April 16, 2026

Title: TROOP LEADERS

Constructors: Lekha Karthik & Amie Walker

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• DAISY DUKES (17A: Short shorts associated with a 1970s TV character)
• BROWNIE POINTS (39A: Credits earned for doing nice things)
• JUNIOR MINTS (62A: Candy featured in a memorable "Seinfeld" episode)

TROOP LEADERS: The first words of the theme answers (the LEADERS) are Girl Scout TROOP levels: DAISY, BROWNIE, and JUNIOR.

 

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• IRAN (40A: Birthplace of polo) Polo is a game played on horseback. It is one of the oldest known team sports in the world. It originated in IRAN over two millennia ago, and was first known as Chovgan.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SCAM (1A: Don't fall for it!) An exclamation point at the end of a clue alerts solvers to interpret the clue literally. A SCAM is literally something one should not fall for.
• POEM (5A: "Love Letter From the Afterlife," e.g.) Andrea Gibson (1975-2025) was a poet and activist. They died in July of last year of ovarian cancer. "Love Letter From the Afterlife" is a POEM Andrea Gibson originally wrote for their wife. You can read the POEM here, or listen to Andrea Gibson read it here. I recommend checking out the POEM if you're unfamiliar with it. It begins, "My love, I was so wrong. Dying is the opposite of leaving."
• DAISY DUKES (17A: Short shorts associated with a 1970s TV character) DAISY DUKES are extremely short denim cut-offs. They are named after the character DAISY DUKE (portrayed by Catherine Bach) from the TV show The DUKES of Hazard (1979-1985). I am old enough to remember The DUKES of Hazard, and was a fan of the show when it originally aired. (Well, to be honest, I was a fan of Tom Wopat and John Schneider, who played DAISY's brothers, Luke and Bo DUKE.)
• ALBA (19A: "Dark Angel" star Jessica) In the TV series Dark Angel (2000-2002), Jessica ALBA portrayed Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced transgenic supersoldier created in a government lab.
• EARL (43A: Title in a tea type) I really like this clue. The tea type referred to is, of course, EARL Grey tea, which I have previously written about. 
• HAIRDO (57A: Wolf cut or pixie cut) The wolf cut is a HAIRDO that is a variation of a shag cut in which the hair is layered to various lengths. In the wolf cut variation, the hair is shorter in the front (somewhat similar to a mullet). A pixie cut is a HAIRDO that is short on the back and sides of the head and slightly longer on the top.
• MAORI (59A: Indigenous New Zealanders) The MĀORI are the indigenous Polynesian people whose ancestors migrated to the country now known as New Zealand in the 1300s. 
• EDGAR (69A: ___ Allan Poe)  EDGAR Allan Poe (1809-1849) was a writer known for his short stories and poems. His poems include "The Raven" ("Quoth the Raven 'Nevermore'...") and "Annabel Lee" ("It was many and many a year ago, / In a kingdom by the sea..."). EDGAR Allan Poe's short stories include "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (considered by many to be the first modern detective story) and "The Tell-Tale Heart" (which I remember to this day even though I read it over 45 years ago).
• IRS (70A: W-7 org.) IRS here is the Internal Revenue Service. The W-7 is a form (one of many used by the IRS!) that is an "Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number."
• AM I CLEAR (3D: "Capisce?") "Capisce" is a word borrowed from Italian. AM I CLEAR? Capisce?
• PLURAL (5D: Like bits and pieces?) This is a sneaky clue!
• OAK (6D: Acorn-to-be) I had a little trouble understanding this clue. I figured out the answer fairly quickly, with the word "acorn" tipping me off that the answer must be OAK. But I usually think of an acorn as an OAK-to-be, rather than the other way around. With some further thinking, I can kind of see how this clue works. An OAK is what an acorn is going to be.
• TEASED (12D: Like backcombed hair) and DYED (14D: Like purple hair) I enjoyed this hair-related pair of clues.
• DEE (18D: Civil rights activist Ruby) Ruby DEE (1922-2014) played the role of Ruth Younger in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun. In addition to acting, Ruby DEE was a well-known civil rights activist. She emceed the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and gave the eulogy at Malcolm X's funeral in 1965.
• LOEB (24D: Singer-songwriter Lisa) Lisa LOEB's 1994 song, "Stay (I Missed You)" (from the Reality Bitesmovie soundtrack) was a number one hit, and made Lisa LOEB the first artist without a recording contract to have a number one hit.
• NUTELLA (26D: Hazelnut cocoa spread) I'm a NUTELLA fan! I have previously written about how I was first introduced to NUTELLA in the 1980s by a German exchange student our family was hosting.
• SNOW (38D: Winter coat?) Not a coat you wear in the winter, but a coat of SNOW on the ground.
• NPR (48D: "Tiny Desk Concerts" network) A Tiny Dest Concert is exactly what it sounds like - performers give a concert behind a tiny desk in the NPR offices. In 2008, Bob Boilen, who at the time was the host of NPR's All Things Considered, was complaining about crowd noise at concerts and joked that folk singer Laura Gibson should perform at his desk. A month later he invited her to do just that, recorded the performance, and posted it online. The Tiny Desk Concert series now includes over 800 concerts that are available on YouTube.
• CAR (54D: "Getaway ___" (Taylor Swift song)) "Getaway CAR" is a 2018 song by Taylor Swift, from her studio album Reputation. 
• NEO (63D: "The One" in "The Matrix") In The Matrix movies, Keanu Reeves portrays computer programmer Thomas Anderson, who operates as a hacker using the name NEO. The name NEO is an anagram of "one." In The Matrix, "The One" refers to a randomly selected human that carries a special code.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• KEN (67A: "Barbie" character with a "Beach" variety)
• ADS (23D: Super Bowl highlights, for some)
• TOE RINGS (41D: Jewelry items that might be covered by shoes)

I was never a Girl Scout, but my daughter was a DAISY Scout (a few years ago now!), so DAISY DUKES tipped me off to the theme. Congratulations to Lekha Karthik making a USA Today crossword debut! Thank you, Lekha and Amie, for this delightful puzzle.

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