April 29, 2026

Title: SUPERFOODS

Constructor: Jared Cappel

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• HOT POTATO (20A: Kids' game with a quickly passed object)
• AWESOME SAUCE (37A: Extremely good, casually)
• COOL BEANS (59A: "That sounds great to me!")

SUPERFOODS: The first word of each theme answer is a synonym of SUPER: HOT, AWESOME, and COOL. The second word of each theme answer is a type of FOOD (or condiment): POTATO, SAUCE, and BEANS.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MOONS (15A: Blue Lucky Charms shapes) The marshmallow "charms" in Lucky Charms have come in a variety of shapes and colors since the cereal's introduction in 1964. Lucky Charms MOONS were originally yellow. The yellow MOONS were one of the four original marshmallow shapes, along with green clovers, pink hearts, and orange stars. MOONS disappeared from Lucky Charms for a brief time in 1993. When the MOONS returned, they were blue.
• ONE (28A: Vowel's value, in Scrabble) I'm always here for a Scrabble reference. Although low-scoring, those ONE point vowels are essential. Otherwise one is left trying to play "brr," "hmm," "pfft," etc.
• EMU (34A: Bird that lays green eggs) EMU eggs are a dark green color, and are an average of 5 inches by 3.5 inches, weighing over a pound.
• PPE (43A: N95 masks, for example (Abbr.)) PPE here stands for Personal Protective Equipment.
• CPA (52A: Summer job, for short?) This is a tricky question mark clue. The key here is to read the word "summer" as "sum-mer." A CPA (certified public accountant) is a job involving sums.
• FONDA (63A: "Grace and Frankie" star Jane) Grace and Frankie is a Netflix TV series whose seven seasons originally aired from 2015-2022. Jane FONDA (Grace) and Lily Tomlin (Frankie) portray the title characters, two women who become unlikely friends after their husbands divorced them to marry each other.
• BLESS (69A: "___ your heart") I chuckled at this clue. Although "BLESS your heart" is sometimes said sincerely, it's often used as a barely-veiled insult, especially in the southern part of the United States.
• EAST ASIA (3D: Region that includes Korea) The EAST ASIA subregion of ASIA includes China, Japan, Mongolia, Korea (North Korea and South Korea), Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
• NOLA (5D: Mardi Gras city, for short) New Orleans, Louisiana – NOLA, for short – is well-known for its Mardi Gras festival. Technically Mardi Gras, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is the Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent in the Christian tradition. However, NOLA celebrates Mardi Gras for approximately two weeks prior to Ash Wednesday. 
• ADAGIO (11D: Slow score tempo) The tempo marking ADAGIO indicates a piece of music is to be played "slow and with great expression" (~40-60 bpm). This is faster than Lento, but slower than Adagio.
• MOANA (22D: Disney heroine voiced by Auli'i Cravalho) In Disney's animated movies MOANA (2016) and MOANA 2 (2024), Auli'i Cravalho voices the title character. The role of MOANA was Auli'i Cravalho's acting debut. 
• EMO (29D: Style associated with skinny jeans) EMO is a rock music genre emphasizing emotional expression. EMO fashion has been associated with skinny jeans (often featuring rips) and tight t-shirts featuring band names. 
• LOVATO (47D: "Cool for the Summer" singer Demi) Demi LOVATO originally released "Cool for the Summer" in 2015. She's released a couple of special versions of the song since then: a sped up version in 2022 and a rock version in 2023.  
• ANIMAL (48D: Rat, cat, bat or gnat) I appreciate this fun lineup of rhyming ANIMALs. My cat, Willow, appreciates the inclusion of her species in the list, though she says, "You could have listed cat first..."

• MOB (51D: Flash ___) Merriam-Webster defines flash MOB as "a group of people summoned (as by email or text message) to a designated location at a specified time to perform an indicated action before dispersing. It seems like the heyday of flash MOBs has passed. Although they still happen, I don't seem to hear about them nearly as often as I did 15 years ago. I was interested (and amused) to learn that the first successful flash MOB consisted of about 130 people converging on the rug department at Macy's in New York City on June 17, 2003. Anyone approached by a sales assistant was instructed to say that everyone in the group lived together in a warehouse, they were shopping for a "love rug," and they made all their purchase decisions as a group. 
• FAB (63D: ___ Five ("Queer Eye" quintet)) The FAB Five is a nickname for the hosts of the reality TV series Queer Eye. The original version of the show, which premiered in 2003, featured the FAB Five of Ted Allen ("food and wine connoisseur"), Kyan Douglas ("grooming guru"), Thom Filicia ("Design Doctor"), Carson Kressley ("Fashion Savant"), and Jai Rodriguez ("Culture Vulture"). The 2018 revival of Queer Eye featured a new FAB Five: Antoni Porowski ("Food and Wine"), Bobby Berk ("Design"), Jonathan Van Ness ("Grooming"), Karamo Brown ("Culture and Lifestyle"), and Tan France ("Fashion").
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• EMPTY NESTER (4D: Parent whose children are away at college, say)
• ELTON (38D: Name hidden backwards in "last but not least")
• COCOA NIB (40D: Bit used to make chocolate)

I've seen a variation of this puzzle before, so it didn't take me long to figure out the theme. Looking at these theme answers makes me want to mix and match to invent a new phrase. "AWESOME POTATO!" Think that'll catch on? Thank you, Jared, for this SUPER 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.)