There are spoilers ahead. You may want to solve today’s puzzle before reading on! Carpe Diem (freestyle)
Constructor: Dena R. Witkes
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
What I learned from today’s puzzle
- KENIAN (45D: Beatrice Chebet, ethnic) Beatrice Chebet is a KENIAN long-distance runner. She holds the world record in the women’s 10,000 meters with a time of 28:54.14. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Beatrice Chebet won gold medals in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.
- WWE (50D: Org. with the wrestler Gail Kim) WWE, which stands for World Wrestling Entertainment, makes back-to-back appearances, as we saw in yesterday’s puzzle. Gail Kim is a professional wrestler who has worked in the WWE and Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling. She is currently partially retired from wrestling and doing other things such as appearing in the TV series The Traitors Canada.
- ALMA (53D: Abstract painter Thomas) ALMA Thomas (1891-1978) taught art at Shaw Junior High School in Washington, DC for 35 years. It was only after she stopped teaching that she started a career as a professional artist. In the mid-1960s she began creating the brightly colored abstract paintings for which she is now known. In 1972, ALMA Thomas was the first black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. I enjoyed discovering the work of ALMA Thomas. I especially like her painting ‘The Eclipse’.
Random thoughts and interesting things
- AAA (23A: Org. that offers TripTiks) The American Automobile Association, better known by its initials AAA, offers its members a variety of services such as roadside assistance, insurance and TripTik trip planners. TripTik is an interactive tool that can be used when planning road trips. From personal experience, I can tell you that before the widespread accessibility of GPS, TripTiks was a huge help in trip planning. You told AAA where you wanted to go and what stops you wanted to make, and you received a personalized booklet with maps for each leg of your trip. Now you can access TripTik online and on your phone.
- INSTA (25A: Selfie and plankie sharing app) The word plankie is, as you might guess, a portmanteau of the words selfie and plank. The word was coined to refer to images of bookshelves displaying collections – whether they be books, action figures or something else. The word is sometimes used as a hashtag on INSTA (also called Instagram). I decided to bring a plank to share with you. It was difficult to choose which of our many bookcases we wanted to photograph. Here is a photo of my Agatha Christie collection. Yes, it takes up three shelves! One day I may convert the set to hardcovers, but so far I haven’t been able to part with the paperback editions that are well read and loved.
- PANT (27A: What Hot Dogs Do) This clue made me chuckle. It’s a delicious deception that reminds you of hot dogs in a bun that you eat. However, the clue actually refers to dogs (the kind that bark) that are hot. Well done.
- OPI (36A: Cyborg Again nail polish brand) According to the OPI website, Cyborg Again is “a metallic lilac gel polish encoded in liquid metal beats.”
- PINOTS (40A: Grigio and noir grapes) and ALE (43A: Drink that can be blonde or brown) This puzzle has options for wine and beer drinkers.
- KATE (45A: “The Regime” actress Winslet) The regime is a miniseries that aired on HBO earlier this year. KATE Winslet plays Chancellor Elena Vernham, the authoritarian leader of a fictional Central European country.
- FLEX (46A: “Weird ___, but okay”) The phrase “weird FLEX, but okay” is used on social media, often to address someone who brags about something that seems inappropriate or incongruous in the current situation.
- KAFKA (47A: “The Metamorphosis” author Franz) The Metamorphosis is a 1915 novella written by Franz KAFKA. The story tells of a man who wakes up in the morning and inexplicably discovers that he has transformed into a huge insect (often depicted as a cockroach in modern adaptations).
- MANE (52A: Lion’s Locks) My cat Willow is not a lion (thank goodness!) but she does have a bit of longer hair under her chin that we call her MANE.
- ALIA (60A: “Arrested Development” star Shawkat) Arrested development is a TV series that revolves around the Bluth family. The Bluths used to be rich and still live extravagantly, even though they are no longer rich. ALIA Shawkat plays teenager Mae “Maeby” Fünke. Show creator Mitchell Hurwitz named the character of ALIA Shawkat after his daughters Maisy and Phoebe.
- KITT (63D: Singer and LGBT advocate Eartha) Eartha KITT (1927-2008) was a singer and actress. Many people know her from the Christmas song ‘Santa Baby’. In 1967, Eartha KITT portrayed Catwoman in the TV series Batman. Eartha KITT was an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights and appeared at many LGBTQ fundraisers.
- I’ve grouped these three clues together because they all refer to the letter pattern of their respective answers:
- TESS (65A: Name hidden in “quintessence”) QuinTessence is the most typical example of something and also contains the name TESS.
- KAYAK (47D: Palindromerivierverhuur) Whether you spell it forward or backward, the name of this boat is a KAYAK.
- AIOLI (48D: Vowel-Heavy Sauce) Four vowels and a single consonant make AIOLI particularly crossword-friendly. Most words in English consist mainly of consonants. Words with lots of vowels – like AIOLI and Erie and Asia – are useful for making connections between consonant-laden words in a crossword grid.
- NADIA (13D: Gymnast Comaneci who took first 10 at the Olympics) That first perfect score of 10.0 was awarded to NADIA Comaneci for an uneven bars routine at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. NADIA Comaneci, who represented Romania at the Olympic Games, went on to achieve a further six perfect scores, winning three gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze medal. NADIA Comaneci was 14 at those Olympics and holds the record as the youngest woman to be an all-around gymnastics champion at the Olympics. Because the Olympics have since increased the age requirement and gymnasts must now be 16 years old in the same calendar year of the Olympics, this particular record will only be broken if the requirements are changed again.
- AAPI (28D: ___ Heritage Month (May)) Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is celebrated annually in May in the United States. This prompt reminded me of two previous USA TODAY puzzles celebrating AAPI Heritage, one by Paolo Pasco and the other by Hoang-Kim Vu and Erica Hsiang Wojcik.
- A few other prompts that I particularly enjoyed:
- OTHER (20A: “My ___ car is a broom”)
- ERA (18D: inspiration for a Swiftie’s concert outfit)
- PROP (27D: Mary Poppins’ umbrella, ex.)
- BITE-SIZE (38D: like pigs in a blanket)
Synopsis of the crossword theme
CARPE DIEM (Freestyle): There is no theme today because this is a freestyle or themeless puzzle. The title is a nod to YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (57A: “If not now, when?”).
We occasionally see YOLO, the acronym that means YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, in the crossword. It was nice to see the sentence in its entirety today. Perhaps a YOU LIVE ONLY ONCE attitude can help someone cope with a situation that evokes the phrase, “NEW FEAR UNLOCKED” (17A: “Here’s one more thing to be afraid of”). Thank you, Dena, for this nice puzzle.