April 2, 2026

Title: FINISHING TOUCH

Constructor: Stella Zawistowski

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• STANDING PAT (24A: Not drawing more cards, in poker)
• BARBECUE RUB (39A: Blend of spices applied to meat)
• HOW DO YOU FEEL (51A: Question to someone who's been a bit under the weather)

FINISHING TOUCH: The FINISHING (last) word of each theme answer is a synonym of TOUCH: PAT, RUB, and FEEL.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• TEN (71A: Classic Pearl Jam album) TEN, released in 1991, was Pearl Jam's debut album. It remains their most commercially successful album. TEN was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2021.
• CNBC (33D: "Closing Bell" network) The Consumer News and Business Channel, better known as CNBC, is a network that broadcasts business news. Closing Bell is a TV show on CNBC that covers the end of trading sessions on the New York Stock Exchange. The show's name comes from the bell that is rung to signify the close of trading at 4:00 pm EST.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• AFRO (1A: Huey's hairstyle on "The Boondocks") From 1996 to 2006, The Boondocks was a syndicated comic strip written by Aaron McGruder. The comic depicted brothers, Huey and Riley, who have moved with their grandfather from the West Side of Chicago to a predominantly white (fictional) suburb in Maryland. From 2005 to 2014, an animated series based on the comic strip, and also titled The Boondocks, aired on Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. As the clue informs us, Huey's hairstyle is an AFRO.
• EDGAR (18A: "Twisters" actress Daisy ___-Jones) Twisters is a 2024 disaster film, which is a standalone sequel to the 1996 movie Twister. Daisy EDGAR-Jones portrays Kate Carter, a meteorologist and former storm chaser.
• UTES (19A: People for whom a western U.S. state is named) UTES are members of the UTE Tribe, an indigenous people who have lived in present-day Utah and Colorado for many centuries. The state of Utah is named after the UTE tribe.
• ARIES (43A: Many April babies, astrologically) ARIES is the astrological sign for those born between March 20 and April 20. ARIES is considered the first sign of the zodiac. This is a timely clue – if you're an ARIES, happy birthday!
• SHUI (10D: Feng ___) The practice of feng SHUI involves situating buildings and furniture in specific orientations in an attempt to increase harmony between individuals and their environment. The Chinese term feng SHUI translates to "wind-water" in English.
• BLEATED (12D: Sounded sheepish?) The question mark at the end of this clue indicates that there is some wordplay happening. The clue is not referring to "sheepish" in the sense of  having been embarrassed, but instead it's talking about having sounded like a sheep, that is, BLEATED.
• PTO (23D: Salaried worker's perk, for short) PTO = paid time off
• NYE (46A: Bill ___ the Science Guy) The scientist in me is always happy to see Bill NYE in the puzzle. Bill NYE the Science Guy is an educational TV series that originally aired from 1993-1999. The show won 19 Emmy Awards during its six seasons. In a tie-in with another answer in the puzzle, last year Bill NYE was honored with a STAR (31A: Walk of Fame symbol).
• WHALE (52D: Animal seen on some boat tours) The WHALE watching tour my husband and I took off the coast of Maui was one of my favorite parts of our recent Hawaii vacation. Humpback WHALES migrate south from Alaska to Hawaii during January, February, and March. We were in Hawaii in February, so it was prime WHALE watching time. We saw a number of humpback WHALEs breaching, barrel-rolling, waving their flippers, and showing their tails as they dove. We were fortunate enough to see one WHALE breach fairly close to our boat.

• DURAG (53D: Accessory that protects waves) A DURAG is a close-fitting cloth worn on the head to protect the hair. It is sometimes worn while sleeping to keep wave patterns and braids from shifting.
• OBAMA (54D: "Becoming" author Michelle) Becoming is Michelle OBAMA's 2018 memoir. I have previously written about why this book has a special place in my heart.

Time to put the FINISHING TOUCH on this blog post. I suspected a synonym theme from the title, and once I filled in STANDING PAT I knew my guess was correct. Thank you, Stella, for this enjoyable 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 that I am more likely to delete a negative comment if it is posted anonymously. (P.S. You can point out when I make a mistake – in fact, I appreciate that so I can correct it.)