August 23, 2026

Title: DOWN THE DRAIN

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• BABY SHOWER (3D: Party for an expecting parent)
• GALAXY BRAIN (17D: Meme demonstrating absurdity posing as genius)
• MEDIA STORM (29D: Spike in news coverage)

DOWN THE DRAIN: The last (DOWNmost) word of each vertical theme answer can be paired with the word DRAIN: SHOWER DRAIN, BRAIN DRAIN, and STORM DRAIN.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• ADAM (40A: "Overcompensating" actor DiMarco) Overcompensating is an Amazon Prime TV series that premiered in 2025. The show's main character is Benny "Bento" Scanlon (portrayed by Benito Skinner), a college freshman and closeted gay man. ADAM DiMarco plays the role of Peter Whitney, the boyfriend of Benny's older sister Grace (played by Mary Beth Barone).

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• GREEN TEA (17A: Nokcha or longjing) GREEN TEA does not go through the wilting and oxidation process that oolong and black TEA do. Nokcha is a variety of Korean GREEN TEA, and longjing is a variety of Chinese GREEN TEA.
• MAX (34A: The Grinch's dog) You may recall that the Grinch put antlers on his dog, MAX, to disguise him as a reindeer.
• IOWA (37A: State with the Amana colonies) Oh, hello from IOWA! The Amana Colonies are located in east-central IOWA, about 25 miles west of where I live in IOWA City. The seven Amana Colonies – Amana, East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead – were built and settled in the 1850s by a group of Germans who called themselves the True Inspiration Congregations. They were escaping persecution in their homeland. For nearly 80 years, the Amana Colonies maintained a communal life and an almost completely self-sufficient lifestyle. The Amana Colonies were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. Today they are a tourist attraction known for their craft shops and their restaurants serving family-style meals. 
• SIMONE (61A: Gymnastics legend Biles) SIMONE Biles, who has 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals, is the most decorated gymnast in history and one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. Not only is SIMONE Biles an amazing athlete, she also displayed courage when she withdrew from the 2020 Summer Olympics (held in 2021) after the qualification round due to developing the "twisties." She reminded the world that winning isn't everything, and even great athletes are not immune from the intense pressures of competition.
• AORTA (2D: Largest artery in the body) The AORTA originates from the left ventricle of the heart and extends down towards the abdomen. Branches of the AORTA carry blood throughout the body. Serving up science facts is simply another service offered by crosswords (in addition to their immense entertainment value).
• EVA (4D: "Training Day" actress Mendes) Training Day is a 2001 crime thriller movie. It follows two LAPD narcotics officers (played by Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke) over a 24-hour period. EVA Mendes plays a supporting role in the film.
• GALAXY BRAIN (17D: Meme demonstrating absurdity posing as genius) The GALAXY BRAIN meme shows a panel of images of a human brain with the brain expanding and emitting progressively brighter beams of light. The images are paired with increasing absurd or surreal thoughts. 
• TITAN (24D: Saturn's largest moon) Unlike the Earth, which has one moon orbiting it, Saturn has many moons. Scientists know of at least 274 moons orbiting Saturn, of which TITAN is the largest. TITAN is larger than the planet Mercury, and is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere. TITAN is the second-largest moon in the Solar System, after Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter.
• LORI (33D: "Shark Tank" investor Greiner) I wrote about Shark Tank just a few days ago when we saw the word OFFER clued as ["Shark Tank" proposal]. LORI Greiner has been one of the investors – known as sharks – on the show since its third season.

The word DOWN in the title of today's puzzle alerted me to look for the theme in the vertical answers. And voila, there it was. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this enjoyable puzzle.