May 2, 2026

Title: EYE-CATCHING

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• AND STILL I RISE (19A: 1978 Maya Angelou poetry collection centered around resilience)
• FAIR IS FAIR (36A: "We all play by the same rules")
• PIRI-PIRI SAUCE (55A: Spicy chili condiment)

EYE-CATCHING: Each theme answer contains the EYE part, IRIS: AND STILL I RISE, FAIR IS FAIR, and PIRI-PIRI SAUCE.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• TIJUANA (43D: Birthplace of Nortec music) Nortec is electronic dance music developed in TIJUANA, Mexico. The genre's name is a combination of "norteño" (regional Mexican music) and "techno." Nortec music is characterized by hard dance beats and the use of Mexican horns.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PBS (6A: "Call the Midwife" channel) Call the Midwife (2012-present) is a British TV series that centers on a group of midwives in London in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The show airs on BBC One in the United Kingdom and PBS in the United States. The first series is set in 1957, and the show moves forward in time as the seasons progress. Call the Midwife was originally based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, a midwife who worked at a convent in the East End in London. Later series of the show extended beyond the memoirs and included information from other historical sources.
• YOGI (9A: Boo-Boo's companion in Jellystone Park) The animated character YOGI Bear first appeared in 1958 as a supporting character in the Hanna-Barbera series The Huckleberry Hound Show. YOGI Bear was so popular he was given his own show in 1961, The YOGI Bear Show. The show featured the antics of YOGI Bear and his companion Boo-Boo Bear in Jellystone Park, a fictional location based on Yellowstone National Park.
• OLIVE (13A: Fruit preserved in brine) Considering how much I like OLIVEs, I should have gotten this answer quicker than I did.
• OREO (15A: Cookie with a Black Sesame flavor in China) Some OREO flavors, such as Black Sesame, are available in China, but not in the U.S. Our crossword friend OREO is starting out May strong with its first May appearance on the second day of the month. This is the ninth appearance of OREO in 2026. It's currently trailing ASIA for the coveted "Most blogged about crossword friend" title, as we've seen ASIA ten times so far in 2026. Poor ERIE has some catching up to do, as it has made only four appearances this year. We're only a third of the way through 2026 though, so anything could happen. And here's my occasional reminder that the only thing these numbers mean is that I like data.
• IOWA (17A: Hawkeyes' state) Why, hello from IOWA, the "Hawkeye State." 
• AND STILL I RISE (19A: 1978 Maya Angelou poetry collection centered around resilience) "STILL I RISE," the title poem from AND STILL I RISE, begins with the lines, "You may write me down in history / With your bitter twisted lies..." It then finishes with the resilient lines, "I am the dream and the hope of the slave. / I RISE / I RISE / I RISE." 
• LIL (22A: Rapper ___ Mama) Any mention of LIL Mama reminds me of her 2007 debut single, "Lip Gloss." I have previously written about my connection to this song. 
• OCELOT (30A: Nocturnal spotted cat) The OCELOT is a medium-sized spotted wild cat; it's a bit larger than a house cat. OCELOTs are native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. My cat, Willow, is happy with the trend of her spotted relatives being referenced in the puzzle. Yesterday it was the leopard. The other day I was working at my desk and I heard a rustling noise. I glanced over at the daybed in my office and noticed one of the pillows was moving. Willow had crawled inside the pillowcase and was making herself comfortable as if the pillow and pillowcase were her own personal sleeping bag. (Well, I guess they are now.)

• PIRI-PIRI SAUCE (55A: Spicy chili condiment) PIRI-PIRI SAUCE is a spicy chili condiment made from Birdseye chili peppers. Its name means "pepper pepper" in Swahili.
• CREEP (64A: Move like a snail) and HURRY (67A: "Make it snappy!") It made me smile to see CREEP and HURRY stacked on top of each other in the grid.
• EAST (66A: Beijing -to-Seoul direction) To get from Beijing, the capital of China, to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, travel EAST. Beijing, with a population of just under 22 million, is the world capital with the largest population. Seoul, with just over 9.5 million people, is the eighth-most populous world capital. EAST is making back-to-back puzzle appearances. We saw it yesterday clued as [To the left, on a map with south-up orientation].
• SOMALI (1D: Language in Mogadishu) Mogadishu is the capital and most populous city of Somalia, where the national language is SOMALI.
• RIDDLE (3D: Puzzling question) Well, I can't pass up an opportunity to share my favorite RIDDLE! (I've shared it before, but it was six years ago, so it's time for a repeat.) What does an invisible cat drink? You'll find the answer to this RIDDLE below.
• MILAN (14D: Italian city home to La Scala) La Scala is an opera house in MILAN, Italy. It first opened in 1778.
• IBM (37D: Tech giant known as "Big Blue") I have previously written about IBM's "Big Blue" nickname.
• PERU (57D: Where the Amazon River starts) The Amazon River is located in South America. The headwaters of the Amazon River are located in PERU. In addition to PERU, the Amazon River flows through Colombia and Brazil. The Amazon is the largest river in the world by discharge volume. Whether or not it is the longest or second-longest river system depends on how the information is calculated. The Nile is the other river that is either the longest or the second-longest river in the world.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• IT'S TRUE (20D: "I'm not lying!")
• ROO (25D: Hopping pal of Pooh)
• MIRROR (32D: One might enable a bathroom selfie)

After reading the title, my theme guess was that each theme answer would contain the word EYE. Ah, it was just a tad trickier than that. I appreciate puzzles that make me work just a little bit to discover the theme. This one does that well. There was a nice "Aha!" moment when I realized each theme answer contains the word IRIS. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this EYE-CATCHING puzzle.

As promised: What does an invisible cat drink? Evaporated milk

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