May 22, 2026

Title: POLE DANCING

Constructors: Sally Hoelscher & Olivia Mitra Framke

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• APPLE ORCHARD (20A: Place to pick some galas and drink cider)
• LOSING THE PLOT (38A: Becoming unable to deal with a situation)
• BOTTLE OPENER (55A: Tool used to uncap a Guinness)

POLE DANCING: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word POLE: APPLE ORCHARD, LOSING THE PLOT, and BOTTLE OPENER.

And now a word from our constructors:

Sally: I'm a huge fan of Agatha Christie. Knowing this, one day Olivia asked me if I'd ever put HERCULE POIROT in a puzzle. In attempting to do so, this theme idea came about. Now you may notice that HERCULE POIROT isn't in the grid. Sadly, he didn't make the cut. Still, he gets the credit for inspiring Olivia and me to use our "little grey cells" to come up with this theme. It's always a joy to collaborate with Olivia!

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ABBA (5A: "Dancing Queen" band) It's always a great day to listen to ABBA's 1976 song, "Dancing Queen." Particularly appropriate on a Friday: "Friday night and the lights are low..."
• HAFEZ (9A: Persian poet whose works are used for bibliomancy during Nowruz) HAFEZ (1325-1390) was a Persian lyric poet. HAFEZ's most popular work is The Divân, a collection of his poems likely compiled after his death. Nowruz is the Iranian New Year, celebrated not only in Iran, but also by Iranians living in other countries (including Olivia and her family). During Nowruz, The Divân of HAFEZ may be used for bibliomancy (divination using books). The book is opened to a random page, and the poem on that page is read as an indication of things that will happen in the future.
• SORE (14A: Feeling yesterday's bike ride, perhaps) My husband and I are currently in training for RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa), an annual week-long bike ride across the state of Iowa. This is the 53rd year for RAGBRAI, but the first year my husband and I have been talked into doing it (by our son, who is going to ride with us). This is all to say that I relate to feeling SORE after a bike ride!
• AIDAN (19A: "Game of Thrones" actor Gillen) AIDEN Gillen portrays Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in the TV series Game of Thrones (2011-2017). Game of Thrones is getting back-to-back puzzle mentions, as we saw it mentioned yesterday in a clue for OONA ["Game of Thrones" star Chaplin].
• DEAL (29A: Give a hand?) Not "give a hand" as in applaud, but DEAL a hand of cards.
• WU-TANG (36A: "___ Forever" (1997 hip-hop album)) WU-TANG forever is the second studio album by the WU-TANG Clan. The album reached the top of the Billboard 200 and the top of Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
• BOAT (43A: Whale watching vessel) When I was writing clues for this puzzle, my husband and I had recently returned from Hawaii, where we had gone on a whale watching BOAT tour. Therefore, this clue angle was fresh in my mind. I have previously written about that experience and shared a photo.
• KIA (50A: Company with Soul?) The tip-off here is the capital S of the word Soul, indicating the clue is talking about the car manufacturer KIA, which produced a car model named the Soul from 2008-2025.
• EAST (61A: The right direction?) The question mark here indicates the clue is not referencing the correct way to go, but rather referring to the direction that's usually on the right side of a map.
• ETTA (64A: "At Last" singer James) ETTA James (1938-2012) was a Grammy-Award-winning singer whose music encompassed the genres of R&B, gospel, blues, jazz, soul, and rock and roll. She recorded "At Last" in 1960 as the title track for her debut album.
• AMES (65A: Iowa State's city) Well, hello from a university town in Iowa ... but not AMES. Iowa State University is located in AMES, Iowa. This is not to be confused with the University of Iowa (officially and confusingly "The State University of Iowa") located in Iowa City, Iowa (where I live).
• ASSAM (1D: Indian state known for tea) The state of ASSAM is located in northeastern India. It is known for ASSAM tea, which comes from a tea plant indigenous to the area. ASSAM is a black tea known for its malty flavor and strong color. 
• ANJOU (5D: Pear variety) and BOSC (7D: Pear variety) For this puzzle, Olivia did the gridding and I wrote the clues. When she sent me the grid for review, I messaged her, "Two pear varieties ... ugh." She replied, "Do you think that would be a problem? I thought it was cute." It is, in fact, cute to have two pear varieties – ANJOU and BOSC – in the grid, especially since both answers cross APPLE ORCHARD, which is funny. The thing is that I don't like pears (of any variety!). There are very few foods I don't like, and somewhat oddly, pears top that short list. I can, however, appreciate their inclusion in a crossword (eventually...).
• ANTHEM (8D: Country song?) Not a song that's in the country genre, but a country's national ANTHEM.
• ANSWER (22D: What a crossword clue hints at) I do enjoy a self-referential clue.
• ENG (28D: Official language of Jamaica (Abbr.)) Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean. The country's official language is English (ENG), and its vernacular language is Jamaican Patois.
• LOON (38D: State bird of Minnesota) The common LOON is Minnesota's state bird, and it appears on the Minnesota state quarter. Minnesota is the only state with the LOON as its state bird. This clue made me curious about the Iowa state bird. I know the state bird of Minnesota; I feel like I should know the state bird of my state. I know the state bird of Missouri (where I grew up) is the Eastern bluebird. (***pause for me to look up the state bird of Iowa***) Now I can tell you the state bird of Iowa is the Eastern goldfinch. That's fun – they're very pretty, and we do see them at our bird feeder. Sometimes we get a lot of them at once, as shown in the photo below. Fun fact: The Eastern goldfinch is also the state bird of New Jersey, Olivia's state. Do you know the state bird of your state? 

• KOALA (50D: Eucalyptus-eating marsupial) The KOALA is native to Australia, and is mostly found in woodlands where its diet consists of the leaves of eucalyptus trees. Although there are over 600 types of eucalyptus trees, the KOALA is particular, and will only feast on about 30 of those species.
• CAT (58D: Pet that might knead its owner) There are multiple reasons a CAT might use their paws to "knead" your furniture or your lap. They may simply be trying to create a comfortable place to lie down, or they may be displaying contentment and expressing affection. My CAT, Willow, isn't kneading me at the moment, but she is quite needy, as I've been out-of-town for a week and a half. She's currently helping me write this by sleeping in my arms.

Willow

• ORI (59D: ___ and the Will of the Wisps) ORI and the Will of the Wisps is a video game released in 2020. It is the sequel to the 2015 game ORI and the Blind Forest. ORI, the titular character, is a white guardian spirit.

The word DANCING in the title is acting as an anagram indicator. The letters of the word POLE are "DANCING" themselves into different configurations. Thanks to Olivia for another collaboration, and thanks to Amanda for always thoughtful editing. Hope you enjoyed solving this 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.)