June 3, 2026

Title: OOH, IT'S GOING DOWN!

Constructor: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• TOO HOT TO HANDLE (4D: Like an overwhelmingly attractive person)
• OH BOO-HOO (21D: "Cry me a river!")
• WINNIE THE POOH (16D: "Hunny"-loving cartoon bear)

OOH, IT'S GOING DOWN!: Each vertical theme answer contains the word OOH, and IT'S GOING DOWN in the grid moving from left to right: TOO HOT TO HANDLE, OH BOO-HOO, and WINNIE THE POOH.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• MOON (37D: Ruler of Cancer in astrology) I have a basic knowledge of the astrological signs of the zodiac, but that knowledge doesn't extend to ruling planets (or cusps or anything like that). I was thankful for crossing answers to help me figure out the correct answer of MOON here.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• AAH (8A: Ooh and ___) OOH, this clue contains the word "OOH!" AAH, that's a fun bonus.
• WHOOPIE (14A: Word before "pie" or "cushion") I would not particularly want to sit on either a WHOOPIE pie or a WHOOPIE cushion, but I wouldn't mind eating a WHOOPIE pie. I'm sure this clue has you wondering who holds the World Record for the "Longest Line of WHOOPIE Pies." That would be the Portland (Maine) Sea Dogs, Wicked WHOOPIES, and the Maine WHOOPIE Pie Festival. This feat involved 2,121 WHOOPIE pies stacked in a line design of a giant WHOOPIE pie. Not to be outdone, the WHOOPIE cushion has also been involved in several record setting efforts, including the "Largest simultaneous WHOOPIE cushion sit," which happened in Atlanta, Georgia in 2005. You just never know what you're going to learn when you read my blog, do you?
• HE'S (24A: "___ All That" (2021 rom-com)) The movie HE'S All That is a gender-swapped remake of the 1999 movie She's All That. The 2021 version is set in the world of social media influencers.
• ONO (47A: Multitalented artist Yoko) Yoko ONO is a musician, a performance artist, and a filmmaker. Sometimes when I write about someone I've written about many times, I challenge myself to learn something new about them or their work. Today I learned about a 1966 piece of conceptual art by Yoko ONO that was titled Apple. The work consisted of an apple on a plexiglass stand to which a brass plaque with the word "APPLE" was attached. This reminds me of Maurizio Cattelan's banana-duct-taped-to-a-wall art that I have written about previously.
• ETS (48A: Some characters in "The X-Files") FBI special agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder (played by Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny) are the main characters on the TV show The X-Files (1993-2018). The agents investigate unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. An overarching story line of the series was the agents uncovering evidence of an invasion by extraterrestrials (ETS), which had been covered up by the government. 
• TIO (50A: Parent's hermano) Hermano is Spanish for brother. Your parent's brother is your uncle, which is TIO, in Spanish.
• POBLANO (59A: Type of pepper in chiles rellenos) Chiles rellenos is a dish in Mexican cuisine. It consists of POBLANO peppers stuffed with meat and cheese, covered in batter and fried. It's delicious.
• SWEETEN (64A: Flavor with honey, say) and BEEHIVE (65A: Home full of honey) I liked this "honey" pair of clues. I also enjoyed BEEHIVE crossing WINNIE THE POOH.
• TEVA (58D: Hiking sandal brand) The TEVA brand was founded by geophysicist Mark Thatcher in 1984. TEVA was one of the first sports sandals on the market. The company's name is based on the Hebrew word meaning "nature." 
• OWL (60D: Bird that can turn its head 270 degrees) Here's a clue providing a fun animal fact. I also like that OWL is one of WINNIE THE POOH's friends in the Hundred Acre Wood; it makes me happy that WINNIE THE POOH has a friend in the grid.
• Other clues I especially enjoyed:
• SPY (11A: Any 00 agent, e.g.)
• FORT (3D: One might be made of sofa cushions)
• BLIMPS (27D: Airships over stadiums)
• CACKLE (30D: Witch's laugh)
• RIBS (56D: Bones covered by corsets)

From the title, I correctly guessed the theme would be found in the vertical answers. The only question was what exactly was going to be going down in those answers. OOH! It turned out to be the word OOH itself, which is quite fun. Thank you, Enrique, for this delightful 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.)