April 8, 2026

 Title: "SWEET RECORDER SONG!"

Constructors: Kareem Ayas & Amie Walker

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• HOT GIRL SUMMER (20A: 2019 Megan Thee Stallion hit)
• CROSS MY HEART (37A: "I promise, truly")
• BUNS OF STEEL (55A: Toned behind, idiomatically)

"SWEET RECORDER SONG!": The first words of the theme answers are HOT CROSS BUNS, which are a SWEET treat. "HOT CROSS BUNS" is also the title of a popular SONG for people learning to play the RECORDER.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• FLUTE (18A: Jazz ___ (Ron Burgundy's instrument)) I have previously written about Ron Burgundy, the main character of the Anchorman franchise. Ron Burgundy is portrayed by Will Ferrell. These things I knew, but I've never seen any Anchorman movies, and I did not know that Ron Burgundy plays Jazz FLUTE. Today I learned about the scene that features Ron Burgundy loading his FLUTE with a martini and then blowing it over a lighter. I also learned that having Ron Burgundy play Jazz FLUTE was Will Ferrell's idea.
• RURAL (50D: "The ___ Juror" ("30 Rock" episode featuring a Kevin Grisham novel)) "The RURAL Juror" is a first season episode of 30 Rock. During the show, Jenna is anticipating the opening of her indie film, The RURAL Juror. The movie is based on the author, Kevin Grisham, the (fictional) brother of (real-life) author John Grisham. Fun fact: The movie's title was specifically chosen for the tongue-twisting properties of the phrase "RURAL juror." It was a running joke on the episode that people didn't understand the film's title.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MAPS (5A: Glove compartment items, maybe) This clue made me wonder – in the days of GPS –  how many people still have MAPS in their glove compartments. Twenty years ago MAPS were about all I had in my glove compartment. Now there are no MAPS there, just the car manual and an umbrella.
• HOT GIRL SUMMER (20A: 2019 Megan Thee Stallion hit) The music video for Megan Thee Stallion's "HOT GIRL SUMMER" features cameos from several celebrities including Rico Nasty and Ari Lennox.
• VESSEL (23A: The QE2 in 1998's "The Parent Trap") The 1998 version of The Parent Trap is a remake of the 1961 movie of the same name. In the 1998 version was Lindsay Lohan's film debut. She played identical twins who were separated at birth and then meet at summer camp. The twins' parents met on the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), a cruise ship aka a VESSEL.
• LION (32A: One might have pride in its pride) My cat, Willow, is always happy to see a reference to her big cat cousin the LION.

• EVITA (41A: Role for Madonna) The musical EVITA, by Andrew Lloyd Weber (music) and Tim rice (lyrics) tells the story of Eva Péron, wife of Argentine president Juan Péron. In the 1996 movie adaptation of the musical, Madonna portrays the title character.
• IMDB (42A: Good place to search for stars) IMDB is an online database of info related to movies, TV series, podcasts, video games, and other online streaming content. It is indeed a good place to search for stars – the celebrity kind, not the celestial kind.
• ERA (43A: "Lover," for one) Lover is Taylor Swift's seventh studio album; it was released in 2019. Taylor Swift's Lover ERA includes the songs "You Need to Calm Down," "The Man," and the title track "Lover."
• ASU (44A: _rizona _tate _niversity) In this variation of fill-in-the-blank clue, each blank corresponds to one letter. In this case, those letters are ASU, for Arizona State University.
• NILE (60A: River that becomes a "Frasier" character if you add an "S" to it) The NILE River is the longest river in Africa. If you add an S to NILE, you get Niles, as in the Frasier character Niles Crane.
• NECTAR (61A: Resource in Wingspan: Oceania Expansion) Regular readers of this blog may recall that I'm a fan of the game Wingspan. The Oceania Expansion of Wingspan introduces birds of Australia and New Zealand. It also added a new food type called NECTAR.
• TET (21D: Vietnamese holiday) TET celebrates the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese calendar. 
• VAL (23D: "Top Gun" actor Kilmer) In the 1996 movie Top Gun, VAL Kilmer portrays Lieutenant Tom "Iceman" Kazansky. He reprises the role in the 2022 movie Top Gun: Maverick. That was his final film appearance. VAL Kilmer died in 2025 at the age of 65.
• ERIC (24D: "The Little Mermaid" role for Jonah Hauer-King) In the 2023 live-action adaptation of Disney's 1989 animated movie The Little Mermaid, Jonah Hauer-King portrays Prince ERIC.
• NOVELS (33D: "Our Wives Under the Sea" and "The Price of Salt," for two) Our Wives Under the Sea is the 2022 debut NOVEL of Julia Armfield. It is about the relationship of a married lesbian couple. The Price of Salt is a 1952 NOVEL by Patricia Highsmith. The 2015 movie, Carol, which I have previously written about, is based on The Price of Salt.
• AUSTIN (46D: "Keep ___ Weird" (Texas City slogan)) "Keep AUSTIN Weird" is an unofficial slogan for AUSTIN, Texas. The slogan was coined in 2000 and is intended to highlight AUSTIN's unique culture.
• ISLAM (53D: Sawm is one of its five pillars) The Five Pillars of Islam are Shahada, Salah, SAWM, Zakat, and Hajj. SAWM is fasting, usually from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity. 
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• TBD (9A: "That's a problem for future me" letters) TBD = to be determined
• BAA (26A: "I'm just a sheep here")
• HIGH SCORE (3D: Arcade game goal)

If you've never heard someone play "HOT CROSS BUNS" on the recorder, or played it yourself, take a moment and google "HOT CROSS BUNS on the RECORDER" – you'll have plenty of options to choose from. Today's theme stumped me for quite some time! I won't regale you with the whole journey I went on and all of the ideas I tried to make work, but some of them were quite convoluted. What finally allowed me to see the theme was typing out the theme answers stacked on top of each other. That provided the "Aha!" moment when I realized, "Oh! It's HOT CROSS BUNS! ... SWEET!" Thank you, Kareem and Amie, for this entertaining puzzle.

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