May 17, 2026

Title: WOW!

Constructor: Jake Halperin

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• WALK ON WATER (20A: Do the impossible, idiomatically)
• WORLD OF WARCRAFT (40A: MMORPG with Alliance and Horde factions)
• WENT OUT WITH (57A: Dated)

WOW!: Each theme answer has the initials WOW: WALK ON WATER, WORLD OF WARCRAFT, and WENT OUT WITH. 

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• ARIA (6A: Bel canto song) I've heard the term "bel canto" before, but I could not have told you what it was. Bel canto – Italian for "beautiful singing" – refers to a singing style that originated in Italy in the 1900s. It's a style often associated with opera and therefore with ARIAs. 
• RYDER (45A: "Heathers" star Winona) Heathers is a 1988 satirical teen movie. Winona RYDER stars as high school student Veronica Sawyer, the only girl in her school clique that is not named Heather. I was able to get this answer because I am familiar with Winona RYDER, but I did not previously know about the movie Heathers. The premise of the movie makes me laugh.
• ANN (10D: Gothic author Radcliffe) ANN Radcliffe (1764-1823) was an English novelist who is considered a pioneer of the Gothic novel. Her writings combine suspense and supernatural elements and have exotic historical settings. Her most popular novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho, was published in 1794.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ATOM (10A: CERN concern) CERN refers to the European Organization for Nuclear Research, an intergovernmental organization based in a suburb of Geneva, Switzerland. CERN operates the largest particle physics lab in the world. Numerous experiments – many on ATOMs – have been conducted at CERN through international collaborations. 
• RUPEE (14A: Currency featuring the Sri Lanka hanging parrot) Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia. Its currency is the Sri Lankan RUPEE. The Sri Lanka hanging parrot is a small parrot native to Sri Lanka. The parrot appears on the 1000 Sri Lankan RUPEE bank note.
• VENN (15A: ___ diagram) Many thanks to John VENN (1834-1923) the mathematician, logician, and philosopher who popularized the diagrams that bear his name. The use of VENN diagrams predates John VENN, but since he increased their popularity, they bear his name. VENN diagrams use circles to visually illustrate similarities and differences. The diagrams are useful, not only for visualizing serious interpretations of data, but also for conveying humorous content.
• ASADO (24A: ___ de tira (beef short ribs)) The term ASADO is used to refer to roasted or grilled meat. ASADO de tira (or tira de ASADO) is a traditional Argentinian dish of beef short ribs.
• HAD (26A: "He ___ it coming" ("Cell Block Tango" refrain)) "Cell Block Tango" is a song from the musical Chicago (1975).  The song is sung by the six women at the Cook County Jail, each of whom is accused of killing their significant other. The women take turns telling their stories. "He HAD it coming / He HAD it coming / He only HAD himself to blame..."
• WORLD OF WARCRAFT (40A: MMORPG with Alliance and Horde factions) WORLD OF WARCRAFT is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The opposing factions in the game are the Alliance and the Horde. Although I'm not a gamer, I know of WORLD OF WARCRAFT through my son, and I'm always grateful to him when it pops up in a puzzle.
• SYSCO (46A: Food service giant) SYSCO is a corporation that sells food products to venues that sell food, such as restaurants, educational facilities, sports stadiums, etc.
• ERIC (67A: Prince addressed in "Kiss the Girl") "Kiss the Girl" is a song from the Disney animated movie The Little Mermaid (1989). It is sung by the character of Sebastian (voiced by Samuel Wright), encouraging Prince ERIC to kiss Ariel before it's too late.
• RENE (70A: Philosopher Descartes) RENÉ Descartes (1596-1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician. His work is considered foundational to the development of modern philosophy. You might recognize one of his most well-known philosophical statements, "cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am").
• REBA (7D: "Queen of Country" McEntire) REBA McEntire has been called the "Queen of Country." Since starting her singing career in the 1970s, she has had 25 number one hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and been nominated for 51 CMA awards (and won seven times). REBA McEntire has also won three Grammy Awards. Her song, "Whoever's in New England" won a Grammy in 1987 for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
• INSTA (8D: #OOTD app) OOTD stands for "outfit of the day." This hashtag is used on social media, including on Instagram. The short form of application in the clue alerts solvers the answer will be the informal name of the app, INSTA.
• NASA (37D: Hubble Space Telescope org.) The Hubble Space Telescope has been in orbit since its launch in 1990. It is one of NASA's Great Observatories, four space-based telescopes built with differing technologies that allow the observance of different energy regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Hubble Telescope observes primarily visible light. I recommend taking a few minutes to look at some images from the Hubble Telescope's first 35 years. They are truly amazing.
• CPU (49D: "Brain" primarily made of silicon (Abbr.)) CPU stands for "central processing unit," the "brain" (primary processor) in a computer. 
• IRAN (60D: Country whose national tree is the cypress) The cypress tree is a significant symbol in Iranian culture, and as the clue informs us, it is the national tree of IRAN. One particular cypress in IRAN – Sarv-e Abarkuh (Cypress of Abarkuh) – is estimated to be over 4,000 years old and may be the oldest living lifeform in Asia.
• TESS (61D: ___ Coleman ("Freaky Friday" mom)) TESS Coleman is the mom of Anna Coleman in the 2003 movie Freaky Friday. In this classic movie, mom and daughter end up in each other's bodies. The role of TESS is played by Jamie Lee Curtis ... and also by Lindsay Lohan, when TESS is in Anna's body. Both Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan reprise their roles in the 2025 sequel (which I still need to see!) Freakier Friday.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• LEASH (68A: Dog parent's "umbilical cord")
• ANCESTOR (9D: Great-great-great-grandparent, e.g.)
• DAIRY (25D: Milk and its ilk)

It's been a few weeks since we've had an initialism theme. I especially enjoyed the theme answer WALK ON WATER. I appreciate that each theme answer has a different O word; I can see where that might have been tricky. Thank you, Jake, for this splendid puzzle.

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