June 5, 2026

 Title: MAGIC SHELL

Constructor: Matthew Stock

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• WALDEN POND (16A: Body of water romanticized by Henry David Thoreau)
• WAIT A SECOND (38A: "Hold on now...")
• WALK AROUND (62A: Have a stroll)

MAGIC SHELL: Each theme answer has a SHELL of the word WAND: WALDEN POND, WAIT A SECOND, and WALK AROUND.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• SELENE (3D: Greek goddess of the moon) In Greek mythology, SELENE is the goddess of the Moon and is considered to be the personification of the Moon. SELENE is the sister of the Sun god Helios and the dawn goddess Eos.
• DUEL (31D: Two-player Mario Party 8 faceoff) Mario Party 8 is a video game released by Nintendo in 2007 for the Wii. Like the other Mario Party games, this one features a number of minigames, one of which is DUEL. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• NEEDY (13A: Requiring lots of attention) I know this clue isn't cat-specific, but since one of my cat, Willow's, nicknames is NEEDY kitty, I'm sharing a cat photo anyway. When I get up in the morning, Willow (who sleeps on my side of the bed) also gets up. She then goes and sits at the end of the bed. What she wants is for me to pick her up and carry her the 10 feet to the bathroom, where she will then get a drink from the faucet. If she thinks I am not going to pick her up, she will start to meow, as if to say, "Hey, aren't you forgetting something!" NEEDY and not a bit spoiled... 

• WALDEN POND (16A: Body of water romanticized by Henry David Thoreau) Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a naturalist, essayist, and philosopher. His 1854 book, WALDEN, is a reflection on the two years, two months, and two days he spent living in a cabin he built near WALDEN POND.
• RENT (23A: "Seasons of Love" musical) "Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes..." Thanks for the earworm, puzzle! "Seasons of Love" is a song from Jonathan Larson's musical RENT.
• DREAM (28A: Atlanta WNBA squad) The Atlanta DREAM has been part of the WNBA since their founding in 2008. Although the DREAM has made it to the WNBA finals three times (2010, 2011, and 2013), they have yet to win a WNBA championship.
• RINSE (49A: Lather, ___, repeat) Don't tell the shampoo manufacturers, but I only follow the first two of these instructions.
• OSLO (54A: Capital of Norway) Hello to our crossword friend OSLO, the capital of Norway. 
• OOO (7D: "I'm away from my desk" abbreviation) OOO = out of office
• URDU (9D: One of Pakistan's official languages) Pakistan is a multilingual country, with over 70 languages spoken. Pakistan has two official languages, URDU and English, with URDU the preferred language used for inter-communication between different ethnic groups.
• POLAROID (10D: Instant photo brand) It seems appropriate to have this answer in today's puzzle, because watching a POLAROID picture develop feels a little bit like MAGIC.
• DESERTS (12D: Arid habitats for cactus wrens) The mention of cactus wrens reminds me of a sign I saw when my husband and I were visiting Joshua Tree National Park, which is located in the Mojave and Colorado DESERTS. The sign was located near a trail through a large area of cholla cactus, and it read, "Warning! Unless you are a cactus wren, be careful as you walk the trail not to brush against the cholla cactus. The slightest touch can cause the cactus spines to penetrate your skin. Removing the embedded spines is difficult and painful." Duly noted!
• DADA (15D: Avant-garde art movement) DADA, also referred to as Dadaism, was an art movement developed in Zürich, Switzerland during World War I. The movement quickly spread worldwide. DADA artists originally framed their art as a protest against war, nationalism, and cultural conformity. In doing so, DADA embraced absurdity, chaos, and irrationality. Many DADA artists incorporated found objects or images into their art.
• NIA (17D: Actor Long) In the biographical movie, Michael, that was released in April of this year, NIA Long portrays Katherine Scruse-Jackson, Michael's mother.
• HOOSIER (26D: Indiana University alum) Students at Indiana University Bloomington are nicknamed the HOOSIERs. The origin of the nickname is unknown.
• OTTO (35D: Former NBA forward Porter Jr.) I learned about OTTO Porter, Jr. from the September 22, 2022 puzzle. At that time he was playing for the Toronto Raptors. He retired from basketball in 2024.
• ONE (39D: English translation of the Mandarin "yi" or Japanese "ichi") We see a lot of Spanish numbers in the puzzle, and I'm always happy to see representation of other languages. We have seen "yi," the Mandarin word for ONE mentioned in clues previously, but I think this might be the first time we've seen "ichi," the Japanese word for ONE mentioned. I'm happy to learn it.
• ANKLE (52D : Achilles tendon's place) The thickest tendon in the human body, the Achilles tendon is located near the ANKLE, where it attaches the lower leg muscles to the heel. The tendon gets its name from the character Achilles in Greek mythology, whose mother held him by the heel when she dipped him in the River Styx to make him invulnerable. The heel was his one vulnerable spot.
• Several other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• I'M SAD (1A: What :( means in a text)
• BIKED (70A: Went by pedaling)
• PROB (59D: "No ___!" ("Happy to help!")

MAGIC SHELL is a dessert topping that hardens when it is poured over something cold – ice cream, for example. Today, however, MAGIC SHELL is a fun theme for this puzzle. The word SHELL in the title had me correctly guessing that the theme would be found at the outside edges of the theme answers. I like the fact that I had to do a little extra work to identify WAND as the MAGIC item forming the SHELL. That made for a nice "Aha!" moment. Thank you, Matthew, for this enjoyable puzzle.

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