May 31, 2026

Title: 24/7 COVERAGE

Constructor: Matthew Stock

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

24/7 COVERAGE: There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless, puzzle. The title is a nod to the combination of DAYLIGHT (16A: It's enjoyed from sunup to sundown) and NIGHTSHADE (55A: Bell pepper or eggplant, e.g.).

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• DEE (40D: Country singer Jo ___ Messina) Jo DEE Messina has a new album, Bridges, scheduled to be released on June 5. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• FLA (20A: The Gators' state, for short) The Gators are the sports teams at the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The school's mascots are Albert and Alberta Gator.
• TRIG (25A: Class in which you might go off on a tangent?) The question mark in this clue lets solvers know to expect trickiness and wordplay. You might "go off on a tangent" (discuss something completely unrelated to the topic at hand) in TRIG (trigonometry) class. But also, you might literally study tangents (and sines and cosines) in TRIG.
• BLUEY (34A: Titular dog of kids TV) BLUEY is an animated children's TV series that premiered in 2018. The titular character, BLUEY, is an anthropomorphic Blue Heeler puppy. The show also features BLUEY's parents, Bandit and Chilli, and her younger sister, Bingo. BLUEY originated in Australia and has been released widely on Disney+.
• KIMBERLE (46A: Crenshaw who coined the term "intersectionality") KIMBERLÉ Crenshaw is a critical race theory scholar and a professor at the UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School. KIMBERLÉ Crenshaw coined the term "intersectionality" in a 1989 essay titled "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Anti-discrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics." Although the idea of intersectionality existed before her essay, it hadn't been named and wasn't widely recognized. Intersectionality refers to the complex ways in which multiple forms of discrimination combine and overlap. If you'd like to learn more, KIMBERLÉ Crenshaw gave a TED Talk titled "The urgency of intersectionality" in 2016.
• NIGHTSHADE (55A: Bell pepper or eggplant, e.g.) NIGHTSHADE is the common name for the Solanaceae family of plants. This family includes bell peppers and eggplants, as well as tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco, and petunias. Coincidentally, I wrote about these plants a week ago when we saw PETUNIAS clued as [Flowers related to tobacco]. 
• BLOG (58A: Website with posts) Oh, like SALLY'S TAKE on the USA Today Crossword, perhaps!
• STONEHENGE (59A: Prehistoric landmark of standing rocks) STONEHENGE is a monument of standing stones located in Wiltshire, England. Archeologists believe STONEHENGE was constructed sometime between 3100 BCE and 1600 BCE, possibly in several stages. Approximately 100 stones make up STONEHENGE.
• DERN (60A: "Jurassic Park" star Laura) Laura DERN portrays paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler in the 1993 movie Jurassic Park. She reprised the role in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic Park World Dominion (2022).
• FEEL (62A: "Make Me ___" (Janelle Monae hit)) "Make Me FEEL" is a 2018 song from Janelle Monáe's album, Dirty Computer.
• REHAB (6D: Back-to-health program) and ROT (7D: Brain ___ (result of too much phone time)) The juxtaposition of these two consecutive clues made me chuckle.
• STL (21D: Midwest city home to Forest Park (Abbr.)) Forest Park is a public park in St. Louis (STL), Missouri. It is home to the St. Louis Zoo, as well as the city's Science Center, Art Museum, and History Museum. The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre, known as The Muny, is also located in Forest Park. The area was designated a public  park in 1876. In 1904, the St. Louis World's Fair (officially called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition) was held in Forest Park.
• TWO (31D: Number of blue letters in the Google logo) Do you know (without looking) which TWO letters in the Google logo are blue? I had to think about this one, but did finally remember it is the capital G and the lowercase g that are blue in the Google logo.
• SMARTER (43D: ___ Every Day (educational YouTube channel)) SMARTER Every Day is Destin Sandlin's YouTube channel. He has been posting educational videos on the channel since 2007. The videos focus on scientific exploration and discovery. Okay, this BLOG post almost didn't get finished because I got sucked into watching a bunch of these videos...
• YALE (51D: Ivy League school home to the oldest college daily newspaper) The oldest college daily newspaper is the YALE Daily News. This newspaper has been published by students at YALE University since 1878. 
• A few other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• YES SIR (51A: "As you wish, Mr. Knight")
• SAY CHEESE (3D: "Smile for the camera!")
• ENGLISH MUFFINS (5D: Baked goods with "nooks and crannies")
• FRITO (49D Curly corn chip)

I do enjoy a themed-ish freestyle puzzle. Therefore, I appreciated the appearance of DAYLIGHT and NIGHTSHADE in the puzzle, working together to provide 24/7 coverage. Thank you, Matthew, for this terrific puzzle.

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