June 27, 2026

Title: CURTAIN BANGS

Constructor: Amie Walker

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• BABY SWINGS (19A: Soothing seats for little ones)
• BACK HANDSPRINGS (34A: Gymnastics feats)
• BARBECUE WINGS (50A: Sticky and saucy sports bar snack)

CURTAIN BANGS: The word BANGS is parted by each theme answer and appears at the sides of the answers (like CURTAINs): BABY SWINGS, BACK HANDSPRINGS, and BARBECUE WINGS.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TAPS (1A: Dances in "Anything Goes," e.g.) Anything Goes is a 1934 musical by Cole Porter. The musical has been revived on Broadway and London's West End several times. "Anything Goes" is also the name of a song in the musical that features TAP dancing. 
• VILLA (12A: ___ Borghese (park in Rome)) VILLA Borghese is a public park in Rome, Italy. It covers just under 200 acres and is free to visit.
• AMES (21A: Home to Iowa State University) Hello from Iowa City, Iowa, which is a university town, but not the Iowa university town that makes frequent crossword appearances. That town would be AMES, Iowa, home to Iowa State University. 
• ELI (22A: Super Bowl champion Manning) ELI Manning is a former quarterback. He played 16 seasons with the NFL's New York Giants. During his career, he led the Giants to two Super Bowl victories, and was named MVP in both of those years (2008 and 2012).
• VIDA (26A: "Livin' la ___ Loca") "Livin' la VIDA Loca" ("Livin' the Crazy Life") is a 1999 song by Ricky Martin. It was Ricky Martin's first number one single.
• SKA (40A: Reel Big Fish genre) Reel Big Fish formed as a SKA band in 1991. Their most recent album, released in 2018, is titled Life Sucks...Let's Dance.
• DOOR (55A: "Love Is an Open ___" ("Frozen" song)) and INTO (31D: "___ the Unknown" ("Frozen 2" song)) Today we get song references from both Frozen (2013) and Frozen 2 (2019). "Love Is an Open DOOR," from Frozen, is sung by Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana as the characters Anna and Prince Hans. "INTO the Unknown," from Frozen 2, is sung by Idina Menzel who plays the character Elsa, and it features Norwegian singer and songwriter Aurora as The Voice. If you don't like multiple Frozen song references in the same puzzle, my advice to you is to "Let It Go." (Sorry, I simply couldn't resist!)
• ALIBI (2D: "I was watching 'Jeopardy!' when it happened," for one) This clue made me laugh! Watching Jeopardy! is a great ALIBI, right?
• SAM SMITH (4D: "Stay With Me" singer) SAM SMITH's song "Stay With Me," was released in 2014.
• SHRINK (5D: What cashmere might do in the dryer) This clue made me a little sad on behalf of anyone who has ever accidentally put a cashmere sweater in the dryer.
• ANIME (9D: Medium for Miyazaki) Hayao Miyazaki is a co-founder of Studio Ghibli, the Japanese studio known for its ANIME. (I first learned about Studio Ghibli when we saw it as a theme answer July 23, 2020.) Hayao Miyazaki's directing credits include the ANIME films My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, both of which I have written about previously. 
• RAVEN (10D: "Game of Thrones" bird) On the fictional continent Westeros, the setting for Game of Thrones (2011-2019), the RAVEN is the primary means of long-distance communication.
• NINTENDO (36D: WarioWare: Smooth Moves maker) WarioWare: Smooth Moves is a video game by NINTENDO that consists of a collection of microgames.
• OLIVER (44D: "Wild Geese" poet Mary) Why yes, I am going to suggest (as I usually do given an opportunity...) that you take a couple of minutes of your day to listen to Mary OLIVER read her poem, "Wild Geese." 
• NEMO (52D: Clown fish in two Pixar movies) Pixar's two movies featuring NEMO are Finding NEMO (2003) and Finding Dory (2016).
• ORA (56D: Moral center?) The question mark at the end of this clue means it's not asking for someplace that is a center for morality, but is looking for the center of the word "moral" – ORA.
• We've got a trio of dog-related clues today:
• RUNT (17A: Tiniest puppy)
• SNOOTS (42A: Boopable puppy parts)
• HOUND (6D: A beagle is one)

CURTAIN BANGS are BANGS that are parted in the center or on the side. Today the word BANGS is acting like a CURTAIN and is pulled back to the sides of each theme answer. Thank you, Amie, for this enjoyable puzzle.

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