July 21, 2026

Title: TAKE A LETTER

Constructor: Ed Sessa

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• URBAN CENTER (20A: *City hub)
• LOOSE END (36A: *Bit of unfinished business)
• COMEBACK (46A: *Career revival)
• Revealer: SPELLING BEE (58A: Word-based contest and what the starred answers are doing, collectively, when read as clues for single letters)

TAKE A LETTER: Each of the first three theme answers can be read as a clue pointing at a single LETTER: URBAN CENTER, the CENTER LETTER of URBAN = B; LOOSE END, the END LETTER of LOOSE = E; and COMEBACK, the BACK letter of COME = E. Together these LETTERs are SPELLING BEE.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• IRAN (7A: Home to the Azadi Tower) The Azadi Tower in Tehran, IRAN was commissioned by the last Shah of IRAN, and built to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. The architect of the Azadi Tower, Hossein Amanat, won a competition to design the building. Originally named the Shahyad Tower ("Shah's Memorial"), the monument was renamed the Azadi Tower ("Freedom Tower") after the 1979 Revolution in IRAN.
• ABBA (10A: "Mamma Mia!" quartet) Mamma Mia! is a 1999 jukebox musical based on the songs of the Swedish quartet ABBA. Mamma Mia! is also the name of the 2008 movie based on the musical.
• HERON (15A: Cady ___ ("Mean Girls" protagonist whose last name is a type of bird) In the 2004 movie Mean Girls, Cady HERON, portrayed by Lindsay Lohan, is a 16-year-old girl who transfers to a public high school after being homeschooled. 
• CARL (16A: "Up" protagonist) In the 2009 animated movie, Up, Ed Asner voices CARL Frederickson, the curmudgeonly main character attempting to find his way following the death of his wife. As a side note, I feel like I am repeatedly commenting about movies and TV shows I have not seen (and only know because I've blogged about them). So I just want to say for the record that I have seen Mamma Mia!, Mean Girls, and Up.
• SCRAPS (33A: Pieces of food for a pet, say) My cat, Willow, says that if I'm eating tuna or graham crackers (yes, graham crackers!), I'd better be saving her more than SCRAPS.

• HAS IT (38A: "___ been that long?") "HAS IT been that long?" is what I say whenever I look up when a song, book, or movie was first released. (HAS IT really been 17 years since the movie Up was first released?!)
• LENA (43A: "Game of Thrones" star Headey) LENA Headey portrayed Cersei Lannister on the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011-2019). (No, I haven't seen Game of Thrones.)
• ANDES (44A: South American mountain range) The ANDES Mountains are the longest continental mountain range in the world. Located on the western edge of South America, the ANDES span seven countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
• THE (51A: Fill in ___ blank) Fantastic clue.
• YOGA (67A: Discipline with cobra pose) In YOGA, cobra pose or Bhujangasana, is a pose that stretches the back and shoulders. 
• REVUE (69A: "Sondheim's Old Friends," e.g.) Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends is a musical REVUE honoring Stephen Sondheim. It was originally designed as a one-night performance in 2022, but went on to be performed in London's West End, in Los Angeles, and on Broadway.
• POGS (70A: Collectible '90s discs) POGS (also called milk caps) are flat, circular cardboard disks used to play a game. The name POG is derived from a brand of juice made from passionfruit, orange, and guava. In the 1990s, sets of POGS were sold. The disks had designs on one or both sides. The POGS are stacked and players take turns dropping a heavier object – the slammer – onto the stack to disrupt the POGS. The player keeps any POGS that have flipped over.
• ACLU (1D: Rights org. for over 100 years) The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was founded in 1920. (HAS IT been that long?!) I'm thankful for the work of ACLU.
• HERE (6D: "___, There and Everywhere") "HERE, There and Everywhere" is a 1966 song by the Beatles. Yes, IT HAS been 60 years since this song was released!
• ACK (10D: Exclamation in a "Cathy" comic) Cathy is a comic strip written and illustrated by Cathy Guisewite from 1976-2010. The title character's struggles with the four "guilt groups" of work, food, love, and mom often led her to exclaim, "ACK!"
• BANANA SEAT (11D: Fruit-shaped bike accessory) When I was a kid I had a purple bike with a BANANA SEAT. That was such a great bike!
• MOANA (28D: Disney heroine with a sidekick named Pua) In the 2016 animated movie MOANA, the title character's sidekick is a pet pig named Pua.
• FOO (41D: ___ Fighters (rock band)) The FOO Fighters were founded in 1994 in Seattle, Washington, by former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl. The group took its name from a nickname used by Allied aircraft pilots during World War II to describe UFOs and other mysterious aerial phenomena.
• EGYPT (55D: Country home to Luxor and Cairo) Luxor and Cairo are cities along the Nile River in EGYPT. The two cities lie just over 400 miles apart. The capital city of Cairo is the northernmost of the two cities.
• Other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• HOLE (71A: Feature of a bagel)
• POSH (56D: ___ Spice (Victoria Beckham's nickname)
• NYE (65D: Bill ___ the Science Guy)

I enjoyed this theme. I was about halfway through the puzzle when I spotted that the theme answers could refer to LETTERs. At that time I had B-E. When I uncovered the next E, I wondered if the word being spelled was BEER. Ha - nope! The puzzle was SPELLING BEE ... perfect. Thank you, Ed, for this excellent 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.)