who learns how to herd sheep. In addition to its titular pig, BABE features a number of other animals. Real animals and animatronic puppets were used to play the animal characters.
• CLERIC (11A: D&D class that wields protection magic) In the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), when players create a character they choose a class for that character. Each class gives a character certain perks and abilities. Characters in the CLERIC class can channel divine magic and use that magic for protection.
• PERU (14A: Machu Picchu's country) Machu Picchu is a 15th-century citadel in southern PERU. It was constructed around 1450, most likely as an estate of Pachacuti, an Incan emperor. Machu Picchu is one of the most well-known examples of Incan architecture. Two days ago we saw LIMA, the capital of PERU clued as [___, Peru (sister city of Stamford, CT)].
• OLSEN (20A: Elizabeth who portrays Marvel's Scarlet Witch) Elizabeth OLSEN has portrayed Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I mentioned Elizabeth OLSEN a couple of weeks ago when we saw the word ELDEST clued as [Like Ashley, among the Olsen sisters].
• ROMANTIC (21A: Like a moonlit walk on the beach) and CANDLE (13D: Light source for a 21-Across dinner, perhaps) When I was writing clues for this puzzle, I originally clued ROMANTIC as [Like a candle-lit dinner]. Then I remembered that the word CANDLE is also in this puzzle. Oops! No problem. Moonlit walks are also ROMANTIC, and then I was able to use a cross-referenced clue for CANDLE.
• GOOD (26A: "Wicked: For ___" (2025 musical movie)) Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For GOOD, which was released last November, are the two parts of the movie adaptation of the Wicked musical (which was based on 1995 book of the same name by Gregory Maguire). Regular readers of the blog will know I am a fan of the musical Wicked and of the movie adaptations. For your listening pleasure, here's a link to Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande singing "For GOOD."
• DID (29A: "___ you miss me?") Considering this is the third day in a row Olivia and I have had a USA Today crossword, perhaps we should say "DID you miss us?"
• KESHA (32A: "Dear Me" singer) "Dear Me" is a 2025 single by KESHA. The song was written by Diane Warren for the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless. The song has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. "Dear me, don't worry 'bout it / You're gonna be alright, you'll see..."
• ANI (45A: Singer-songwriter DiFranco) ANI DiFranco is a singer-songwriter, activist, and feminist icon. Her lyrics are "often autobiographical, and strongly political." ANI DeFranco created Righteous Babe Records in 1990 in order to be able to release her own records without being beholden to a record company. All of her albums have been released on Righteous Babe. 
• EDIE (61A: "The Parenting" actress Falco) The Parenting is a 2025 comedy horror movie about a gay couple that rents a country house and hosts a weekend getaway with their parents. EDIE Falco portrays Sharon, the mother of one of the men. The weekend takes a turn when they discover the house is haunted by an ancient demon.
• ESCAPE (62A: Word before "room" or "proof") Have you done an ESCAPE room? If so, I hope it wasn't ESCAPE proof!
• THEMES (66A: Recurring motifs) Recurring school-related THEMES, perhaps?
• TBH (67A: "Truthfully" in a text) TBH = to be honest
• FIN (68A: Bass part) and DEEP (69A: Like bass voices) This is a fun pair of clues (if I do say so myself), because the word "bass" appears in both clues, but with different meaning. A FIN is part of a fish called a bass and bass singing voices are DEEP.
• ALOO (2D: ___ gobi (potato and cauliflower dish)) This is my occasional reminder for you that ALOO is a South Asian term for potatoes, so when you notice a dish in a crossword clue contains potato, the answer may be ALOO.
• BELL HOOKS (3D: "Ain't I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism author) Ain't I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism is a 1981 book by BELL HOOKS. The book is considered a classic work of feminist scholarship. Its title comes from a speech given by Sojourner Truth.
• SPIRIT HALLOWEEN (5D: Retailer with pop-up stores during spooky season) SPIRIT HALLOWEEN pop-up stores (over 1,600 of them across North America) appear during the HALLOWEEN season to sell costumes and decorations. Their online store is open year-round.
• PERON (6D: Eva of "Evita") Evita is a 1976 concept album by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Evita is also the title of a 1978 musical and a 1996 movie, both of which are based on the concept album. Evita is also the title of a 2008 documentary. All of these works tell the story of the life of Eva PERÓN, whose nickname was Evita. Eva PERÓN (1919-1952) was the first lady of Argentina from 1946-1952.
• DARTH (8D: "Star Wars" title?) The question mark in the clue alerts solvers to expect some trickiness and wordplay. This clue is not referencing a title of a Star Wars movie. Rather it refers to the word DARTH, which is used in the Star Wars franchise as a title for Sith Lords, such as DARTH Vader, DARTH Sidious, DARTH Maul, etc. Olivia constructed the grid for this puzzle, so it's not really a surprise that when presented with an opportunity to put DARTH in the grid she took it! I am pretty proud of myself though, because I actually wrote this Star Wars clue. (And immediately wondered, "Does this work? Happy to see it made it through editing.)
• SPICY (10D: Like some "Hot Ones" sauces) Hot Ones is a YouTube talk show hosted by Sean Evans. He interviews guests while they eat increasingly SPICY chicken wings.
• USA (15D: Country hosting the 2028 Olympics) The 2028 Summer Olympics will be hosted by the USA. Los Angeles, California will be the host city.
• BOARD GAME (35D: Flamecraft or Everdell) Olivia and I each contributed a BOARD GAME we like to include in this clue. Olivia chose Flamecraft, a BOARD GAME in which players are flamekeepers and are skilled in the art of conversing with dragons, which must be placed in their ideal homes and enticed to produce specialized items. I chose Everdell a BOARD GAME set in the valley of Everdell, which is inhabited by woodland critters. Each player constructs a city, choosing the buildings and characters to inhabit their city.
• REIKI (54D: Japanese energy healing) The practice of REIKI is based on the belief that an experienced practitioner can use a technique called "hands-on healing" to alter energy fields in the body.

Although it's the third in the series, this is the puzzle that started this SCHOOL series of puzzles. Olivia brought me an idea for a HIGH SCHOOL puzzle. I thought it was a great idea, and I wondered if we could pair it with a PRESCHOOL puzzle. We developed those two ideas and submitted them as theme queries. Amanda and Amie responded that they liked these themes, but also ... they thought it would be fun if there were a MIDDLE SCHOOL option in between. So many thanks to the editing team for the push to put our thinking caps back on and develop a MIDDLE SCHOOL theme. One thing I like about the three puzzles in this series is that each one has a different type of theme. We had a category theme in PRESCHOOL, a hidden word theme in MIDDLE SCHOOL, and now a "word with" theme with HIGH SCHOOL. Thanks for solving and for reading. Olivia and I hope you enjoyed going to SCHOOL with us!