June 7, 2026

Title: MAKE THE BED

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin


Theme synopsis:
  • SEA TURTLE (17A: Reptile that usually nests on the same beach where it was born)
  • ARE YOU DONE (29A: "Can I speak now?")
  • EYE CONTACT (46A: What shy people might struggle to make)
  • BEE POLLEN (62A: Superfood found in raw honey)
MAKE THE BED: The first words of the theme answers sound like they are spelling out the word CRIB: SEA (C), ARE (R), EYE (I), BEE (B).

What I learned from today's puzzle:
  • SALT (55A: Seasoning for pao cai) Pao cai is a generic Chinese term for vegetables fermented in brine. A variety of vegetables are placed in a brine (SALT water) with spices and then left to ferment.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
  • EGG (5A: Fertilized protein in balut) Balut are fertilized EGGs (often duck EGGs), incubated for 14-21 days, and then steamed and served to be eaten directly out of the shell. Balut are sold as street food in the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
  • SEA TURTLE (17A: Reptile that usually nests on the same beach where it was born) One of the highlights of my husband and my trip to Hawaii earlier this year was seeing SEA TURTLEs in the wild. Such cool creatures.
A sea turtle is resting on a black sand beach. A second sea turtle is visible in the background, coming out of the water.

  • DIE (38A: Cube with pips) The dots on the side of a DIE or on a domino are called pips. 
  • AREPA (40A: Corn cake similar to a pupusa) AREPA is made of ground maize dough. Associated with the cuisines of Columbia, Venezuela, and Bolivia, AREPA may be served with cheese and meats, and can be split to make sandwiches. A pupusa is a flatbread from El Salvador and Honduras. The griddle cakes, which are made of corn masa flour, are stuffed with cheese or other ingredients.
  • TACOMA (41A: Puget Sound city) My first thought here was Seattle, which is indeed a city on Puget Sound, but since that didn't fit, it didn't take me long to figure out the Puget Sound city the clue is looking for is TACOMA, Washington.
  • CTRL (43A: SZA's debut album) SZA is the professional name of singer, rapper, and songwriter Solána Imani Rowe. Her album, CTRL, was released in 2017. In 2018, SZA won the BET Award for Best New Artist.
  • EELS (50A: Unakyu roll fish) Unakyu sushi rolls contain EELS and cucumber.
  • AGRA (66A: City in India's "Golden Triangle") India's Golden Triangle tourist circuit consists of AGRA, Delhi, and Jaipur.
  • ITALIAN ICE (3D: Frozen, fruity treat) ITALIAN ICE and snow cones have similar ingredients, but the process for making them is different. A snow cone is made by drizzling fruit flavoring (concentrates, juices, or purées) over crushed or shaved ICE. To make ITALIAN ICE, the flavoring and ICE are mixed and then whipped during the freezing process.
  • PALME D'OR (9D: Cannes Film Festival prize) The Cannes Film Festival is considered the most prestigious film festival in the world, and the PALME D'OR is its top prize. The Cannes Film Festival is held in Cannes, France, usually in May. At this year's festival, the PALME D'OR was won by Fjord, a movie about a Romanian-Norwegian couple living in a remote Norwegian town, which was inspired by real events.
  • ELIE (11D: Fashion designer Saab) ELIE Saab is a fashion designer with workshops in Lebanon, Milan, and Paris.
  • USA (18D: Alysa Liu's Olympic team) Alysa Liu is a figure skater. She was part of the USA Olympic team that competed at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy earlier this year. She won gold medals in both the singles and team events.
  • HAO (25D: Good, in Mandarin) As I mentioned the other day, I'm always happy to see representation of languages in addition to Spanish in the puzzle. This answer reminds me that "ni HAO" is an informal greeting in Mandarin.
  • ERICA (30D: "Buss It" rapper Banks) "Buss It," the first charting single for ERICA Banks, went viral on TikTok in 2020.
  • NEPAL (31D Country on Everest's south side) Mount Everest, Earth's highest above-sea-level mountain, is located on the NEPAL-Tibet border. The south side of Everest is in NEPAL.
  • DEMON (34D: Possessing spirit?) The question mark in this clue alerts solvers to some trickiness and wordplay. The clue is not referring to someone who has spirit (or pep), but rather to an actual spirit that possesses people (or things) – a DEMON.
  • COCA-COLA (37D: Beverage celebrated at an Atlanta museum) The World of COCA-COLA is a museum located in Atlanta, Georgia. COCO-COLA was created in 1886 by Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta. The headquarters of the COCA-COLA Company are still located in Atlanta.
  • A few other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
    • ALICE (36A: She went down the rabbit hole)
    • TEA BAG (47D: Pouch with a string)
    • LEGO (56D: World's largest toymaker)
This is a delightful theme. I appreciated the extra step required to see that the BED being made is a crib. That made for a lovely "Aha!" moment. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this enjoyable 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.)

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