| HIDDENGEMS | They're awesome, but few know about them; you can find them in our theme entries |
| HOHOHO | Syllables of the season ... you can even find them in our six theme entries |
| UPSIDES | Optimists can find them in any situation |
| FAME | Rock & Roll Hall of ___ (Cleveland institution that released its list of 2026 nominees on Feb. 25; you can find four of them in our theme entries' circles) |
| ARABS | You can find them working in Basra (5) |
| TILES | You can find them on me roof and on the floor (5) |
| RAINFOREST | World ___ Day is June-22; can you find four residents of this habitat hiding in our theme entries? |
| BATS | Sharp-toothed creatures you can find six of in our theme entries; the last two are sleeping and therefore upside down |
| RAMA | ___ Duwaji (New York's new First Lady, who has kept a low profile thus far; see if you can spot her six times in our theme entries) |
| DROP | Ball ___ (NYE event in NYC ... and what happens in our theme entries) |
| BRR | Sound heard in cold weather ... and in our theme entries |
| FOUR | With 118-A and 119-A: Common player formation you'll see at the World Cup-and in our theme entries |
| MOA | New Zealand bird that went extinct in the 1400s, but that biotech company Colossal Biosciences claims to have made a breakthrough toward reviving last week; we've already brought it back in our theme |
| BTS | K-pop stars who gave a speech to and played one of their videos for the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 20; they're also playing in our theme entries |
| WORDLE | Language puzzle that's sweeping the internet; the five-letter words in our theme entries are eight of the best first guesses, per a Jan. 20 USA Today piece |
| AARONJUDGE | ... This Yankee, who hit an AL-record 62 home runs this season; his initials are used in our theme entries |
| DISPLAYCASES | You'll see things in them you can't handle |
| TOPSECRET | The child creeps about inside, discovering what few know (3,6) |
| TOILETROLLS | You may find them in the littler loos? No, all of them! (6,5) |
| LETTERS | There are 26 of them in our alphabet |
