July 3, 2026

Title: CAKE MIX

Constructor: Larry Snyder

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• BREAK CHARACTER (20A: Act like yourself?)
• TAKE A CHANCE ON ME (39A: ABBA song that starts "If you change your mind, I'm the first in line")
• BLACK-EYED PEAS (53A: Hoppin' John ingredients)

CAKE MIX: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word CAKE: BREAK CHARACTER, TAKE A CHANCE ON ME, and BLACK-EYED PEAS.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• ULTRA (46A: Miami music festival) The ULTRA Music Festival is an annual electronic music festival. ULTRA is held in late March in Miami, Florida. The festival was founded by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes in 1999.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• OREO (15A: Cookie often dunked in milk) Hello to our crossword friend OREO. This is the 11th time we've seen OREO in the puzzle this year.
• OXEN (16A: Group behind a practical yoke?) Ha! I enjoy the play on words in this clue.
• BREAK CHARACTER (20A: Act like yourself?) If you are playing a CHARACTER and then you BREAK CHARACTER, you are then acting like yourself. I really enjoyed this question mark clue.
• NARC (31A: One might design a bust?) That's a drug bust, not a statue.
• TAKE A CHANCE ON ME (39A: ABBA song that starts "If you change your mind, I'm the first in line") Yes, I did start singing when I read this clue: "If you change your mind, I'm the first in line / Honey I'm still free / TAKE A CHANCE ON ME..." ABBA released "TAKE A CHANCE ON ME" in 1978.
• LYFT (45A: Rideshare app with a pink icon) Did you know that when LYFT first started in 2012, LYFT drivers attached large pink furry mustaches to the front of their cars? The company eventually switched to a glowing moustache sign mounted on the dashboard, and eventually ditched the moustaches altogether.
• BIOS (49A: "Playbill" paragraphs) Playbill magazine is published monthly. Special editions of the magazine are used as programs for Broadway shows (and many Off-Broadway shows as well). These special editions contain BIOS of the show's cast.
• BLACK-EYED PEAS (53A: Hoppin' John ingredients) Hoppin' John is a dish associated with Southern U.S. cuisine. The dishes main ingredients are BLACK-EYED PEAS, rice, chopped onion, and bacon.
• GIRL (63A: "___, Interrupted" (memoir turned film)) GIRL Interrupted is the best-selling 1993 memoir of Susanna Kaysen. The book tells of the author's experiences in a psychiatric hospital and her diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. The memoir's title is a reference to a painting by Johannes Vermeer, GIRL Interrupted at Her Music. GIRL Interrupted was adapted into a 1999 movie starring Winona Ryder.
• CAIRO (65A: Capital at the head of the Nile Delta) CAIRO is Egypt's largest city in addition to being its capital. CAIRO is located in northern Egypt, near the Nile River delta.
• ALDER (68A: Wood used in Fender electric guitars) According to Fender's website, ALDER wood is used for guitar bodies because "it is readily available, light weight and has a full even tone." Fender uses a number of other woods for its guitars, including ash, mahogany, koa, and zebrawood.
• EVER (2D: "Never have I ___...") When I wrote about the game "Never have I EVER..." back in 2021, I discovered it's a drinking game. I have played the game many times (usually with children and youth) and never have I EVER played it as a drinking game.
• TETE (3D: Place pour un chapeau) "Pour un chapeau" is French for "for a hat." The place for a hat is on one's head. The French in the clue alerts solvers the answer will be in French. The French word for head is TÊTE.
• BOTH (6D: "Por que no los dos?" ("Why not ___?")) "Por que no los dos?" "Why not BOTH?" This phrase became popular following a 2011 Old El Paso commercial. In a nod to another answer in the grid, the "BOTH" in the commercial refers to hard and SOFT TACOS.
• CALICO (21D: Tortoiseshell relative) My CALICO cat, Willow, has informed me this is her favorite clue in this puzzle. Here she is living dangerously by lying with her head extending over the edge of the bed.

• CANOE (22D: Olympic vessel since 1936) Canoeing was a demonstration sport at the 1924 Summer Olympics. It wasn't until 1936 (as the clue informs us) that canoeing became a competitive Olympic sport. CANOEs at the Olympics are powered by one or two canoers, depending on the event.
• MIKEY (27D: "Anora" actress Madison) In the 2024 movie Anora, MIKEY Madison stars as the title character, Anora "Ani" Mikheeva, a stripper who lives in Brighton Beach, a Russian American neighborhood in Brooklyn. Anora won an Academy Award for Best Picture, and MIKEY Madison won an Academy Award for Best Actress.
• SCORED (37D: Got the point?) When one has SCORED, one has literally gotten a point (or more than one).
• PGA (59D: Ryder Cup org.) The Ryder Cup is a competition between European and United States golfers. It occurs every other year, and is organized by PGA of America (Professional Golfers Association of America) and Ryder Cup Europe. The trophy for the tournament was donated by an English businessman, Samuel Ryder, which is how the tournament got its name. The next Ryder Cup will be held in September 2027.
• Other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• HEARTS (8D: Trick-taking game named for a suit)
• SOFT TACOS (10D: Less-crunchy Tex-Mex staples)
• ATTIC (40D: Room where someone might blow dust off an old book of magic)

The word MIX in the title is acting as an anagram indicator. I caught onto that immediately and was able to correctly predict the theme from the title. Thank you, Larry, for this enjoyable puzzle.

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