August 9, 2026

Title: THAT'S WHY I'M HERE

Constructor: CJ Tan

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• VERY IMPRESSIVE (19A: "I'm in awe!")
• GETTY IMAGES (35A: Visual media company known for stock photos)
• FULLY IMMERSIVE (53A: Like a VR experience that feels completely real)

THAT'S WHY I'M HERE: The first word of each theme answer ends with the letter Y (a homophone of WHY). The second word of each theme answer begins with the letters IM: VERY IMPRESSIVE, GETTY IMAGES, and FULLY IMMERSIVE.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• HINDU (32A: Like the goddess Saraswati) The HINDU goddess Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, speech, arts, poetry, music, creativity, sciences, purification, language, and culture. She is a principal goddess in Hinduism.
• SWEET (38A: "___ Disposition" (The Temper Trap song) The Temper Trap is an Australian indie rock band. Their 2008 song, "SWEET Disposition," was included in the 2009 movie 500 Days of Summer.
• ALI (48A: Songwriter Tamposi) The songwriter ALI Tamposi is new to me, but I'm happy to learn her name because I'm familiar with her work. She is one of the songwriters of Kelly Clarkson's song, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."  She has also written songs sung by Beyoncé ("Save the Hero"), Demi Lovato ("Never Been Hurt"), and Dua Lipa ("Break My Heart").
• EAT (52A: Enjoy some hopia) Hopia is a flaky Filipino pastry whose filling may be sweet or savory.
• BASIL (57A: Pad krapow gai herb) Pad krapow gai, also known as spicy Thai BASIL chicken is a stir-fry dish served over rice.
• WELFARE (39A: TANF, e.g.) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a WELFARE program in the United States. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ETHAN (13A: "Before Sunrise," "Before Sunset" and "Before Midnight" star Hawke) Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013) are the three movies in the Before  trilogy. The three romance films star ETHAN Hawke and Julie Delphy. Before Sunrise is set in a single night in Vienna. Before Sunset is set in a single afternoon in Paris and takes place nine years after the first movie. Before Midnight is set in a single day on the Peloponnese coast in Greece and takes place nine years after the second movie.
• EMO (14A: The Cab genre) The Cab is a rock band from Las Vegas. Their music has been characterized as alternative rock, pop-punk, and EMO pop.
• CREEK (34A: People also known as the Muscogee) The CREEK, or Muscogee, are a group of related indigenous peoples who traditionally inhabited the area that is now the Southeastern United States (Tennessee, Alabama, western Georgia, and northern Florida). Many of the CREEK people were forcibly removed from their homelands in the 1830s during the Trail of Tears.
• KENT (41A: "The Babadook" director Jennifer) The Babadook is the title character of a 2014 Australian horror movie directed by Jennifer KENT. In The Babadook, the title character presents as a pop-up storybook titled Mister Babadook. When a mother reads the book to her six-year-old son, strange events begin occurring.
• BEA (58A: "The Golden Girls" star Arthur) BEA Arthur (1922-2009) portrayed Dorothy Zbornak on the TV series The Golden Girls (1985-1992).
• SET (64A: With 65-Across, concert song lineups) and LISTS (65A: See 64-Across) I appreciate the choice to clue these two answers together, particularly as they appear next to each other at the bottom of the grid.
• ATHENA (2D: Minerva's Greek counterpart) Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, and strategic warfare. Her Greek counterpart is ATHENA, the goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft.
• JEOPARDY (6D: Game show whose "think music" was originally a lullaby) Well this is a fun fact. The name of the JEOPARDY! theme song is actually "Think!" Merv Griffin originally wrote this song as a lullaby for his son with the title "A Time for Tony."
• BOHEME (8D: "Rent" song "La Vie ___") "La Vie BOHÈME" is a song from the 1996 musical Rent. In the song, the characters call out ideas and symbols of bohemianism and do shout outs to things and people that inspire them.
• TONI (9D: "Beloved" author Morrison) Beloved is the 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by TONI Morrison that was adapted into a 1998 movie of the same name. 
• SCIENCE (11D: Astronomy or epidemiology, e.g.) Hooray for SCIENCE in the crossword! Astronomy is the study of celestial objects. Epidemiology is the study of health and disease, particularly patterns of disease in populations and how to prevent diseases.
• ASK (26D: ___.com (search engine that officially closed on May 1, 2026)) ASK.com was originally known as ASK Jeeves. It was founded in 1996 and was one of the earliest prominent search engines on the World Wide Web. As the clue informs us, ASK.com was dissolved on May 1st of this year.
• TRIBES (43D: Cherokee and Pueblo, for two) There are three federally recognized Cherokee TRIBES in the U.S., the largest of which is the Cherokee Nation, headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The Pueblo peoples are TRIBES in the Southwestern U.S. and include the Hopi, Zuni, Acoma, and Taos.
• ELLA (49D: "Yellowjackets" star Purnell) The TV series, Yellowjackets, tells the story of a high school girls' soccer team whose plane crashes in the wilderness. The show recounts the time of survival after the crash, as well as events that occur 25 years later. ELLA Purnell plays the role of Jackie Taylor, the captain of the team.
• KROLL (51D: "Big Mouth" star Nick) Big Mouth is an animated Netflix TV series for adults. The sitcom focuses on a group of 7th graders navigating puberty. Nick KROLL voices multiple characters on the show.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• MAP (24A: Gameplay environment, in gaming)
• LIPS (54D: Body parts that can be "sealed")
• MERE (55D: "A ___ technicality!")

This is a fun and creative theme. I admit that I didn't have a guess at all about the theme after reading the puzzle's title. However, once I uncovered VERY IMPRESSIVE, all became clear. A very nice, "Aha!" moment. Thank you, CJ, for this enjoyable puzzle.

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