March 19, 2026

Title: CUTTING COSTS

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• COLLECTING DUST (15A: Sitting unused)
• COMIC BOOK ARTIST (39A: "Batman" or "Wonder Woman" illustrator, say)
• CONCERT PIANIST (62A: Virtuoso like Lang Lang)

CUTTING COSTS: The word COST is CUT by each theme answer: COLLECTING DUST, COMIC BOOK ARTIST, and CONCERT PIANIST.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• RAPS (29A: Sings like Lola Brooke) Lola Brooke is a RAP artist from Brooklyn, New York. After gaining popularity on Twitter and TikTok in 2022, she released her debut studio album, Dennis Daughter, in 2023.
• ARES (44A: Antagonist of the first God of War game) God of War is a video game franchise based on ancient mythologies. The player controls a Spartan warrior named Kratos who faces various antagonists throughout the series of games. In the first game of the series, God of War (2005), Kratos faces ARES, the Greek God of War.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ELLE (12A: King with a raspy voice) The "king" here isn't a monarch, but a person with the last name of King. If you'd like to hear ELLE King's raspy voice, check out her 2014 song, "Ex's and Oh's."
• ISAAC (37A: Calculus pioneer Newton) ISAAC Newton (1643-1727) had many interests. He was a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, author, and inventor. ISAAC Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz are credited with formulating calculus (each one did so individually). You may choose to thank them or blame them, depending on your experience with calculus.
• COMIC BOOK ARTIST (39A: "Batman" or "Wonder Woman" illustrator, say) Bob Kane is the COMIC BOOK ARTIST who first illustrated Batman when he made his debut in 1939 in Detective Comics #27 (written by Bill Finger). Harry G. Peter was the COMIC BOOK ARTIST who first drew Wonder Woman when she made her first appearance in 1941 in All Star Comics #8 (written by William Moulton Marston). 
• UTAH (54A: State with the most rock arches) I made an educated guess here that that state with the most rock arches is the state where Arches National Park is located, which is UTAH. A rock arch is a natural rock formation shaped like an arch. Arches National Park contains over 2,000 sandstone arches, so it's safe to say the total number of arches in the state of UTAH is higher than that. Here's a photo I took at Arches National Park in 2021. This formation is known as Double Arch.

• CONCERT PIANIST (62A: Virtuoso like Lang Lang) I learned about CONCERT PIANIST Lang Lang from the January 12, 2022 puzzle. Lang Lang was born in China and has been playing piano since he was three years old.
• ESTE (67A: Haim sister who plays bass) ESTE Haim and her sisters, Danielle and Alana, comprise the band Haim. ESTE plays bass guitar and sings.
• YELLOWFIN (4D: Common sashimi fish) There are several species of fish known as YELLOWFIN. YELLOWFIN tuna is often used in sashimi (where it is often called ahi).
• ARI (6D: "Up Late" singer Lennox) ARI Lennox has been uploading her music on the internet since 2009, and released her debut studio album, Shea Butter Baby, in 2019. "Up Late" is the fifth single from that album.
• IMDB (8D: Site with actor bios) IMDB is an online database of info related to movies, TV series, podcasts, video games, and other online streaming content. IMDB began in 1990 as a fan-operated database. Since 1993 it has been a subsidiary of Amazon. The site has actor bios, and you can search those bios by a number of different criteria including birthday, awards received, etc. I used the search function to discover that today is Glenn Close's birthday. (It's also the birthday of many, many other celebrities with bios on IMDB. I stopped scrolling at 750!)
• ELBA (16D: "The Wire" actor Idris) The Wire is a crime drama TV series that originally aired from 2002-2008. The show was set in Baltimore, Maryland, and each season of the show centered on a different institution of the city (illegal drug trade, the port system, city government, education, and print news media) and its interactions with law enforcement. Idris ELBA played the role of drug kingpin Russell "Stringer" Bell.
• DEB (28D: Food blogger Perelman) DEB Perelman has been writing a food blog called the Smitten Kitchen since 2006. The blog celebrates "triumphant but unfussy cooking." DEB Perelman has also authored three cookbooks, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook (2012), Smitten Kitchen Every Day (2017), and Smitten Kitchen Keepers (2022). 
• SIR (30D: Title for David Beckham) SIR David Beckham is a former professional footballer (known as a soccer player in the U.S.). He is currently the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF (an MLS team in Miami, Florida) and the co-owner of Salford City (a football club in England).
• PUMA (49D: Sneaker named for a big cat) This is my cat, Willow's, favorite sneaker brand. Please don't tell her I've never owned PUMA sneakers.

• MINSK (51D: Capital of Belarus) Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. In addition to being the capital of Belarus, MINSK is its largest city.
• ASPEN (53D: common matchstick wood) This clue made me wonder why ASPEN is commonly used to make matches. The answer is that ASPEN is a soft, straight-grained wood that is easy to cut into thin sticks. Poplar and white pine are other types of wood commonly used to make matches.
• RAT (63D: Rodent that won the Chinese zodiac race) The Chinese zodiac consists of a 12-year cycle, with a different animal associated with each year. The Year of the RAT is traditionally considered the first year of the cycle. According to legend, the Jade Emperor (one of the representations of god in Chinese culture) held a race to determine which animals would be included in the Chinese calendar. Since the RAT won the race, the first year became the Year of the RAT. You may recall that we are currently in the Year of the Horse. The next Year of the RAT will begin February 11, 2032.

The title of today's puzzle allowed me to accurately guess what the theme would be. This made me feel quite smart when I filled in COLLECTING DUST and confirmed my guess was correct. I appreciate the consistency of COST being CUT in the same way (CO/ST) in each theme answer. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this excellent puzzle.

A note about comments: I welcome your comments on the blog! For one thing it's nice to know folks are reading what I've written. My goal for this blog has always been for it to be informational, conversational, and kind. I ask that you keep those goals in mind when commenting. Unkind comments will be deleted. (Note: You can point out when I make a mistake – in fact, I appreciate that so I can correct it.)