March 5, 2026

Title: TEE OFF

Constructor: Emma Oxford

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• MOBILE BANKING (19A: Convenience offered by Capital One or Truist)
• REX HARRISON (36A: Audrey Hepburn's "My Fair Lady" co-star)
• PAIN IN THE NECK (54A: Nuisance)

TEE OFF: The first word of each theme answer can be paired with the letter T (TEE): T-MOBILE, T-REX, and T-PAIN. In other words, in the puzzle, the T has been taken OFF. 

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• IRISH (38D: Like Nicola Coughlan) Nicola Coughlan is an IRISH actress. She's one of those people whose name I didn't recognize, but whose face I did when I looked her up. One of her best-known roles is Penelope Featherington on the Netflix series Bridgerton.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• UNI (22A: Form opener?) The question mark here means that "form opener" isn't referring to "name" or "date," or some other field that's commonly at the top of a form. Instead, the clue is referring to the prefix "UNI" – the opener of the word UNIform.
• TATE (28A: "TIT FOR TAT" singer McRae) I first learned about TATE McRae from the March 20, 2023 crossword. In 2016, she was the first Canadian finalist on the (American) TV reality show, So You Think You Can Dance. TATE McRae released the single "TIT FOR TAT" in 2025. The song is supposedly a response track to the breakup song "A Cold Play," which was released three weeks early by her former boyfriend, the Kid Laroi.
• REX HARRISON (36A: Audrey Hepburn's "My Fair Lady" co-star) My Fair Lady is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion. Eliza Doolittle is a Cockney flower seller that takes speech lessons from professor of phonetics, Henry Higgins. My Fair Lady debuted on Broadway in 1956, with Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle, and REX HARRISON as Henry Higgins. In the 1964 movie adaptation of the musical, Audrey Hepburn co-starred with REX HARRISON.
• SARAH (41A: "Ratched" star Paulson) SARAH Paulson stars as psychiatric nurse Mildred Ratched in the 2020 TV series Ratched. The show serves as a prequel to the 1975 movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest (based on Ken Kesey's 1962 book of the same name). Ratched tells the origin story of its Nurse Ratched.
• COLIN (58A: Actor Hanks) COLIN Hanks played the role of Gus Grimly on the TV series Fargo (2014-2015). He also had a supporting role as adult Alex Vreeke in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). If your first thought when you read this clue was "Tom," you weren't far off. COLIN Hanks is Tom Hanks' son.
• SEDONA (1D: Town known for its red rocks) SEDONA is a city in north-central Arizona. Located within the Coconino National Forest, SEDONA is known for its natural beauty, which includes formations of red sandstone.
• GIGI (3D: Model Hadid) GIGI Hadid is a model, as are her younger siblings, Bella Hadid and Anwar Hadid. GIGI Hadid has been modeling since she was two years old, when she was a model for Baby Guess. The British Fashion Council named GIGI Hadid International Model of the Year in 2016.
• ALDA (6D: "Bridge of Spies" actor Alan) Bridge of Spies is a 2015 Steven Spielberg movie. The movie is based on the true story of James Britt Donovan (1916-1970), an American lawyer and General Counsel of the Office of Strategic Services (predecessor of the CIA). The movie specifically centers on James Donovan's defense of Rudolf Abel, who was arrested and charged with spying for the Soviet Union, and his role in an eventual prisoner swap involving Rudolf Abel. The previously mentioned Tom Hanks portrays James Donovan in Bridge of Spies, and Alan ALDA portrays Thomas Watters Jr.
• EWAN (9D: "Moulin Rouge!" star McGregor) I mentioned the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge! two days ago when we saw CABARET clued as [Moulin Rouge, e.g.]. In the movie, EWAN McGregor portrays a young grief-stricken writer named Christian.
• WINGSPAN (10D: Board game in which one action is Lay Eggs) In the board game WINGSPAN, players take on the role of bird enthusiasts hoping to attract the best birds to a nature preserve. On each turn, a player may take one of the following four actions: Play a Bird, Gain Food, Lay Eggs, or Draw Bird Cards. I noticed a fun little "clue chain" (my term) with this clue and two others in the puzzle. WINGSPAN (10D: Board game in which one action is Lay Eggs) --> EMU (53A: Flightless bird that lays green eggs) --> ECO (11D: Green prefix) I think this is fun, but all it really means is that I like to find connections.
• LET (26D: The "l" of "lmk") lmk = LET me know
• ALOHA (32D: Oahu greeting) Last month, my husband and I spent just over two weeks on vacation in Hawaii. We visited the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Hawai'i, and Maui. We heard "ALOHA" many times. We also heard "Mahalo" a lot; that's the Hawaiian word for "thank you."
• SKI (32D: Enjoy Whistler, say) Whistler is a SKI resort town in British Columbia, Canada. It is located about 78 miles north of Vancouver in the Coast Mountains.
• CNN (43D: "The Situation Room" channel) The Situation Room is a news program that provides in-depth coverage of major news stories. The show premiered on CNN in 2005 and is currently presented by Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown.
• WEEVIL (46D: Biker gang leader on "Veronica Mars") I was quite excited to know the answer to this clue. Just a month ago this answer would have been in the "What I learned..." section. Veronica Mars (2004-2007, 2019) is a TV series whose title character (portrayed by Kristen Bell) is a teenager who moonlights as a private investigator for her detective father. I knew about Veronica Mars because it is a favorite of my friend and frequent collaborator Olivia. Until recently, however, I hadn't seen the show. On that recent vacation to Hawaii mentioned above, I began watching Veronica Mars while on the plane. I'm somewhere in the middle of the first series, and I'm really enjoying it. Eli "WEEVIL" Navarro, the biker gang leader portrayed by Francis Capra, is one of Veronica's friends.
• HELPS (52D: Assists) and AIDE (55D: Assistant) This is a fun pair of consecutive clues. More connections.
• NOIR (56D: "The Maltese Falcon" genre) The Maltese Falcon, featuring detective Sam Spade, is a 1930 detective novel by Dashiell Hammett. There have been several movie adaptations of The Maltese Falcon. The 1941 version, starring Humphrey Bogart, is considered to be a film NOIR classic.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• SEWED (8A: Hemmed (but didn't haw))
• PLATE (35A: It's unlikely to be cleaned by a picky eater)
• STRIP (8D: Prepare to streak)

This is a clever theme, and the title describes it perfectly. I like the variety in the T-phrases. We have a phone company, a dinosaur, and a rap artist. Thank you, Emma, for this excellent puzzle.