August 10, 2026

Title: BUG OUT

Constructor: Faren Roth

Editor: Amanda Rafkin 


Theme synopsis:
  • BUFFALO WING (20A: Spicy piece of chicken)
  • BUT WHO'S COUNTING (40A: Disclaimer following a confession of excess)
  • BUTT DIALING (58A: Making a cheeky call?)
BUG OUT: The word BUG is found at the OUTside edges of each theme answer: BUFFALO WING, BUT WHO'S COUNTING, and BUTT DIALING.

And now a word from our constructor:
Faren: It was serendipitous that BLUE CHEESE ended up in this puzzle's fill alongside the thematic BUFFALO WING! I love when those kinds of coincidences show up as fill options. This puzzle includes a small shoutout to my cat TOASTY, my grandfather who bought me so many "Pearls Before Swine" books (his favorite character is of course RAT), and all of my family whose favorite TEAM is the Eagles (minus a few Patriots supporters...). My favorite clue that I wrote is [Move like a spy through the vents] for CRAWL. Hope you don't find this puzzle UNORIGINAL!

What I learned from today's puzzle:
  • BOAR (35A: Animal hunted by Asterix and Obelix) Asterix and Obelix are the main characters of the French comic book series Asterix. The comic was first published in 1959. Over the years, Asterix has been adapted to movies, board games, video games, and even a theme park. The comic is set in a Gaulish village in 50 BCE. Hunting for (and eating) BOAR is a frequent activity for Asterix and Obelix.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
  • PLUTO (14A: Notable dwarf planet) A dwarf planet is a planetary object that orbits around the Sun, but is not big enough to meet the criteria of being a planet. PLUTO, of course, was previously classified as a planet, but was downgraded in 2006 when new criteria were discovered. Any mention of PLUTO makes me want to curmudgeonly exclaim, "In my day, PLUTO was a planet!" In reality, the scientist in me accepts that our knowledge expands and designations change as new discoveries are made. (But still...)
  • ALIAS (17A: Lemony Snicket, e.g.) Lemony Snicket is the author and narrator of the 13-book series of children's novels, A Series of Unfortunate Events. The books tell the story of the Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. The children are placed in the care of the villainous Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance. Lemony Snicket is an ALIAS of the author Daniel Handler. 
  • FOIL (25A: Most popular fencing weapon) Surprise – the most popular fencing weapon isn't crossword's favorite fencing weapon, the épée, but rather the FOIL. 
  • TEAM (44A: Philadelphia Eagles, for one) The Philadelphia Eagles are an NFL TEAM located in Pennsylvania. When I solved the puzzle, I wondered if perhaps, the Eagles were Faren's favorite TEAM, as answers like this often allow constructors to shoutout their favorites. Nice to have that hunch confirmed by her constructor notes.
  • RAT (48A: "Pearls Before Swine" antihero) Pearls Before Swine is a comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis. The comic tells of the daily lives of a number of anthropomorphic animals: Pig, RAT, Zebra, Goat, and a fraternity of crocodiles (Zeeba Zeeba Eata Fraternity). The author himself appears as a character in many of the comic strips. RAT is a megalomaniacal character who doesn't care about much of anything. I enjoy Pearls Before Swine, though it's been a bit since I've read it. This clue is making me want to read it again.
  • ELO (50A: Chess rating system) The ELO (stylized as Elo) rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill level of chess players. The system is named after Hungarian American chess master and physics professor Arpad Elo, who devised the system. 
  • SADIE (65A: "Stranger Things" actress Sink) Stranger Things (2016-2025) is a Netflix TV series about a small town dealing with a hostile alternate dimension. Beginning with the show's second season, SADIE Sink portrays the character of Max Mayfield.
  • THIEF (67A: "The Lightning ___") The Lightning THIEF is a 2005 novel by Rick Riordan. It is part of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, and is based on Greek mythology.
  • HULU (2D: "Love, Victor" streaming service) Love, Victor (2020-2022) is a HULU TV series inspired by the 2018 movie Love, Simon. The show follows Victor (played by Michael Cimino), a new student at Creekwood High School who is facing challenges at home and school and struggling with his sexual orientation. Victor learns about Simon's coming out story, and reaches out to him on social media. Nick Robinson plays the role of Simon, reprising his role from Love, Simon. He appears in the series mostly via voice-over narrating his messages to Victor.
  • TONAL (12D: Like most Bantu languages) TONAL languages use tone and pitch to convey meanings of words. The Bantu languages are spoken by the Bantu peoples of Africa. There are about 600 Bantu languages. Of those, Swahili is the most widely spoken language. Unlike most other Bantu languages, however, Swahili is not TONAL.
  • FRETS (25A: Neck lines?) This clue isn't referring to the neck lines of shirts, but to the lines on the neck of a guitar – FRETS.
  • BLUE CHEESE (27D: Popular dip for a 20-Across) As Faren mentioned in her notes, it's always fun when an answer in the puzzle relates to a theme answer. 
  • HOST (30D: Ken Jennings, for "Jeopardy!") Ken Jennings appeared on Jeopardy! as a contestant in 2004. His 74-game winning streak remains the show's longest winning streak. Since 2020, Ken Jennings has been the HOST of Jeopardy! (initially as an interim, and then in conjunction with Mayim Bialik, and now the sole HOST).
  • HEN (32D: Brooding baby sitter?) The key to this question mark clue is to remember that a HEN's chicks are referred to as a brood. 
  • ROAR (37D: "I'm a lion! Respect me!") This clue made me smile. I always enjoy clues that put words to animal sounds.
  • TOASTY (49D: Like a spot by the fire) Here's a photo of Faren's cat, Mr. TOAST.
An orange cat is sprawled out on a blue-and-white-checked chair.
  • TYLER (51D: "A Patchwork Planet" author Anne) A Patchwork Planet is a 1998 book by Anne TYLER. The book tells the story of 30-year-old Barnaby, who has experienced quite a bit of misfortune and is trying to get his life together.
  • NILE (61D: River that begins in Uganda) The longest river in Africa, the NILE, flows north into the Mediterranean Sea. The White NILE starts at Lake Victoria in Uganda. The Blue NILE starts at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. These two branches meet in Sudan on the NILE's northward journey.
  • A few other clues that I especially enjoyed:
    • MON (19A: Day that Garfield hates)
    • CRAWL (46A: Move like a spy through the vents)
    • UNORIGINAL (11D: Like an overused crossword clue)
What's not to like about a crossword that contains BUTT DIALING as a theme answer?! I may have made these cheeky calls a time or two, BUT WHO'S COUNTING? Thank you, Faren, 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.) 

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