June 17, 2026

Title: DOWN TO THE STUDS

Constructor: Sala Wanetick

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• BANG FOR YOUR BUCK (7D: Good deal)
• BATTERING RAM (10D: Castle gate-crashing weapon)
• SHOOT THE BULL (21D: Engage in some idle conversation)

DOWN TO THE STUDS: The last (DOWN-most) word of each vertical theme answer is a male animal: BUCK, RAM, and BULL.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• MARA (60A: "The Astronaut" star Kate) The Astronaut is a 2025 science fiction horror movie. Kate MARA stars as the titular character who believes an extraterrestrial being has followed her back to Earth. 
• MOMENT (5D: "The ___" (Charli XCX mockumentary)) A mockumentary is a movie depicting fictional events, but presented in documentary format. The MOMENT is a mockumentary released earlier this year. It stars Charli XCX and is set in September 2024 at the tail end of the Brat summer phenomenon.
• TREY (13D: Charlotte's ex-husband on "Sex and the City") Charlotte, portrayed by Kristin Davis, is one of the four main characters on the TV series Sex and the City (1998-2004). In the show's third season, Charlotte meets TREY MacDougal, portrayed by Kyle MacLachlan. Charlotte and TREY marry after a brief courtship. Ultimately, the marriage ends in divorce, making TREY Charlotte's ex-husband.
• DEPP (33D: "The Idol" star Lily-Rose) The Idol (2023) is an HBO TV series. It centers on a pop idol, who is portrayed by Lily-Rose DEPP.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• IMDB (4A: Site you might use while playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon) In the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, players challenge each other to find the shortest link (through movie co-stars) between any given actor and Kevin Bacon. IMDB, an online database of info related to movies, TV series, podcasts, video games, and other online streaming content, would indeed be a helpful resource for this game.
• ALI (17A: Tony winner Stroker) In 2015 ALI Stroker played the role of Anna in the Broadway show Spring Awakening, making history as the first actress that uses a wheelchair for mobility to appear on a Broadway stage. She won a Tony Award in 2019 for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in Oklahoma. I have not seen ALI Stroker on Broadway, but I do know her from her appearances in the first two seasons of Only Murders in the Building. She played an enthusiastic fan of the Only Murders in the Building podcast. Speaking of Only Murders in the Building (I mean, it did come up...), I always look forward to a new season of Only Murders in the Building, and the show's sixth season is expected to air later this year. 
• ITALY (24A: Home to the Colosseum) The Colosseum, located in Rome, ITALY, was constructed between 70-80 CE. It was the largest amphitheater built in the Roman Empire, and is still the largest amphitheater in the world. The Colosseum is built of limestone, and was originally used for gladiatorial contests and other public spectacles such as animal hunts. The structure of the Colosseum has been damaged by earthquakes, and impacted by stone robbers removing parts of the building. The Colosseum, which is visited by approximately four million tourists a year, is considered one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
• MEGHAN (25A: "Oprah with ___ and Harry") Oprah with MEGHAN and Harry is a TV special that aired in 2021. As the title suggests, the show is an interview of MEGHAN, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The interview took place the year after Prince Harry and MEGHAN announced they would step down from their responsibilities as working members of the British royal family.
• IKEA (39A: Seller of BILLY bookcases) IKEA has sold millions of BILLY bookcases since the product was first included in their catalogue in 1979. It's estimated that IKEA sells a BILLY bookcase every five seconds. 
• SNAPS (42A: Poetry slam sounds) Poetry slams are spoken word competitions that feature poets performing before a live audience and judges. SNAPS are used as a way to show appreciation at poetry slams, as SNAPS are less likely to distract a performer than claps.
• EGYPT (45A: "The Prince of ___") The Prince of EGYPT is a 1998 animated movie adaptation of the Book of Exodus. The movie follows the life of Moses. The Prince of EGYPT is also the name of a 2017 stage musical based on Exodus that uses songs from the animated movie. 
• CLUSTER (47A: Nerds Gummy ___ (crunchy juicy morsel)) Nerds Gummy CLUSTERs are bite-sized gummy balls coated in Nerds. After Kylie Jenner mentioned the candy on her Instagram account in 2021, NERDs Gummy Clusters went viral on social media.
• USA (68A: 2028 Olympics host) The USA will be the host for the 2028 Summer Olympics, also known as Los Angeles 2028. In addition to Los Angeles, which will be the host city, some events will take place in the Greater Los Angeles area and in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
• TEN (71A: Big ___ (NCAA conference)) In spite of what its name might suggest, NCAA's Big TEN Conference now has 18 member institutions. 
• BTS (28D: Some off-camera content, for short) BTS = behind the scenes 
• SANDLER (30D: "Happy Gilmore 2" star Adam) I have previously written about the movie Happy Gilmore 2, in which Adam SANDLER plays the title character.
• EAST (34D: Wind tile type, in mahjong) Mahjong is a game developed in China in the 19th century. The game is played with tiles, and a typical set of mahjong tiles has 16 winds, four each of the north, south, EAST, and west wind.
• OCD (44D: Condition in "Every Last Word") Tamara Ireland Stone's Instagram bio describes her as "Storyteller, NYT bestselling author. Vinyl collector. Time traveler wannabe. Word nerd. #MentalHealth warrior. Life enthusiast. Rarely bored." Now that's how to write a bio. Her 2015 book Every Last Word tells the story of a high school student with Purely-Obsessional OCD. 
• LIMES (50D: some electric scooters) LIMES are dockless electric scooters that can be found in more than 200 cities around the world. The scooters can be unlocked and rented via a smartphone app.
• SATAN (54D: Horned character played by Tim Curry) Tim Curry portrays a horned SATAN in the 1985 epic dark fantasy movie Legend. In the movie, the character was named Darkness rather than SATAN. 
• ARGO (55D: Jason's ship) I wrote about Jason and his ship, ARGO, earlier this month.
• LEAR (56D: "Girl dad" Shakespearean king) The Tragedy of King LEAR, often simply referred to as King LEAR, was written by William Shakespeare in 1605 or 1606. The play tells the story of King LEAR and his three daughters. I guess that technically makes King LEAR a "girl dad." Frankly, he's not a great girl dad. The play is, after all, a tragedy.
• ISLE (57D: Belle ___ (Detroit River park)) Belle ISLE is an island in the Detroit River. The island is the centerpiece of Belle ISLE park, which is owned by the city of Detroit and managed as a Michigan state park. Belle ISLE is connected to mainland Detroit by the MacArthur Bridge. 
• Other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• SUN'S (20A: "___ out, buns out")
• NYE (41A: "Science Guy" Bill)
• ALIBI (55A: It might prompt the line "A likely story," in a courtroom movie)

The title of today's puzzle reads like a description of a home renovation project. But the STUDS in question here are not the boards used to frame a house, but rather male animals. Thank you, Sala, for this enjoyable puzzle.

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