June 8, 2026

Title: BREWED AWAKENING (Freestyle)

Constructor: Zachary Edward-Brown

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

BREWED AWAKENING (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless puzzle.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• PGA (30A: Cameron Young's org.) Cameron Young is a professional golfer who has won three PGA Tour titles. 
• APNEA (45A: Email ___ (screen time state characterized by shallow breathing)) The term email APNEA was coined in 2007 by former Microsoft executive Linda Stone. This term is new to me, but apparently some people have a tendency to unconsciously hold their breath while interacting with email (or doing other tasks at a computer). 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• QUEERTOK (1A: Content-sharing LGBTQ+ community) QUEERTOK is the term used for the subcommunity of queer influencers on TikTok. I am not on TikTok, so I'm not familiar with all of the communities there, but I know they exist (I've previously written about BookTok and ArtTok), so it was fairly easy to figure out this answer.
• RODEOS (16A: Gay ___ (cowboy events)) As the name suggests, gay RODEOS are RODEO events specifically welcoming LGBTQ+ participants and spectators.
• SCENIC (18A: Like Kauai's Na Pali Coast) The Na Pali Coast is on the northwest side of Kaua'i. It is indeed SCENIC, with cliffs along the shoreline that rise approximately 4,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean. The Na Pali Coast is inaccessible by car. To get there you either need to hike, fly over in a helicopter, or go by boat. When my husband and I were in Hawaii earlier this year, we had planned to view the Na Pali Coast by helicopter. However, high winds meant that our helicopter charter was cancelled. Instead, we ended up taken a catamaran tour around Kaua'i to the Na Pali coast. I'm not a huge fan of boats, but it was worth it for the SCENIC views such as this one.

• EDU (29A: End of MIT's URL) EDU is not only the end of MIT's URL, but also the ending of URLs of other colleges and universities as well. EDU is an Internet domain for educational institutions.
• AOC (33A: Rep. from the Bronx) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) represents New York's 14th congressional district (which includes portions of the Bronx, Queens, and Riders Island in New York City) in the U.S. House of Representatives. AOC was 29 years old when she took office, making her the youngest woman to serve in the U.S. Congress.
• GYM (56A: LA Fitness, e.g.) Although the name LA Fitness might make one think this GYM is located in California, the brand has expanded since it first opened in Covina, California (located in Los Angeles County) in 1984. LA Fitness now has over 600 GYMs, with locations in 25 U.S. states (but none in Iowa).
• COPYPASTA (59A: Block of text that spreads widely online) I wrote about COPYPASTA when the word played a part in the theme of a recent puzzle. The term COPYPASTA is derived from the phrase "copy and paste." 
• SHE'S (66A: "___ a killer queen") "SHE'S a killer queen" is a line from the 1974 song "Killer Queen" by the rock band Queen. The song was Queen's breakthrough hit.
• ESTHER (3D: Biblical queen central to Purim) The Jewish holiday of Purim commemorates the events recounted in the Biblical book of ESTHER. Queen ESTHER used her influence to save the Jewish people from an empire official's plan to kill them. The official was named Haman, and part of the Purim tradition is booing whenever Haman's name is mentioned.
• EEL (4D: What a shocker!) An exclamation point at the end of a clue alerts solvers to interpret the clue literally. Some EELs, such as electric EELs, are literally shockers.
• RENE (12D: "The Thomas Crown Affair" star Russo) The 1999 movie, The Thomas Crown Affair is a remake of the 1968 movie of the same name. Pierce Brosnan portrays the titular Thomas Crown, a bored billionaire who steals a Monet painting from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. RENE Russo stars as Catherine Banning, an insurance investigator looking into the theft. Here's a fun fact: Faye Dunaway appears in the 1999 movie as Thomas Crown's psychiatrist. In the 1968 movie, Faye Dunaway portrayed insurance investigator Vicki Anderson, RENE Russo's character's counterpart.
• GREECE (31D: Giannis Antetokounmpo's country) Giannis Antetokounmpo is a professional basketball player. Since 2013, he has played for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, GREECE.
• FAT (36D: "Salt ___ Acid Heat") Salt FAT Acid Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking is a 2017 cookbook by Samin Nosrat. The cookbook was a bestseller and won a James Beard Award. A four-part Netflix series of the same name, starring Samin Nosrat, premiered in 2018.
• TAN (39D: The "T" of SOHCAHTOA, for short)  SOHCAHTOA is a math mnemonic used to remember which angles of a triangle are used to calculate the trigonometric functions, sine (sin), cosine (cos), and tangent (TAN). SOHCAHTOA: sin = opposite / hypotenuse; cos = adjacent / hypotenuse; TAN = opposite / adjacent.
• ANSEL (45D: Photographer Adams) I have previously written about photographer ANSEL Adams (1902-1984). He is known for his black-and-white landscape photos.
• MOSES (48D: Painter nicknamed Grandma) Anna Mary Robertson MOSES (1860-1961) was popularly known as Grandma MOSES. She earned the nickname because she didn't start painting as a career until she was 78 years old. She became known for her paintings depicting farm life and rural countryside. Grandma MOSES initially charged $3 to $5 for her paintings. In 2006, one of her paintings sold for $1.36 million.
• EGYPT (50D: Transcontinental country) EGYPT is located primarily in Africa, with the exception of the Sinai Peninsula, which is located in Asia and is a land bridge between the two continents. 
• NOAH (53D: "Stick Season" singer Kahan) Stick Season is NOAH Kahan's third studio album, released in 2022. He has described the album as "a love letter to New England."
• SKI (61D: Compete like Mikaela Shiffrin) Mikaela Shiffrin competes in alpine SKI events. Here's an interesting thing: Mikaela Shiffrin is both the youngest and oldest American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing. She won a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics at the age of 18, as well as at the 2026 Winter Olympics at the age of 30.
• A few other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• UNDO SEND (52A: Email button often frantically clicked)
• ATE LOCAL (21D: Supported nearby farmers, say)
• PECAN PIE (25D: Nutty Thanksgiving dessert)
• DOT (28D: . )

With a themed puzzle, the title often points at the theme, either functioning as a revealer, or working together with a revealer. In Freestyle puzzles, where there is no theme, the title instead either highlights the vibe of the puzzle or points to one or two specific answers in the puzzle. Usually it's clear to me what a freestyle title is pointing to, but I admit that I'm not quite sure today. My best guess is that BREWED AWAKENING (a clever coffee pun on "rude awakening") is pointing to OAT LATTE (17A: Dairy-free coffee order). But then again, I kind of wanted the AWAKENING part of the title to have something to do with QUEERTOK. At any rate, this uncertainty did not stand in the way of my enjoyment of the puzzle. Thank you, Zachary, for this excellent puzzle.

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