April 13, 2026

Title: PARTING SHOT

Constructor: Kareem Ayas

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• SOME LIKE IT HOT (20A: 2022 musical comedy based on the classic 1959 Marilyn Monroe film)
• SHE LOVES ME NOT (38A: Petal-plucking words)
• SHORT AND SWEET (56A: Pithy)

PARTING SHOT: Each theme answer is PARTING the word SHOT: SOME LIKE IT HOT, SHE LOVES ME NOT, and SHORT AND SWEET.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• NO CAP (15A: "___ (Remix)" (Pop Smoke song from the "Boogie" soundtrack)) Boogie is a 2021 sports movie about a talented basketball player – the titular Alfred "Boogie" Chin – who is trying to balance the pressure of trying to please his East Asian parents and pursuing his dream of playing in the NBA. Rap artist Pop Smoke wrote and performed three original songs for the movie's soundtrack, including "NO CAP (Remix)." Pop Smoke also appeared in the movie. It was his first and only film appearance, as he was murdered in February 2020 at the age of 20.
• ONYX (19A: Agate variety that inspired the name of a rock-type Pokemon) I am familiar with the black-and-white agate variety known as ONYX. Today I learned about the Pokémon Onix, a rock/ground Pokémon composed of a giant chain of gray boulders.
• ESTEEM (50D: "Self ___" (1995 The Offspring hit)) The punk rock band the Offspring released their song "Self ESTEEM" as a single from their third studio album, Smash. The song was a a worldwide hit. Its music video intersperses images of people doing stunts with scenes of the band playing onstage. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ARABS (5A: Many tarboosh wearers) A tarboosh is a close-fitting, flat-topped hat shaped like a truncated cone. It is similar to a fez. A tarboosh is made of felt or cloth and has a silk tassel. It is worn by Muslim men (many of whom are ARABS) either separately or underneath a turban.
• SOME LIKE IT HOT (20A: 2022 musical comedy based on the classic 1959 Marilyn Monroe film) Like the classic 1959 movie on which it was based, the musical SOME LIKE IT HOT follows two male musicians who disguise themselves as women in an attempt to escape from gangsters after they witnessed a murder. The musical won four Tony Awards including Best Actor in a Musical (J. Harrison Ghee) and Best Costume Design of a Musical.
• BANANA (35A: Fruit taped to a wall in Maurizio Cattelan's artwork "Comedian") This clue / answer pair is an example of how reading this blog can help you with solving crosswords. Just yesterday we saw ART clued as [Banana taped to a wall, to some]. I wrote about that entry: "This clue is referencing the piece by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, titled Comedian. The work of conceptual ART consists of a banana duct-taped to a wall. At a Sotheby's auction in 2024, some versions of Comedian sold for over $6 million."
• MANTIS (44A: "Praying" insect with spiny raptorial forelegs) The quotation marks around the word "praying" in the clue indicate that the word can be directly paired with the answer. A praying MANTIS is the insect with spiny raptorial forelegs, which serve the function of grabbing their prey. 
• IRE (51A: It's red hot!) An exclamation point at the end of a clue alerts solvers to interpret the clue literally. IRE is literally red hot anger.
• RULE (67A: "No jumping on the bed," maybe) This is a fun clue for RULE ... and it makes me want to go jump on the bed!
• ACRE (7D: That might be a lot!) Here's another great exclamation point clue. An ACRE is a common size for some lots.
• HBO (22D: "Euphoria" network) Loosely based on an Israeli miniseries of the same name, the HBO TV series, Euphoria (2019-present), tells the various experiences of a group of high school students.
• LAVA (31D: Magma, but aboveground) Here's another bit of information that you potentially could have learned from this blog, as I have previously written about the distinction between magma and LAVA, which can be summed up as "location, location, location!" When molten rock is underground it is referred to as magma. Once that molten rock breaks through the Earth's surface – perhaps spewed out of a volcano – it is known as LAVA. Although the temperature of LAVA (1300-2200℉) is slightly cooler than MAGMA (1300-2400℉), you don't want to touch either of them with your bare hands.
• ASIA (36D: Continent that most of Turkey is in) Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is located mainly in West ASIA. A small part of the country is located in Southeast Europe. Our crossword friend ASIA is making its first April appearance today.
• SOAR (38D: Get high?) This clue is not referring to getting high with the help of alcohol or drugs, but rather, "get high" here means to literally SOAR.
• ARIE (58D: Singer India.___) India.ARIE's 2005 song, "I Am Not My Hair" won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song. The last verse of the song was written after India.Arie watched Melissa Etheridge's performance at the 2005 Grammy Awards ceremony, where Etheridge appeared bald as a result of chemotherapy treatment. India.ARIE's most recent studio album, Worthy, was released in 2019.
• NILE (59D: River that flows past the Luxor Temple in Egypt)  The NILE River is the longest river in Africa. The NILE flows north into the Mediterranean Sea, passing through 11 countries, including Egypt. The Luxor Temple is an Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the banks of the NILE. It is located in the Egyptian city of Luxor (which was known as Thebes historically). The temple was constructed in approximately 1400 BCE. The Luxor Temple has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• A couple of other clues I especially like:
• AVENUE (48D: Word in some Monopoly properties)
• DESK (60D: Furniture to stick gum under, perhaps)

Today's title led me just slightly astray. I interpreted the word PARTING as an indicator that the theme would be found at the end of the theme answers. When I filled in SOME LIKE IT HOT, I thought I was on the right track, since HOT SHOT is a phrase. However, when I came to SHE LOVE ME NOT, my theory fell apart. Try as I might, I couldn't convince myself NOT SHOT was a phrase. That's when I took another look and realized that PARTING was an indicator that the word SHOT was being divided. A nice "Aha!" moment there. Thank you, Kareem, for this interesting puzzle.

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