February 8, 2026

Title: STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND (Freestyle)

Constructor: Adrian Johnson

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless puzzle. The title is a nod to I DON'T BELONG HERE (16A: "This place isn't for me").

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• LOOP (31A: Skating maneuver for Alysa Liu) Alysa Liu is a figure skater. She was the first woman figure skater to land a triple axel-triple toe LOOP combination in the short program. Alysa Liu is part of the U.S. figure skating team competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
• ORGAN (66A: The largest musical instrument in the world is one) Okay, this is fascinating. The world's largest musical instrument (according to Guinness World Records) ... is a cave. The Great Stalacpipe ORGAN in Luray Caverns, Virginia covers three and a half acres of the cave. The ORGAN's console activates rubber mallets that tap stalactites of varying sizes to produce tones. The Great Stalacpipe ORGAN was created by Leland W. Sprinkle.
• AGE (5D: Fifteen for Abby Winterberger) At AGE 15, Abby Winterberger is the youngest member of Team USA's ski/snowboard roster at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Abby Winterberger competes in freestyle halfpipe skiing.
• RYE (63D: Grain used to make kvass) Kvass is a fermented low-alcoholic beverage. It is traditionally made from a mash of RYE bread and malt soaked in hot water, and fermented with sugar and yeast. Kvass originates from northeastern Europe.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• I enjoyed today's five grid-spanning answers:
• I DON'T BELONG HERE (16A: "This place isn't for me")
• ENOUGH ABOUT THAT (38A: "Time to discuss something else")
• CHILDLIKE WONDER (57A: Youthful fascination)
• STORYBOOK ENDING (2D: Happily-ever-after conclusion)
• MEET IN THE MIDDLE (10D: Come to a consensus)
• SIR (23A: Bwana, in English) Bwana is a Swahili word. It is commonly used in East Africa as a respectful form of address, similar to the English word SIR.
• ZERO (43A: Lowest possible diving score) In competitive diving, ten is the highest possible score (with ZERO being the lowest score). Those points are broken down into three points for takeoff, three points for the actual dive, and three points for how the diver hits the water. The extra point gives the judges flexibility. Additionally, each dive is assigned a degree of difficulty, and that number is multiplied by the judges' score.
• MLK (47A: First president of the SCLC) The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is a civil rights organization. It was formed in 1957 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) was its first president. The SCLC's focus is to "educate youth and adults in the areas of personal responsibility, leadership potential, and community service; to ensure economic justice and civil rights and to eradicate racism wherever it exists." The abbreviation SCLC in the clue alerts solvers the answer will be an abbreviation.
• SUR (50A: Baja California ___ (Mexican state)) Baja California SUR is one of Mexico's 31 states. It occupies the southern half of the Baja California Peninsula, which it shares with another Mexican state, Baja California.
• LAS (54A: ___ Cruces, New Mexico) LAS Cruces is the second-most populous city in New Mexico, after Albuquerque.
• DEKE (68A: Ice hockey player's feint) Oh look, it's my favorite hockey term. (Doesn't everyone have a favorite hockey term?)
• GENRE (3D: Zydeco or calypso, e.g.) Zydeco is a music GENRE that evolved in Louisiana and blends elements of blues, R&B, and music of the Louisiana Creole people and indigenous people of Louisiana. Accordion and rubboard (washboard) are key instruments in zydeco music. Calypso is a GENRE of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago. Calypso music is highly rhythmic and often features harmonic vocals. 
• FLEA (25D: Wingless parasite) FLEAs don't have wings, but these tiny insects have hind legs that are well adapted for jumping. Some FLEAs can leap a distance of 50 times their body length.
• ANTZ (30D: 1998 movie about a quest to reach Insectopia) ANTZ is a 1998 animated movie. It features an idealistic and anxious ant named Z (voiced by Woody Allen). Z goes in search of the insect paradise "Insectopia." Adventures ensue.
• PUMA (32D: Cougar) The PUMA is a cat of many names. It's also known as a cougar, a mountain lion, a catamount, and a panther. My cat, Willow, is happy to see her cat cousin in the puzzle by any name.

• TETON (46D: Wyoming's ___ Range) The TETON Range is part of the Rocky Mountains. Most of the east side of the TETON Range is within Grand TETON National Park in northwestern Wyoming.
• LEA (58D: Salonga who voiced Celine in "Kpop Demon Hunters") KPop Demon Hunters is a 2025 Netflix movie about Hunter/x, a K-pop girl group whose members lead double lives as demon hunters. LEA Salonga provides the singing voice of Celine, a former demon hunter.

If you ever start to think, "I DON'T BELONG HERE," tell yourself, "ENOUGH ABOUT THAT!" Maintain a sense of CHILDLIKE WONDER. Although there's no such thing as a STORYBOOK ENDING, perhaps it's possible to MEET IN THE MIDDLE, at least on occasion. Thank you, Adrian, for this enjoyable puzzle.