July 20, 2026

Title: ME AND WHO?

Constructors: Dan Schwartz & Shannon Rapp

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• JAMES GANDOLFINI (17A: Actor who played Tony Soprano)
• PAMELA ANDERSON (35A: Actress who has been praised for embracing a makeup-free look)
• CARMEN MIRANDA (54A: Performer who made the fruit hat famous)

ME AND WHO?: Each theme answer is the name of a person WHO has a first name that contains the word ME and a last name that contains the word AND: JAMES GANDOLFINI, PAMELA ANDERSON, and CARMEN MIRANDA.

And now a word from our constructors:

Dan: This was fun to make! Shannon is an incredible collaborator and found the three names and clued them to go with the title. Thanks for solving!

Shannon: Sometimes we constructors talk about themes needing an '"extra twist" to make them just a little bit more fun or surprising. Dan brought the title of this puzzle to me as inspiration. The theme entries we considered at first still had MEs and ANDs in them, but they were missing the "Who" component that you see in the final puzzle (MEETANDGREET and MERCHANDISE, for example). It's easy to think that the "extra twist" is something you need to add on top of what you already have, but I find it more helpful to think about it in terms of additional constraints; by searching the pool of what you have to work with until a subset emerges. When I saw that the set of things in the world that have ME and AND also included people famous in their fields, I realized there was the twist we were looking for; we found the "Who" part.

Shannon and Dan asked me if they could send cat photos even though there's no cat content in this puzzle. Of course I said yes! Cat photos are always welcome on Sally's Take. Babka is Dan's cat. Alfie is Shannon's cat (who is making his first appearance on the blog today).

Babka

Alfie

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• NILE (42A: Aksumite Empire river) The Aksumite Empire was a kingdom in Northeast Africa and South Arabia. It was established in the first century and lasted until the early Middle Ages, collapsing in 960 CE. The Aksumite Empire included area along the NILE River. NILE is making back-to-back puzzle appearances. We saw it yesterday clued as [River that flows by Sudan's Nubian pyramids].
• ORE (52A: Metallic resource in the game Kutna Hora) Kutna Hora: The City of Silver is a board game that was released in 2023. Players mine ORE and smelt it into silver as they seek to expand the historic Czech city for which the game is named. Although this game is new to me, the answer here was inferable, as ORE is a common resource in games.
• SAGA (5D: Word after "Forsyte" or "Dark Phoenix") The Forsyte SAGA is a series of novels by John Galsworthy, winner of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Literature. The novels have been adapted for film, radio, and TV. The Dark Phoenix SAGA is a storyline in Marvel's X-Men comic books published in 1980. This storyline has been featured in other Marvel media, including in the 2019 Marvel movie Dark Phoenix.
• ESP (18D: One of Jean Grey's powers (Abbr.)) Speaking of the Dark Phoenix SAGA, Jean Grey is one of the Marvel characters in these stories. Jean Grey is a Marvel superhero who is a founding member of the X-Men. She has powers of telekinesis and telepathy (also known as ESP).
• NEED (40D: "Man I ___" (Olivia Dean song)) "Man I NEED" is a 2025 song by Olivia Dean. It was the English singer-songwriter's first top 10 hit on the U.S. charts, as well as her first number one single in the United Kingdom.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SALAD (15A: Introductory course?) The question mark at the end of the clue alerts solvers to expect trickiness and wordplay. The clue is not referring to an introductory college course, but rather a first course of a meal – a SALAD, perhaps.
• JAMES GANDOLFINI (17A: Actor who played Tony Soprano) JAMES GANDOLFINI (1961-2013) played the role of the Italian American mafia crime boss Tony Soprano on HBO's TV series, The Sopranos (1999-2007). He won three Primetime Emmy Awards for this role.
• ETAS (20A: "Wya?" responses) wya = where you at; ETA = estimated time of arrival
• TAN (27A: M&M color replaced by blue) It was in 1995 that blue M&M's replaced TAN M&Ms. Blue is my favorite color, so I've never been sad about this.
• KOOPA (33A: Turtlelike resident of Mushroom Kingdom) KOOPAs are turtle-like characters that were introduced in the 1983 video game Mario Bros. There are different types of KOOPAs, the best-known of which are the Koopa Troopas. 
• FAN (34A: BLINK or ARMY member) BLINK is the FANdom name for the South Korean girl group BLACKPINK (which I have written about previously). ARMY is the name of FANs of the South Korean boy band BTS (who I've also written about before).
• PAMELA ANDERSON (35A: Actress who has been praised for embracing a makeup-free look) PAMELA ANDERSON has numerous acting credits, including the TV series Baywatch (1992-1997) and the movie The Naked Gun (2025). She is also known for her animal rights activism and support of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Additionally, PAMELA ANDERSON is known for embracing a makeup-free look, which she began sporting at Paris Fashion Week in 2023. 
• SANDY (53A: Apt name for a beach lover) This is fun. I'm definitely adding this clue to my collection of apt name clues (that I keep just because I'm a fan of these types of clues). 
• CARMEN MIRANDA (54A: Performer who made the fruit hat famous) Singer, dancer, and movie star CARMEN MIRANDA (1909-1955) wore exotic hats, often adorned with fruit. The Chiquita Banana logo featuring a woman wearing a fruit hat was inspired by CARMEN MIRANDA. 
• ANAGRAMS (58A: "Triangle" and "integral," for example) I also enjoy ANAGRAMS, and this is a great one. I totally went down the rabbit hole of thinking the answer must be related to math.
• LESS (66A: Minimalist's "more") As in the saying, "LESS is more."
• AGATHA (2D: "And Then There Were None" author Christie) And Then There Were None is a 1939 book by the "Queen of Crime" AGATHA Christie (1890-1976). The book has been adapted for film, TV, radio, theater, video games, and graphic novels. I am always happy to see a mention of AGATHA Christie, who is my favorite author of all time. 
• FENCES (12D: August Wilson play set in the Civil Rights era) FENCES is a play by August Wilson. In 1987, FENCES won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. Through the story of Troy, a 53-year old working-class man, FENCES explores the evolving Black experience. FENCES was adapted into a 2016 movie of the same name.
• AVA (36D: "Hacks" character Daniels) Hacks is a TV series that premiered in 2021 on HBO Max. Jean Smart portrays Deborah Vance, a comedy diva needing to reinvent her aging act to remain relevant in Las Vegas. Hannah Einbinder portrays AVA Daniels, a young comedy writer down on her luck, who is sent to work as Deborah's head writer.
• BADDIE (48D: "She a ___, she know she a ten" (Ice Spice lyric)) "In Ha Mood" is a 2023 song by Ice Spice. It contains the lyric, "She a BADDIE, she know she a ten"
• NAME (56D: Dan or Shannon, for example) It always makes me happy when constructors personalize clues as Dan and Shannon did here. Bravo!
• APPS (57D: Merlin Bird ID and Duolingo, for two) Merlin Bird ID is a free APP published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (Ornithology is the study of birds.) The APP helps users identify birds using descriptions, photos, or by sound (using in-APP recording). This is a cool APP. If you're not familiar with it, I encourage you to check it out. Duolingo is a language-learning APP.
• Other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• MANNERISMS (31D: Distinctive gestures, expressions, etc.)
• KEN (33D: He only has a great day if Barbie looks at him)
• DINER (38D: Eatery that might have a pie case)
• COMMAS (47D: Features of many run-on sentences)

I really enjoyed this clever theme. I noticed the ME in the first names quickly, but it took a bit to spot the AND, which made for a satisfying "Aha!" moment. It's a nice touch to clue the theme answers using the format [___ WHO...]. Thank you, Dan and Shannon, for this delightful 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.)