July 18, 2026

Title: SPICE MIX

Constructor: Amie Walker

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• JURASSIC PERIOD (15A: When dinosaurs roamed)
• PROFILE PICS (37A: Primary social media images, for short)
• PEPSI CHALLENGE (62A: Soda campaign whose 2026 iteration featured a polar bear rejecting Coca-Cola)

SPICE MIX: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word SPICE: JURASSIC PERIOD, PROFILE PICS, and PEPSI CHALLENGE.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• ANA (8A: "Women Are Not Roses" author Castillo) ANA Castillo is a Chicana author. (Chicana is a chosen identity for people of Mexican descent born in the United States.) Women Are Not Roses is her 1984 collection of poetry.
• SKA (54A: The Toasters genre) The Toasters are a SKA band founded in New York City in 1981. Their ninth studio album, One More Bullet, was released in 2007. 
• SUNDANCE (40D: "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" film festival) If I Had Legs I'd Kick You is a 2025 movie written and directed by Mary Bronstein. Rose Byrne stars as a mother who spirals into a mental breakdown. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You premiered at the 2025 SUNDANCE Film Festival. The SUNDANCE Film Festival, which was founded by Robert Redford, is held annually in Utah.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• GOLD (13A: "Stay ___, Ponyboy") Ponyboy Curtis is a character in the 1967 novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. The novel is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1960s and focuses on conflicts between the working-class "greasers" and the upper-middle-class "Socs." Ponyboy is a 14-year-old boy who is a greaser. "Stay GOLD, Ponyboy" is a line from the book (that I can't say more about without giving too much away). The Outsiders was adapted into a musical a few years ago. My husband and I saw the musical earlier this year and it absolutely blew us away. It was so well done and extremely powerful.
• EDIT (21A: Make a love letter better, maybe) This is a fun, interesting, and unique way to clue EDIT.
• APRON (30A: "Foodtastic" garment) Foodtastic was a Disney+ cooking competition series hosted by Keke Palmer and Amirah Kassem. Artists – wearing APRONs – created extravagant scenes made entirely out of food.
• EURO (57A: Currency in Malta) Malta is an archipelagic country (one consisting of islands) in the Mediterranean Sea. The country and its main island share the name Malta. The capital of Malta is Valletta, whose metropolitan area covers the entire island of Malta. Malta is one of the European Union members that uses EURO as its currency.
• PEPSI CHALLENGE (62A: Soda campaign whose 2026 iteration featured a polar bear rejecting Coca-Cola) The PEPSI CHALLENGE is a marketing campaign that PepsiCo has used off and on since 1975. The basic idea of the PEPSI CHALLENGE is a taste test between PEPSI and Coca-Cola. In 2026, a commercial during Super Bowl LX showed a Coca-Cola polar bear taking the PEPSI CHALLENGE and choosing PEPSI over Coke.
• LORE DUMP (3D: Worldbuilding overload in a fantasy novel) The term LORE DUMP is generally used to describe instances where authors describe their novel's world in great detail all at once instead of letting the reader discover the world gradually as they read the story.
• ALI (6D: "Leave the World Behind" actor Mahershala) Leave the World Behind (2023) is based on Rumaan Alam's 2020 novel of the same name. The apocalyptic thriller is set on Long Island, New York and centers on the experiences of two families as they deal with a rapid breakdown in phone service, TV reception, and other technology. Mahershala ALI stars in the movie along with Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, and Kevin Bacon.
• TECH (7D: The "T" in STEM (Abbr.)) and SCI (63D: The "S: in STEM (Abbr.)) STEM stands for Science (SCI), Technology (TECH), Engineering, and Mathematics.
• SIMS (16D: The ___ (game with a "rosebud" cheat code)) The SIMS is a series of video games in which the player creates and controls virtual people, called "SIMS," and manages their living environment. While playing The SIMS, the cheat code "rosebud" gains a player money. The term "rosebud," is a reference to the 1941 movie, Citizen Kane.
• POOR (17D: "___ Unfortunate Souls") "POOR Unfortunate Souls" is a song from Disney's movie The Little Mermaid. It is sung by Ursula the Sea Witch. 
• KHLOE (55D: "Kourtney and ___ Take Miami") Kourtney and KHLOÉ Take Miami is a reality TV series that aired from 2009 to 2013. It follows Kourtney and KHLOÉ Kardashian as they oversee the opening of a Dash store (a boutique clothing and accessory store) in Miami, Florida. For the show's third (and final) season, it was renamed Kourtney and Kim Take Miami as Kim Kardashian replaced KHLOÉ on the show.

The word MIX in today's title is serving as an anagram indicator. Unlike the anagrams in yesterday's puzzle, today's anagrams are hidden in the theme answers, where they are found spanning the word breaks. Thank you, Amie, 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.)