August 6, 2026

Title: HERE WE GO AGAIN (Freestyle)

Constructor: Mike Graczyk

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

HERE WE GO AGAIN (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless puzzle. The title is a nod to SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW (7D: Can I get some news I haven't already heard?). I also thought the following answers had HERE WE GO AGAIN vibes:

• DON'T BOTHER (20A: "Just forget it")
• I'M SO OVER IT (53A: "Nope, don't care")
• TOO LATE NOW (57A: "You had your chance!")

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• ROME (35D: Museo della Forma Urbis city) The Museo della Forma Urbis is a museum in ROME, Italy that preserves and displays the surviving fragments of the Forma Urbis Romae. The Forma Urbis Romae is a massive marble map of ancient ROME. It was created between 203 and 211 BCE under the emperor Septimus Severus. The map was originally 60 feet wide and 45 feet high; it was carved into 150 marble slabs and mounted on a wall of the Temple of Peace. About 10% of the original map has been recovered. The fragments of the Forma Urbis are on display under a glass floor at the Museo della Forma Uris (located near the Colosseum). I really enjoyed learning about this.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• KIVA (13A: Sacred Pueblo space) Many Pueblo KIVAs are large circular rooms that are underground. A KIVA is used for spiritual and political meetings.
• ICE-T (17A: "Law & Order: SVU" actor) On the TV series, Law & Order: SVU (1999-present), Fin Tutuola ("Fin" is short for Odafin) is a sergeant with the New York Police Department's Special Victims Unit (SVU). The character was introduced in the second season of the show, and ICE-T has now portrayed Fin Tutuola for 26 seasons.
• GOAT (29A: Either of a kid's parents?) This is a fun question mark clue. Is it "moms?" Is it "dads?" Those answers would be true for some kids. The key here is to remember that a baby GOAT is a kid. So either of a kid's parents is a GOAT. 
• OCELOT (40A: Animal that's spotted in the wild) An OCELOT might be spotted (as in seen) in the wild, but whether you see it or not, this medium-sized wildcat is spotted (has spots).
• DESI (61A: Person with South Asian roots) The term DESI is used to refer to the people of South Asia. It's also sometimes used to refer to South Asian culture and products.
• STATE (63A: One of six in Australia) The six STATEs of Australia are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia.
• CAT TREE (4D: Where kitties can climb) I'm once again asking you to not tell my CAT, Willow, that there is such a thing as a CAT TREE. I'm sure she would love to have one, but we have a fairly small house. She will have to make do with climbing on all the furniture.

• TEN (8D: Number of seasons of "Friends") As a constructor, I enjoy writing clues for numbers, because there are so many possible ways to clue them. The TEN seasons of the TV series Friends, originally aired from 1994 to 2004.
• OTTO (10D: "Lord of the Rings" actor Miranda) Miranda OTTO portrays Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings movies.
• SUBS (11D: Long lunches?) Not lunches that last a long time, but lunches that are long in length – SUBS.
• LEAFLET (41D: Circular in a square, maybe?) Think of a LEAFLET (a circular) being handed out in a public square.
• GAMED (45D: Played some Hades, perhaps) Hades is a video game featuring characters and stories from Greek mythology. In the game, players control Zagreus, the son of Hades and Persephone, as he tries to escape from the underworld in order to find his mom.
• NOV (46D: Penultimate month (Abbr.)) Penultimate is a great word that means "next-to-last."
• SOOT (51D: Coat that Santa might wear) Not a Santa suit, but a coat of SOOT that might cover that Santa suit. 
• A few other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
• ROSE (22A: It's kind of a thorny subject)
• EVEN BETTER (3D: "I like that suggestion more!")
• SNOOT (26D: Part of a doggo to boop, cutesily)

I enjoyed the clues in this puzzle a lot. There were several tricky question mark clues, but even the non-question mark clues were lively and interesting. Thank you, Mike, for this engaging puzzle.

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