June 11, 2026

Title: KICK OFF

Constructor: Michael Drusedum & Jason Reuben

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• TAX PENALTY (17A: Charge for filing late with the IRS)
• KITTY CORNER (35A: Diagonally across the street)
• GLUTEN FREE (59A: Like a diet that avoids wheat)

KICK OFF: The last word of each theme answer is a type of soccer KICK: PENALTY KICK, CORNER KICK, and FREE KICK.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ODIE (16A: Garfield's drooling pal) The Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis, featuring the titular orange cat, was first published in 1978. ODIE is Garfield's canine sidekick. ODIE is constantly panting and often drools large puddles.
• OLE (20A: Cheer often heard at the World Cup) This is a nice bonus puzzle for this soccer puzzle.
• STORM (23A: "X-Men" character who can control the weather) The X-Men are a team of superheroes appearing in Marvel comic books, TV shows, films, and video games. X-Men are humans born with the X-gene, a genetic mutation that confers superhuman abilities. STORM, who is able to control the weather and atmosphere, made her first comic book appearance in 1975. Halle Berry first portrayed STORM in the 2000 movie, X-MEN.
• WHITE (27A: ___ Rim Road (feature of Canyonlands National Park) Canyonlands National Park is located in southeastern Utah, near Arches National Park and the town of Moab. WHITE Rim Road is an unpaved four wheel drive road that runs through the park. My husband and I have been to Canyonlands National Park, though we did not drive on WHITE Rim Road. We've actually been to Canyonlands National Park twice, once in February 2021 and again in April 2022. We had very different weather on our two visits, as shown by these two photos of the same stone arch.

2021 Canyonlands visit

2022 Canyonlands visit

• CHI-TOWN (28A: Home of deep-dish pizza, informally) CHI-TOWN is a nickname for Chicago, Illinois, famously known for its deep-dish pizza. Chicago-style deep dish pizza was invented at Pizzeria Uno.
• KITTY CORNER (35A: Diagonally across the street) and ADOPTS (45A: Brings home a rescue pet) My cat, Willow, says, "Oh, did someone ADOPT a KITTY?" (Close enough, right?) Here's Willow just hanging around. It's been almost 15 years since we adopted her.

• MEAT PIE (48A: Pastry that's a prop in "Sweeney Todd") Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a Stephen Sondheim musical based on a 1973 play of the same name by Christopher Bond. MEAT PIEs, sold by Mr. Lovett, are an integral part of the musical's story. On the off chance that you don't know the (somewhat dark) story of Sweeney Todd, I won't say more so as not to spoil anything. 
• ALAN (58A: "M*A*S*H" star Alda) M*A*S*H originally aired from 1972 to 1983. ALAN Alda portrayed Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce. Hawkeye was one of four characters who were on the show for all 11 seasons. The other three were Father Mulcahy (George Morgan), Margaret Houlihan (Loretta Swit), and Maxwell Klinger (Jamie Farr). Of those four, only ALAN Alda's character appeared on every episode of the show. In the process of writing about this entry, I discovered that ALAN Alda is currently 90 years old.
• ORA (2D: "The Masked Singer" judge Rita) The Masked Singer is a reality singing competition TV series in which contestants wear costumes and masks to conceal their identity. The show is based on a South Korean TV series, King of Mask Singer. Rita ORA has been a judge on The Masked Singer since the 11th season.
• LANE (5D: "Penny ___" (Beatles hit)) "Penny LANE" is, of course, a classic Beatles song, released in 1967. Thanks for the earworm, puzzle! "In Penny LANE there is a barber showing photographs / Of every head he's had the pleasure to have known / And all the people that come and go / Stop and say hello..."
• EDY'S (9D: Dreyer's, on the East Coast) William Dreyer and Joseph EDY founded Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc. in 1928. The company has two signature brands: Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream - sold in the Western United States and Texas, and EDY's Grand Ice Cream, sold in the Eastern and Midwestern United States.
• ELMO (18A: Falsetto Muppet) You may recall from the May 26, 2026 puzzle that ELMO is perpetually 3 1/2 years old. ELMO's high-pitched falsetto voice matches his age.
• THREE (30D: Second prime number) A prime number is a number that is not a product of two smaller numbers. For example, four is not a prime number because it is a product of two times two. Since a prime number is defined as a "number greater than one," the smallest prime number is two, and the second prime number is THREE.
• TETON (37D: "Grand" mountain range) The quotation marks around the word "Grand" in the clue indicate that the word is directly paired with the answer. Grand TETON is the highest mountain of the TETON Range in northwestern Wyoming. The TETONs are the central feature of Grand TETON National Park.
• DEALER (46D: Person giving you a hand?) The question mark here means the clue isn't asking for someone who is applauding you, but someone who is giving you a hand of cards – a DEALER.
• OTTAWA (47D: Canada's capital) OTTAWA is located in southeastern Ontario, at the junction of three major rivers: the OTTAWA River, the Gatineau River, and the Rideau River. OTTAWA, as the clue indicates, is the capital city of Canada.
• TRIFLE (50D: Dessert of cake, fruit and custard) Suddenly I find myself hungry for TRIFLE. This dessert is often made in a clear glass bowl so the layers of cake, fruit, and custard are visible.
• EMO (62D: Fall Out Boy genre) Fall Out Boy is a band that formed in 2001 in Wilmette, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). The band's music has been characterized as pop rock, EMO, pop-punk, and alternative rock. 
• Other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• ONE (41A: Number in this clue's number)
• E-SPORT (4D: Competitive "Fortnite" e.g.)
• MINUTE (12D: It's gone in 60 seconds)
• FIN (43D: Ominous sight in "Jaws")

First of all, I'm proud of myself for recognizing that the KICKs in this puzzle are soccer KICKs. (Okay, I may have looked them up to verify that fact...) Secondly, this puzzle is timely, as the Soccer World Cup, which happens every four years, starts today. This year's FIFA World Cup is hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Games will be held in 16 different cities from today through July 19. Thank you, Michael and Jason, for this enjoyable puzzle.

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