August 1, 2026

Title: SKYLIGHTS

Constructors: Sally Hoelscher & Carina da Rosa

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• BACK TO BASICS (4D: Just doing the fundamental stuff)
• HIGH FASHION (17D: Haute couture)
• FLASH FICTION (21D: Brief piece of creative writing)

SKYLIGHTS: The top word of each vertical theme answer can be paired with the word LIGHT to create a word: BACKLIGHT, HIGHLIGHT, and FLASHLIGHT.

And now a word from our constructors:

Carina: Always a delight to work with Sally, who literally taught me so much of what I know about crossword construction.

It's funny that my journey into puzzle construction was partly due to my interest in FLASH FICTION and crosswords as micro stories, so I extra love the fact it became one of the themers.

And Amanda gave us the punchy title and the vertical placement idea, fun!

Sally: As I've mentioned previously on the blog, Carina was my mentee last year at Lil AVCX. One of the things I enjoy about mentoring newer constructors is that I also learn a lot from them. And it's a delight when the collaboration (and friendship!) continues beyond the official period of mentorship. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ARUBAN (1A: Like people from Oranjestad) Aruba is an island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. Oranjestad is the capital of Aruba.
• FORK (21A: Utensil not often used for cereal) This is a fun clue Amanda added during editing; it makes me laugh!
• BATS (22A: Their babies are called pups) Like the babies of dogs, the babies of BATS are called pups. Other animals whose babies are called pups include armadillos, beavers, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, hedgehogs, mice, porcupines, otters, seals, and sharks.
• AGO (24A: "And when you think about me all of those years ___ / You're standing face to face with 'I told you so'") "And when you think about me all of those years AGO / You're standing face to face with 'I told you so'" is a lyric from Chappell Roan's 2024 song, "Good Luck, Babe!" I'm a fan of using song lyrics to add interest to clues for 3-letter words. 
• ARAB (29A: Like the singer Fairuz) Fairuz is a Lebanese singer. She is one of the most celebrated singers in the ARAB world. In her six-decade career she has recorded nearly 1,500 songs and released more than 80 albums. 
• ARIA (35A: Opera solo) ARIA is making its third puzzle appearance in a row. We saw it yesterday clued as [Solo for a prima donna] and Thursday clued as ["___ Code" (opera podcast)].
• HOPE (38A: "The Book of ___" (Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams book)) Jane Goodall (1934-2025) was a primatologist and anthropologist. She spent most of her life studying social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees and was the world's foremost expert on chimps. Douglas Abrams is an author who spent months in dialogue with Jane Goodall about the experiences that shaped her beliefs. The result of those conversations is The Book of HOPE: A Survival Guide for Trying Times (2021). I really enjoyed reading this book, and I recommend it.
• BEAN (55A: The ___ (informal name for a Chicago sculpture)) One of Chicago's landmarks is a large stainless steel sculpture located in the city's Millennium Park. The official name of the sculpture, which was designed by Anish Kapoor, is Cloud Gate. Because of its shape, it has been nicknamed The BEAN. 

The Bean

• GEISHA (56A: Performer wearing hikizuri) Hikizuri are formal kimono worn by GEISHA. They are generally made of silk and have extra-long, trailing hems.
• NIA (60A: "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" director DaCosta) 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a film directed by NIA DaCosta. It was released in January of this year and is the sequel to 28 Years Later (2025). 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is part of the 28 Days Later film series, post-apocalyptic horror movies depicting the outbreak of the Rage Virus, a contagion that leads to homicidal rage in those affected.
• RON (2D: "Parks and Recreation" character Swanson) Parks and Recreation is a mockumentary that originally aired from 2009-2015. Nick Offerman portrays RON Swanson, the parks and recreation director. Carina originally came up with a fun clue for RON that we had to cut in order to be within the character count limits for clues. However, one of the joys of this blog is that I can share her clue with you here: [Swanson who said "The reception will be held in each of our individual houses, alone"].
• UTA (3D: Acting teacher Hagen) UTA Hagen (1919-2004) was a Tony Award-winning actress, but is perhaps best known for her career as an acting teacher at New York's Herbert Berghof Studio. Her students included Liza Minelli, Whoopi Goldberg, and Gene Wilder.
• NOSE (6D: What smells?) The question mark at the end of this clue alerts solvers to be alert for wordplay. The NOSE is literally the organ that smells.
• PIANO (7D: A toy one is featured in the "Amelie" soundtrack) Amélie is a 2001 French-German movie about a waitress, played by Audrey Tautou, who decides to devote her life to making other people happy. The music for the movie was composed by Yann Tiersen and features a variety of instruments including harpsichord, banjo, accordion, and a toy PIANO.
• TABOO (10D: In Italy, cutting your pasta is one) This is Carina's clue, and she recently spent some time living in Italy, so she would know!
• GEEKS (12D: "Freaks and ___" (cult TV show)) Freaks and GEEKS (1999-2000) is a TV series set in a fictional suburban high school near Detroit in the 1980s. Although the show had little success when it originally aired, it has become a cult classic. 
• ANAIS (23D: "Hadestown" creator Mitchell) Folk singer-songwriter ANAIS Mitchell released Hadestown as her fourth studio album in 2010. The concept album tells a variation of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It became the basis for the musical Hadestown, which premiered off-Broadway in 2016.
• LORDE (32D: "Royals" singer) "Royals" is LORDE's debut single, released in 2013. The song won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.
• SWANS (46D: Towel shapes in some fancy hotels) I have yet to stay in a hotel where the towels are folded into SWANS, but I like this fun and unique clue anyway. 
• FEAR (52D: Purple character in "Inside Out") Why yes, I did jump at the chance to give a shoutout to the 2015 Pixar movie Inside Out with this clue. The purple character, FEAR, was voice by Bill Hader.

Carina and I originally pitched this theme with the title "Headlights." As Carina mentioned in her notes, it was Amanda's suggestion to use vertical theme answers and the current title. I think this works well, and it is an excellent example of how the USA Today editors work with constructors to refine ideas and make them better. Thank you, Amanda! Thanks to Carina for being willing to collaborate with me again. And thank you for solving and reading.

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.)