March 22, 2026

Title: YOU HAVE A POINT

Constructor: Matthew Stock

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• RHINOCEROS (17A: Herbivorous animal with armorlike skin)
• WILDEBEEST (28A: Animal also known as a gnu)
• IMPALA (44A: Antelope that can jump up to 10 feet in the air)
• Revealer: HORN OF AFRICA (59A: Region also known as the Somali Peninsula ... or how you might describe a notable feature of 17-, 28- and 44-across)

YOU HAVE A POINT: The POINT here is a HORN (or HORNs), which is a feature RHINOCEROS, WILDEBEEST, and IMPALA, animals that live in AFRICA.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PET (10A: House cat, e.g.) What do you think my PET, Willow, was thinking when I took this photo? Probably, "Why are you taking my picture when you could be petting me?"

• EURO (13A: Belgian coin) Belgium is one of the 21 European Union member states that use the EURO as their currency.
• SAMI (15A: Indigenous people of northern Scandinavia) The SÁMI have inhabited the Fennoscandian Peninsula – which includes Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the extreme northwest portion of Russia – for around 3,500 years. Traditionally, SÁMI have made their living from coastal fishing, fur trapping, sheep herding, and reindeer herding. 
• GIRL (23A: "___ With a Pearl Earring" (Vermeer painting)) GIRL With a Pearl Earring is an oil painting by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675). The painting was the inspiration for Tracy Chevalier's 1999 historical fiction novel of the same name. 
• ERIE (35A: Smallest of the Great Lakes by volume) Here's a fun alternate clue for ERIE: [Great Lake that crossword solvers know the most about]. From solving crosswords, I know that Lake ERIE is the smallest of the Great Lakes by volume, the shallowest of the Great Lakes, the most polluted of the Great Lakes, and the Great Lake with the most shipwrecks. Amazingly, this is the first appearance of our crossword friend ERIE this year. Yes, it appears to be true that we haven't seen ERIE in the puzzle since December 16, 2025. ERIE is going to have some catching up to do if it wants to remain in contention for "Most blogged about crossword friend."
• OTC (51A: Opposite of Rx) Ah, this clue and answer made my former pharmacist self quite happy. Rx is the abbreviation used to designate prescription drugs, those that can only be obtained with an order from a doctor, physician assistant, dentist, or veterinarian. OTC, or over-the-counter, is the designation for medications that don't require a doctor's order.
• HORN OF AFRICA (59A: Region also known as the Somali Peninsula ... or how you might describe a notable feature of 17-, 28- and 44-across) If you look at a map of AFRICA, the HORN OF AFRICA is the peninsula that juts out on the east side of the continent. Its shape does indeed resemble a HORN. This entry is serving as a revealer in today's puzzle, letting solvers know that not only do RHINOCEROS, WILDEBEEST, and IMPALA all have HORNs, they are also all found on the continent of AFRICA.
• ENOS (70A: Name that anagrams to a part of the face) ENOS is an anagram of nose, which is indeed part of the face.
• LYRE (72A: Orpheus' instrument in "Hadestown") and SON (27D: Orpheus, to Calliope) The musical Hadestown tells a version of the Greek myth of Orpheus going to the underworld to rescue his fiancée, Eurydice. In Greek mythology, Orpheus was known for his ability to charm all living things with his music – specifically with his golden voice and LYRE. (Note: Although the script of Hadestown refers to Orpheus playing a LYRE, the instrument used in stage productions is usually a guitar.) Although Calliope doesn't appear as a character in the musical Hadestown, she is the Goddess of Epic Poetry in Greek mythology. Orpheus is one of her SONs. I liked the choice to tie these two answers together with mentions of Orpheus.
• WEBB (1D: Apt last name for a spider lover) I enjoyed this clue and I definitely added it to my collection of "apt name clues." 
• ASIA (7D: Nepal's continent) Nepal is a landlocked country in South ASIA. Its capital is Kathmandu. Our crossword friend ASIA is making its third appearance of the month today and its sixth appearance of 2026.
• RBG (24D: "Notorious" Supreme Court initials) Two days ago we saw the word LAW clued as [Columbia ___ School (graduate institution where Ruth Bader Ginsburg studied)]. In my opinion, a mention of Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020), or RBG, is a welcome addition to any puzzle. Her fiery dissents while serving on the Supreme Court earned her the nickname "the Notorious RBG," a variation on the name of rapper "the Notorious B.I.G." 
• OREO (60D: Chocolatey churro flavor) A churro is a pastry made of fried dough; it originated in Spain and Portugal. I've never had an OREO churro, but I'm sure it would be delicious. Hello to our crossword friend OREO! It's fun to see our crossword friends ERIE, ASIA, and OREO all in the same grid. It's a crossword friend convention. Like ASIA, OREO is making its third appearance of the month today and its sixth appearance of 2026. As I mentioned previously, ERIE has some catching up to do!

When I read the title of today's puzzle, YOU HAVE A POINT, I thought, "Okay, this is going to be a category theme of things with POINTs." When I filled in RHINOCEROS, I thought, "Ah, a horn is a kind of POINT." So far, so good. Then I filled in WILDEBEEST and thought, "Ah, all animals with POINTY horns." As I filled in IMPALA, I thought, "Checks out." Then I came to HORN OF AFRICA. I think I might have actually spoken out loud, "Oh, that's clever!" Such a fun and perfect use of a revealer. Thank you, Matthew, for this delightful puzzle.

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