March 12, 2026

Title: EASTER(N) ISLAND

Constructor: Matthew Luter

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• LET THEM COOK (20A: "Hold on, this crew is onto something...")
• DISNEY CHANNEL (38A: Network that airs "Phineas and Ferb")
• LIKE A VIRGIN (58A: Madonna's first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100)

EASTER(N) ISLAND: The "EASTERN" word (the one on the right) of each theme answer is the name of a group of ISLANDS: COOK ISLANDS, CHANNEL ISLANDS, and VIRGIN ISLANDS.

And now a word from our constructor:

Matthew: Constructors often talk about a “tight” theme set: a collection of ideas that clearly link theme entries with specificity and that, ideally, is not so large a bank of possibilities that choosing which ones to include feels arbitrary. That’s what I was going for here: it turns out the set of “common words that, when followed by ISLANDS, make a geographical place name” is fairly small! Other ideas I considered: SONG OF SOLOMON (a favorite novel of mine, which will surely show up in some other grid) and TAPIOCA PEARL.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• LET THEM COOK (20A: "Hold on, this crew is onto something...") The phrase "LET THEM COOK..." is new to me. Now I know that it is used to indicate people should be allowed to continue what they are doing, essentially it means allowing creative space.
• NAOMI (41D: "All's Fair" star Watts) All's Fair is a TV series that premiered in November of last year. The legal drama is centered on a group of female divorce attorneys who specialize in representing women in high-stakes divorce cases. NAOMI Watts stars as attorney Liberty Ronson. The show also stars Kim Kardashian, Niecy Nash-Betts, Teyana Taylor, Sarah Paulson, Glenn Close, and Matthew Noszka.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TIBET (15A: Where the Lhasa apso originated) Lhasa Apso is a thousand-year-old dog breed that – as the clue informs us – originated in TIBET. A hint here is that Lhasa is the capital of TIBET. Historically, Lhasa Apso served as sentinels and monasteries that were located high in the Himalayan mountains. 
• OPRAH (19A: "You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!" TV host) On the 2004 season premiere of The OPRAH Winfrey Show (1986-2011), each person in the studio audience was given a car, specifically a Pontiac G6 donated by General Motors. It was during this episode that OPRAH spoke the line that has outlived the show, "You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!"
• DISNEY CHANNEL (38A: Network that airs "Phineas and Ferb") Phineas and Ferb is an animated DISNEY CHANNEL TV series that first aired in 2007. The show originally aired from 2007-2015. It returned to DISNEY CHANNEL last year for two more seasons.
• EDU (56A: End of a university's 57-Across) and URL (57A: Info in an address bar) This is a smart pairing of these answers.
• LIKE A VIRGIN (58A: Madonna's first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100) "LIKE A VIRGIN" is the title track of Madonna's second studio album. It was released in the fall of 1984, when I was a sophomore in college. I knew the answer to this clue immediately ... and it also gave me an earworm.
• AMMO (64A: Spitballs or paintballs) and OUCH (65A: "That stings!") The interplay of these consecutive clues / answers amuses me. 
• HOME EC (2D: H.S. class that might address financial literacy) HOME economics, or HOME EC, for short, is a subject covering finances, consumer issues, nutrition, and food preparation, among other things. This clue / answer pair made me wonder if high schools still have HOME EC classes. Some schools do, apparently, but at many schools the topics previously covered in HOME EC are covered in classes called Family and Consumer Sciences.
• ERIC (7D: "Modern Family" actor Stonestreet) Modern Family is a mockumentary TV series following the lives of three families. It originally aired for 11 seasons from 2009-2020. ERIC Stonestreet played the role of Cameron Tucker on the show.
• HE-MAN (21D: She-Ra's twin brother) HE-MAN and She-Ra are characters in Mattel's Masters of the Universe franchise. The superheroes have appeared separately and together in various TV series, video games, comic strips, books, and movies.
• DENALI (35D: North America's highest peak) DENALI, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet above SEA LEVEL (12D: Where many geographical measurements begin), is the highest mountain in North America. Its name is based on a Koyukon word for "high." (The Koyukon are a Native Alaskan people.) DENALI is part of the Alaskan Range, and because of the variable weather in the mountain range, the view of DENALI is frequently partially obscured by clouds.
• SAMUEL (42D: Nick Fury portrayer ___ L. Jackson) SAMUEL L. Jackson has portrayed Nick Fury – a master spy and the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division) – in 11 Marvel movies so far. His first appearance as Nick Fury was in the 2008 movie Iron Man.
• KEN (63D: "Jeopardy!" host Jennings) KEN Jennings has been the host of Jeopardy! since 2021. KEN Jennings is also a former Jeopardy! contestant. In 2004, he won 74 consecutive games, the longest streak in the show's history.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• LEO (24A: Astrological sign with the shortest name)
• MENTAL (52A: Word before "note" or "math")
• WARMER (6D: Closer, in a guessing game)

This puzzle has a bonus feature of providing us with a bit of a geography review. EASTER ISLAND (also known as Rapa Nui) is located in the Pacific Ocean and is one of the most remote inhabited ISLANDs in the world. EASTER ISLAND is most well-known for the stone giants, or moai, located on the island. The COOK ISLANDS is a country (and associated state of New Zealand) located in the South Pacific Ocean in the geographical region known as Oceania. The CHANNEL ISLANDS are located in the English Channel. Politically, the CHANNEL ISLANDS consists of two Crown Dependencies (self-governing territories of the British Crown): the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The VIRGIN ISLANDS are located in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto Rico. Politically, the VIRGIN ISLANDS consists of three territories: the British VIRGIN ISLANDS, the U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, and the Puerto Rican VIRGIN ISLANDS. Thank you, Matt, for this enjoyable puzzle and the associated geography review.