July 12, 2026

Title: FULL STEAM AHEAD

Constructor: Matthew Luter

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• CLEAN SWEEP (20A: 4-0 World Series win, for example)
• DECK THE HALLS (36A: Song with the lyric "'tis the season to be jolly")
• ROOM TO SPARE (53A: Plenty of space)

FULL STEAM AHEAD: The first word of each theme answer can be paired with the word FULL or the word STEAM to form new phrases: FULL CLEAN and STEAM CLEAN, FULL DECK and STEAM DECK, and FULL ROOM and STEAM ROOM.

And now a word from our constructor:

Matthew: In constructing themed puzzles for USA Today, I try to add interest past the theme entries via as many fun medium-length and long down entries as possible (what constructors often call “bonus downs”). In this case, the grid only came together at all once PEASHOOTER and ICED LATTES presented themselves as possibilities linking things down the middle. Having LOG CABIN and SKI AREAS side by side was even better. And they’re not down entries, but I really like the mid-length I BLEW IT and NBA STAR as well. Certain bits of short fill do get used a lot—and there are some usual suspects here—but I’ve found that 7- and 8-letter slots are good places to let some personality in. Hope you enjoyed the solve!

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• LPS (45A: Record Store Day purchases) Although the answer here was inferable, I wasn't familiar with Record Store Day. The semi-annual event known as Record Store Day was started in 2008 "to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture" of independently-owned record stores. Record Store Day is held on a Saturday in April (usually the third Saturday of the month) and on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) in November.
• AMC (1D: "Halt and Catch Fire" network) Halt and Catch Fire is a TV series that originally aired on the cable network AMC from 2014 to 2017. The show focuses on the personal computer revolution of the 1980s and the early days of the World Wide Web in the 1990s. The show's title is a reference to an idiom for machine code instructions that would cause a computer's CPU to stop functioning.
• CELLO (27D: Monique Ross' instrument in SistaStrings) SistaStrings is the musical duo of sisters Chauntee Ross on violin and Monique Ross on CELLO. They have been a part of Brandi Carlile's touring band since 2022.
• ANGELA (44D: "The Office" accountant who loves cats) You would think I would have known this, wouldn't you! Given that I don't watch much TV, everything I know about the mockumentary The Office, I have learned from crosswords. Today I'm learning about ANGELA Martin (portrayed by ANGELA Kinsey), who is a senior accountant on the show. During the course of the series, ANGELA has 12 cats: Sprinkles, Princess Lady, Garbage, Ember, Milky Way, Diane, Lumpy, Petals, Mr. Ash, Phillip, Bandit, and Comstock. As a fellow cat lover, I'm sorry I didn't know about ANGELA, but I'm glad to learn about her today. Here's my cat, Willow, looking slightly disgruntled that I didn't know this answer.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PSAS (6A: Ads featuring Smokey Bear) The first Smokey Bear PSAS (public service announcements) appeared in 1944. Smokey's message was initially, "Smokey says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires." In 1947, Smokey Bear's message became the one I remember learning as a kid, "Remember ... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires." That slogan was used for over 50 years. It received its next update in 2001, when "forest fires" was replaced with "wildfires." Smokey Bear's current PSA is "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires."
• MOANA (14A: Disney film set in Polynesia) Oceania is the name for the geographical region that encompasses Australia and other islands in the Central and South Pacific Ocean. Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania that includes over 1,000 islands, including the Hawaiian islands and New Zealand. The title character of Disney's 2016 animated movie MOANA lives on the Polynesian island of Motonui.
• AHS (25A: Scary FX franchise with Sarah Paulson (Abbr.)) American Horror Story (AHS) is an anthology TV series (on the cable network FX), meaning each season is a self-contained miniseries with a different set of characters and story lines. Sarah Paulson has appeared in ten of the show's 13 seasons, playing a different character each season.
• MIAMI (32A: City home to South Beach) South Beach is a neighborhood located east of MIAMI, Florida. It is an entertainment destination known for its nightclubs, restaurants, and boutiques.
• NBA STAR (42A: Steph Curry or Michael Jordan, e.g.) You know a sports STAR has made it big when I recognize their name! Steph Curry has played for NBA's Golden State Warriors since 2009. He is a four-time NBA champion (2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022) and was named NBA MVP in 2015 and 2016. Michael Jordan is a former NBA player. He spent his career with the Chicago Bulls (1984-1993, 1995-1998) and the Washington Wizards (2001-2003). He is a six-time NBA Champion (1991-1993, 1996-1998) and a five-time NBA MVP (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998).
• ERNIE (49A: Muppet in a horizontally striped shirt) I'm always happy to see a Sesame Street reference. ERNIE's buddy, Bert, wears a vertically striped shirt.
• PORCINI (2D: Mushroom often sold dried) PORCINI mushrooms are difficult to cultivate and fresh PORCINI mushrooms are extremely perishable. PORCINI mushrooms have a more concentrated and pronounced flavor when dried and are shelf-stable for a long time. For these reasons, it's more common to see dried PORCINI mushrooms for sale rather than fresh.
• PILLARS (22D: Islam has five) The five PILLARs of Islam are the foundation of Muslim life. The PILLARs are basic acts considered mandatory by believers. The five PILLARs of Sunni Islam are: Shahada (Profession of Faith), Salat (Prayer), Zakat (Almsgiving), Shawm (Fasting), and Hajj (Pilgrimage). Shia Islam has the same basic acts, but they differ in the naming and numbering.
• DAM (24D: I told a joke about a ___, but it didn't flow well") I might have actually groaned out loud when I figured out this punny answer.
• RICHTER (29D: Seismologist's scale) A seismologist is a scientist who studies earthquakes. The RICHTER SCALE, which measures the strength of earthquakes, was developed by Charles RICHTER and Beno Gutenberg, who originally called it the "magnitude scale." At one end of the RICHTER SCALE are the microearthquakes, which measure 1.0-1.9. It is estimated that several million of these microearthquakes happen each year. Although they are recorded by seismographs, they are not felt by people. At the other end of the RICHTER SCALE are the extreme earthquakes that measure 9.0-9.9. These earthquakes cause near total destruction and permanent changes in topography. Fortunately, extreme earthquakes only occur one to three times each century.
• MESSI (33D: Soccer legend Lionel) Well, what do you know, here's another sports person I know of! Lionel MESSI plays for the Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami. He is also the captain of the Argentina national team. How did he do last night as Argentina played Switzerland in the quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup? (As I'm writing this the game hasn't been played yet.)
• NHL (35D: Org. with Blues and Blue Jackets) There are 32 teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). Two of those teams are the St. Louis Blues (which I knew; I even went to a Blues game when I was a kid) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (which I had to look up).
• LOG CABIN (38D: Type of house in which seven U.S. presidents were born) This is a fun piece of trivia! Here are the seven U.S. presidents who were born in a LOG CABIN: Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and James Garfield. 
• STELLA (48D: Fashion designer McCartney) English fashion designer STELLA McCartney launched her own fashion house in 2001. She has had many partnerships and collaborations, including Adidas and Disney. She has partnered with and designed looks for Taylor Swift. STELLA McCartney is the daughter of Paul and Linda McCartney, and she has launched some collections honoring the Beatles, including The Beatles: Get Backand All Together Now.
• Other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• LIBEL (60A: Slander, but in print)
• THEE (62A: You, ages ago)
• ADAM (64A: Eden resident (for a while))

A STEAM DECK is a handheld gaming computer. Somehow – even though I'm not a gamer – I knew this. I'm guessing I picked this knowledge up from my son at some point. I'm thankful for that, because this knowledge allowed me to figure out the theme when I filled in DECK THE HALLS. I had to look up the phrase FULL CLEAN to confirm I had the theme correct – it's a weightlifting term. Thank you, Matt, for this clever puzzle.

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