long essay crossword clue 12 letters

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Potential answers for "long essay".

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Long essay (Crossword clue)

We found one answer for “long essay” ..

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Clue: Long, formal essay

Referring crossword puzzle answers, likely related crossword puzzle clues.

• Dissertation
• Scholarly paper
• Long discourse
• Disquisition
• Expanded essay
• Scholarly work

Recent usage in crossword puzzles:

• Universal Crossword - April 6, 2020

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Answer: ESSAY

ESSAY is a crossword puzzle answer that we have spotted 401 times.

Referring Clues:

• Russell Baker specialty
• Lamb product
• School assignment
• Opinionated work
• 16-Across work
• Bacon product
• Calvin Trillin piece
• "Civil Disobedience," e.g.
• English exam finale, often
• Bacon piece
• Emerson work
• Article in Harper's or The Atlantic
• Blue-book filler
• Piece in Harper's
• English paper
• Think piece
• With 64-Across, a student's challenge
• Pope production
• Test format
• College application part
• "How I Spent My Summer Vacation," maybe
• Op-ed piece
• Emerson piece
• Very long-winded answer
• "A Modest Proposal," e.g.
• Lamb specialty
• English assignment
• Time piece?
• Composition with a viewpoint
• Bacon or Lamb product
• Opinion piece
• Op-ed piece, e.g.
• Journal submission
• Blue book filler
• Prose piece
•     Bacon piece
• Piece in The New Republic
• Analytic work
• Op-ed, typically
• Writing contest entry
• Swift's "A Modest Proposal," e.g.
• Lamb or Bacon piece
• Pundit's piece
• Part of a college application
• Piece of Lamb?
• Alexander Pope work
• Kind of test question
• High school composition
• Blue-book filler, maybe
• English paper, often
• Scholarship entry, sometimes
• Gore Vidal piece, perhaps
• Part of a history test, sometimes
• Part of many a history test
• Written composition
• Piece with a purpose
• Position paper
• Piece of Bacon?
• Blue book test answer
• Writing contest entry, often
• Gore Vidal composition
• Kind of test answer
• Long test answer
• National Review piece
• Long answer on a test
• Part of a Social Studies test
• Lamb serving
• Part of many an English exam
• Social Studies assignment
• Op-ed offering
• Writing class assignment
• Montaigne's writing form
• Emerson effort
• English homework
• English class assignment
• "The New Yorker" piece
• Class paper
• History class homework, perhaps
• Put to the test
• "The Federalist" component
• Blue book entry
• Exam type you can't guess on
• Expository writing class assignment
• Part of the SAT
• Thoreau tract
• Question type
• Magazine piece, often
• Piece of Bacon
• School composition
• Piece of Lamb or Bacon
• "A literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything": Huxley
• Op-ed column, e.g.
• Samuel Johnson's "The False Alarm," e.g.
• English test component
• Common college admission requirement
• The New Yorker piece
• Test you can't really guess on
• New SAT component
• Samuel Johnson work
• Homework assignment
• High-school composition
• English-class assignment
• Addison and Steele piece
• Editorial piece
• High-school exam part
• Test question, maybe
• Take a crack at
• Thoreau composition
• Foucault product
• Student's composition
• Feature in Harper's or The Atlantic
• Written test type
• Calvin Trillin piece, perhaps
• Exam part, sometimes
• Writing assignment
• Gore Vidal piece
• ''How I Spent My Summer Vacation,'' maybe
• Op-Ed article
• Certain English assignment
• English test requirement, often
• English exam, often
• Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," for one
• Susan Sontag piece
• Alternative to multiple choice
• Type of test
• Alexander Pope piece
• The Atlantic piece
• Virginia Woolf piece
• Written analysis
• Personal prose unit
• Ralph Waldo Emerson piece
• Literary composition
• Test segment, perhaps
• English test, sometimes
• Give it a shot
• English 101 assignment
• "How I Spent My Summer Vacation," e.g.
• "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" e.g.
• Magazine piece, sometimes
• Piece of prose
• Part of some exams
• Emerson opus
• Composition
• Test format, sometimes
• Lengthy test answer
• English final exam, perhaps
• Contest entry
• College application piece, perhaps
• Montaigne piece
• Long-form writing assignment
• SAT segment
• Article in Harper's
• Test composition
• Paper piece
• Charles Lamb piece
• Blue-book composition
• Piece of schoolwork
• Op-ed piece, usually
• English composition
• Short piece of writing
• History class assignment
• Common college admissions requirement
• Long English assignment
• Emersonian effort
• Exam portion, perhaps
• College application component
• It has a point
• "Civil Disobedience" is one
• English homework, perhaps
• Bit of literature
• College application requirement, often
• Analytic writing
• "How I Spent My Summer," often
• Type of question
• Student's assignment
• George Will piece
• English homework, maybe
• School paper
• Exam format
• English homework, often
• Elia writing
• Lamb writing
• SAT section
• Thoreau piece
• With 11-Down, blue-book exam
• Steele work
• Dryden work
• History test section, often
• Longish blog post
• History test component
• Five-paragraph piece, perhaps
• Frank Rich piece
• Short story
• Nora Ephron work
• College application need
• 55 Down portion, often
• Final exam, maybe
• Twain piece
• English test segment, perhaps
• Maureen Dowd piece
• Dreaded assingment
• Part of many a college application
• Lamb creation
• Bacon piece?
• Test answer in a blue book
• First tentative step
• Lamb output
• Short piece on a given subject
• Lamb's forte
• Christopher Hitchens work
• Alternative to true-false or multiple-choice
• Part of a social studies test, often
• Schoolboy's writing exercise
• Exam option
• It's definitely not the short answer
• Swift composition
• David Sedaris work
• Philosophy test component
• Huffington Post piece
• English Lit assignment
• Piece of Lamb or Bacon?
• English-exam element, often
• Piece of Bacon or Lamb
• College paper
• Kind of test ... or a phonetic hint to 17-, 25-, 36-, 47- and 57-Across
• Piece of Slate, e.g.
• Certain homework assignment
• College applicant's composition
• Test type you can't really guess on
• David Sedaris piece
• English class work
• English exam finale, sometimes
• Grader's headache
• History homework, sometimes
• College application portion
• Blue book topic
• Emerson product
• Part of a G.E.D. exam
• Creative exam
• Salon offering
• "Me Talk Pretty One Day" piece
• Elia offering
• English assignment, sometimes
• Short paper
• Outlet for one's thoughts
• Place to find an argument, perhaps
• Written contest entry, say
• Part of some history exams
• Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," e.g.
• Foreword, frequently
• Thoreau work
• English exam part
• SAT part that's judged
• George Will will often write one about baseball
• A kind of composition
• Op-ed, e.g.
• English exam ender, perhaps
• Bacon serving?
• Lengthy writing assignment
• Written exam feature
• English class assignment, maybe
• Part of an English exam, often
• Emerson composition
• Short literary piece
• Composition for high schoolers
• Dreaded assignment
• Optional SAT part
• Longish English assignment
• Written opinion
• End of an English test, perhaps
• Application requirement, maybe
• Many a Slate article
• Final ordeal, perhaps
• Composed piece
• Repplier work
• Many a New Yorker article
• Francis Bacon piece
• "Notes of a Native Son" e.g.
• Optional part of the SAT
• Op-ed piece, say
• Interpretative piece
• Any of the Federalist Papers
• Long homework assignment
• Medium.com posting
• Bacon output
• Long exam answer
• Product in a blue book
• Long written piece
• Multi-paragraph test answer
• Opinion piece, essentially
• Longish written piece
• Position paper, e.g.
• Pundit piece
• Common English assignment
• One-pager, for one
• Response to a prompt
• A college applicant may have to write one
• Short prose composition
• Nonfiction piece
• Student paper
• Lamb offering
• Common App component
• Op-ed, for instance
• Montaigne work
• Speculative prose
• Written material
• College app attachment
• Assignment that might have a page limit
• Assignment with an argument
• Doreen St. Felix work
• Alexander Pope product
• Take a stab at
• Type of magazine piece
• Piece for an editorial page
• English major's assignment
• Writing in a blue book
• Short opinion piece
• Assignment that may have a bibliography
• College application section, often
• Many a Claudia Rankine opus
• "In this ___, I will ..."
• Test answer written in paragraphs
• A student may plagiarize one
• Maya Angelou piece
• Written argument
• Student's writing assignment
• Writing-intensive test type
• Piece of writing that sounds like its third and fourth letters
• Part of a test that may produce a hand cramp
• Writing by John Locke or Alexander Pope
• Didion work
• Pope's "An ___ on Criticism"
• Part of a college application, often
• Assignment that sounds like its third and fourth letters
• Many an op-ed piece
• Type of nonfiction writing
• SAT section eliminated by the College Board in 2021
• Da'Shaun L. Harrison piece
• Feature of The New York Review of Books
• Writing-intensive 27-Across type
• A 48-Down may include one
• One of ten in Baldwin's "Notes of a Native Son"
• One in a stack for an English teacher to grade
• It can set a college application apart
• Tiffany Midge piece
• Piece of one's mind
• Twain's "Taming the Bicycle," e.g.
• Work from Roxane Gay or Jia Tolentino
• Time-consuming assignment to grade
• Class assignment
• Piece of nonfiction writing
• Literary work that sounds like two of its letters
• Written assignment
• Unlikely assignment from a math teacher
• Former SAT section that sounds like the first two letters of "SAT"
• Composition for a Lit class
• Piece of long-form journalism
• Haunani-Kay Trask's "The Color of Violence," for example
• Samantha Irby piece
• Nonfiction piece such as "The Case for Reparations"
• Cause of class struggle?
• Writing contest entry, maybe
• Jia Tolentino piece
• Many a Jamaica Kincaid work
• Piece of writing with a thesis statement
• Lengthy exam answer
• Many an assignment in 9-Down
• Many a homework assignment
• Piece of one's mind?
• Many a June Jordan work
• English class submission
• Literary form
• Part of many 34-Down
• Composition assignment
• Many a Jhumpa Lahiri piece
• English class composition
• Composition for a language exam
• Writing class writing assignment

Last Seen In:

• LA Times - July 17, 2024
• USA Today - July 10, 2024
• USA Today - June 07, 2024
• USA Today - March 14, 2024
• USA Today - February 01, 2024
• USA Today - January 22, 2024
• New York Times - January 06, 2024
• LA Times - December 29, 2023
• USA Today - December 06, 2023
• USA Today - November 16, 2023
• LA Times - October 21, 2023
• New York Times - October 08, 2023
• LA Times - September 22, 2023
• USA Today - September 22, 2023
• LA Times - September 12, 2023
• USA Today - August 29, 2023
• LA Times - August 16, 2023
• USA Today - August 14, 2023
• USA Today - August 08, 2023
• LA Times - June 16, 2023

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essay : crossword clues

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Long, formal essay Crossword Clue

Here is the answer for the crossword clue Long, formal essay last seen in Universal puzzle. We have found 40 possible answers for this clue in our database. Among them, one solution stands out with a 98% match which has a length of 8 letters. We think the likely answer to this clue is TREATISE .

Crossword Answer For Long, formal essay:

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40 Potential Answers:

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Last appeared together with the following clues in universal puzzle.

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Your Crossword Clues FAQ Guide

What are the top solutions for long, formal essay .

We found 40 solutions for Long, formal essay. The top solutions are determined by popularity, ratings and frequency of searches. The most likely answer for the clue is TREATISE.

How many solutions does Long, formal essay have?

With crossword-solver.io you will find 40 solutions. We use historic puzzles to find the best matches for your question. We add many new clues on a daily basis.

How can I find a solution for Long, formal essay ?

With our crossword solver search engine you have access to over 7 million clues. You can narrow down the possible answers by specifying the number of letters it contains. We found more than 40 answers for Long, formal essay.

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ESSAY Crossword Clue & Answer

All solutions for essay, top answers for: essay.

Top answers for ESSAY crossword clue from newspapers

Definition of essay.

• a tentative attempt; an analytic or interpretive literary composition

Anagrams of essay

Essay crossword puzzle solutions.

179 Solutions - 2 Top suggestions & 177 further suggestions. We have 179 solutions for the frequently searched for crossword lexicon term ESSAY. Furthermore and additionally we have 177 Further solutions for this paraphrase.

For the puzzel question ESSAY we have solutions for the following word lenghts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 15.

Your user suggestion for ESSAY

Find for us the 180nth solution for ESSAY and send it to our e-mail (crossword-at-the-crossword-solver com) with the subject "New solution suggestion for ESSAY". Do you have an improvement for our crossword puzzle solutions for ESSAY, please send us an e-mail with the subject: "Suggestion for improvement on solution to ESSAY".

Frequently asked questions for essay:

What is the best solution to the riddle essay.

Solution TRY is our most searched for solution by our visitors. Solution TRY is 3 letters long. We have 3 further solutions of the same word length.

How many solutions do we have for the crossword puzzle ESSAY?

We have 179 solutions to the crossword puzzle ESSAY. The longest solution is EXPERIMENTALISM with 15 letters and the shortest solution is DO with 2 letters.

How can I find the solution for the term ESSAY?

With help from our search you can look for words of a certain length. Our intelligent search sorts between the most frequent solutions and the most searched for questions. You can completely free of charge search through several million solutions to hundreds of thousands of crossword puzzle questions.

How many letters long are the solutions for ESSAY?

The lenght of the solutions is between 2 and 15 letters. In total we have solutions for 13 word lengths.

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Having trouble solving the crossword clue " Long learned essay "? Why not give our database a shot. You can search by using the letters you already have!

Long learned essay – Crossword Clue

Below are possible answers for the crossword clue Long learned essay .

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Likely related crossword puzzle clues

• Academic work
• Dissertation
• Professorial work
• Literary exposition
• Written composition
• Formal written work
• Tract, monograph
• Written work on a particular subject
• Paper ties tear badly
• See 27 Across
• Formal work
• Formal exposition, dissertation
• Formal piece of writing on a subject
• A setter, I suspect, for a paper
• Disquisition
• Learned written work
• Study showing doctor is English
• Scholarly work
• Formal expository paper
• Systematic exposition
• Written exposition
• Study agreements society put forward
• formal exposition
• Paper in stand is European
• Doctor is European producing study
• Scholarly paper
• Written discussion
• Formal discourse
• Expanded essay
• Long discourse
• Essay's big brother
• Expository article
• Systematic article
• Formal article
• Contracts of a sort
• Detailed exposition
• Formal essay
• exhaustive essay
• study shows doctor is english
• systematically-written formal piece
• Learned paper
• I, a setter, revised work
• Sit back in a tree awkwardly and study
• formal composition
• Composition
• Formal agreement
• a trieste composition
• Written study
• I restate revised dissertation
• treaties in readable form
• essay - nice surprise - is english
• Formal written exposition
• Long learned essay
• A written work on a subject
• Formal written report
• Minister to periodically issue paper
• Fun is editing leader for paper
• Iterates poor written work
• Paper in stand is English
• Dissertation or thesis
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The “long” version of it is 12% heavier nyt crossword clue

We solved the clue 'The “long” version of it is 12% heavier nyt crossword clue ' which last appeared on August 11, 2024 in a N.Y.T crossword puzzle and had three letters. The one solution we have is shown below. Similar clues are also included in case you ended up here searching only a part of the clue text.

The long version of it is 12 heavier

The answer for this clue is

Common Answers

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Sound of a Fall

Benjamin Panico makes his New York Times Crossword debut.

By Sam Corbin

Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues

TUESDAY PUZZLE — I know that I’ve got a pretty good thing going here, and that I don’t really have a right to complain. But if you’ll allow me just a whit of whining, a crumb of carping, a particle of protest, then I can tell you how I came to love today’s crossword puzzle, constructed by Benjamin Panico.

My colleagues and I occasionally suffer bouts of crossword tunnel vision. These episodes are harmless, as long as we’re not operating heavy machinery, and are set off by overused entries. Mx. Panico, who uses he/they pronouns, began his crossword, his first for The New York Times, with two such entries. [Pathetic], at 1A, is always SAD. [Hoarse], at 4A, is predictably RASP. And then I felt it: I was beginning to tunnel. But I was yanked back into focus by JAZZ (8A), the first of many themed entries about a well-known figure whose writing will no doubt be familiar to many solvers.

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Today’s Theme

TONI MORRISON (55A) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. In her banquet speech at the Stockholm City Hall, she said that she was “pleasantly haunted” by the laureates who had stood in that spot before her. That might be the best way to describe how this theme, in its impossible grandeur, hovers over the grid.

Ms. Morrison had written six novels by 1993, all of which are featured in this puzzle: JAZZ (8A), THE BLUEST EYE (19A), TAR BABY (30A), SONG OF SOLOMON (35A), BELOVED (42A) and SULA (65A).

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Today’s nyt mini crossword clues and answers for monday, august 12.

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Answers for today's NYT Mini Crossword are just ahead.

In case you missed Sunday’s NYT Mini, you can find the answers here:

Wondering what Kamala Harris supporters are called? Not sure what the letter before beta and gamma is? Don’t worry, because I'm here to help you with the answers for today's NYT Mini crossword.

The NYT Mini is a quick and dirty version of the newspaper's larger and long-running crossword. Most days, there are between three and five clues in each direction on a five by five grid, but the puzzles are sometimes larger, especially on Saturdays.

Unlike its larger sibling, the NYT Mini crossword is free to play on the New York Times website or NYT Games app. However, you’ll need an NYT Games subscription to access previous puzzles in the archives.

To help you avoid getting stuck and having to reveal missing letters, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers for Monday, August 12 ( spoilers lie ahead, of course ):

NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers

Best high-yield savings accounts of 2024, best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024.

1 Across: Throws in the mix - ADDS

5 Across: Plant life - FLORA

6 Across: Chef's garment - APRON

7 Across: Informal term for avid supporters of Kamala Harris - K HIVE

8 Across: Simplicity - EASE

1 Down: Letter before beta and gamma - ALPHA

2 Down: Pulitzer-winning historian ___ Kearns Goodwin - DORIS

3 Down: Did some chauffeuring - DROVE

4 Down: All there, mentally - SANE

5 Down: Like a designer bag with the company name misspelled - FAKE

Completed NYT Mini crossword for Monday, August 12

It took me 0:43 to complete today's NYT Mini .

I missed the plant life (even though I use “flora” all the time in my Connections clues) and Kamala Harris clues on my first run through the Across words. FAKE was the only one I didn't get on my first pass at the Downs, so I was able to use the remaining letters to get 5 and 7 Across.

If you need some help with Tuesday’s NYT Mini , make sure to check out my blog . Meanwhile, if you play other NYT games such as Wordle , Connections and Strands , be sure to check out Forbes Games for our guides to each daily puzzle.

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Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Ab Initio

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Ab Initio

Constructor: Malaika Handa

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• YOTAM (20A: Ottolenghi who wrote "Plenty" and "Plenty More") YOTAM Ottolenghi is a chef, restaurateur, and food writer. Although he himself is not a vegetarian, he is particularly known for his recipes that highlight vegetables. Plenty (2010) and Plenty More (2014) are vegetable-centric cookbooks. In addition to writing cookbooks, YOTAM Ottolenghi writes about food for The Guardian . Born in Israel, YOTAM Ottolenghi now lives in London, where he co-owns seven delis and restaurants with Sami Tamimi. I'm delighted to learn about YOTAM Ottolenghi. I've bookmarked a couple of his recipes, and will be looking for Plenty and Plenty More at the library.
• RAE (38A: Delta ___ (folk rock band)) Three of the members of Delta RAE are siblings: Ian Hölljes, Eric Hölljes, and Brittany Hölljes. The other three members of the band are Elizabeth Hopkins, Mike McKee, and Grant Emerson. Delta RAE has described their music as "gospel-tinged country rock, sensual blue-eyed soul and harmony-laden Americana." The band's two most recent albums – The Light (2020) and The Dark (2021) were funded by a Kickstarter campaign after they announced they were leaving Big Machine Label Group.
• CUDI (43A: Kid ___ ("Entergalactic" rapper) Released in 2022, Entergalactic is Kid CUDI's eighth studio album. The album was released along with an animated TV special of the same name, which was created as a visual companion piece to the album. Netflix describes Entergalactic as "The greatest love story you already know but have never seen. Or heard."

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• AUDRE (21A: "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House" author Lorde) AUDRE Lorde (1934-1992) described herself as "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet." AUDRE Lorde used her creative talent to confront injustices, including racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, and homophobia. Her essay, "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House," is included in the 1984 book, Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches.
• SOLE (27A: Red part of a Louboutin shoe) Christian Louboutin's high-end stilettos feature a signature shiny red-lacquered SOLE. Here's a fun fact: Author Danielle Steele is Louboutin's top customer, apparently owning over 6,000 of the red-SOLEd shoes. That's a lot of heels!
• MIA (35A: "The Princess Diaries" protagonist) The Princess Diaries are a series of young adult novels by Meg Cabot that have also been adapted into movies. The protagonist of The Princess Diaries is Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia, also known as MIA. Anne Hathaway portrayed MIA Thermopolis in the Princess Diaries movies. I enjoy most of Anne Hathaway's work, but her portrayal of MIA is definitely my favorite.
• ANDRE BRAUGHER (39A: Actor who portrayed Captain Holt in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine") If you're a regular reader of this column, you may have picked up on the fact that I don't watch a lot of TV. It's always a little bit surprising to me, therefore, when I encounter a reference to a show I've actually watched. My daughter got me hooked on watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine several years ago. The police procedural sitcom originally aired from 2013 to 2021. On  Brooklyn Nine-Nine , ANDRE BRAUGHER portrayed Raymond Jacob Holt, the stoic captain of NYPD's 99th precinct and NYPD's first African American gay police captain. He earned two Critics' Choice Awards for the role, and numerous nominations for other awards. ANDRE BRAUGHER died in 2023 at the age of 61.
• APPLE BUTTER (57A: Jamlike condiment often made in the fall) Hooray for APPLE season! I just stopped at our local orchard the other day and stocked up on APPLEs to make applesauce. Perhaps I will have to go get some more and make APPLE BUTTER.
• SAM'S (67A: ___ Club (Costco competitor)) We just saw SAM'S Club mentioned in the puzzle three days ago .
• SON (71A: Bronny, to LeBron) Bronny James is a basketball player for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. Bronny James is the SON of NBA player LeBron James and his wife, Savannah. Bronny and LeBron James are the NBA's first active father-SON duo.
• OHIO (2D: Cleveland's state) Cleveland is a city in northeastern OHIO. It is located along the shores of Lake ERIE, and is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• FORT (3D: Structure that might be made of pillows) I thoroughly enjoyed this clue. I have always been a fan of pillow FORTs.
• HESTER (12D: ___ Prynne ("The Scarlet Letter" protagonist)) The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 novel by Nathanial Hawthorne. The book is set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1640s. After giving birth to a baby whose father is unknown, HESTER Prynne is required to wear a scarlet "A" for the rest of her life.
• OAHU (34D: Honolulu's island) OAHU is Hawaii's third-largest island. The state's capital, Honolulu, is located on OAHU. 
• PRAY (59D: Say a Hail Mary, for example) The Hail Mary is a traditional Catholic prayer. It is PRAYed to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
• TAMPON (10D: Alternative to a diva cup)
• PADDINGTON (30D: Fictional British bear who enjoys orange marmalade)
• STRAW (32D: Tube sometimes made of paper)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• AIR BUBBLE (17A: One might come out of a snorkel)
• ANDRE BRAUGHER (39A: Actor who portrayed Captain Holt in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine")
• APPLE BUTTER (57A: Jamlike condiment often made in the fall)

AB INITIO: Each theme answer has the initials A.B.: A IR B UBBLE, A NDRE B RAUGHER, and A PPLE B UTTER.

AB INITIO is a Latin phrase that means "from the beginning." Today, the word INITIO is tipping us off that the theme is found at the beginning of the words, and at the start of the words we find the letters A and B. Although I've heard the phrase AB INITIO before, it's been some time, and I might not have been able to tell you what it means without looking it up. Fortunately, the "INITIO" is similar to "initial," which was enough of a clue for me to figure out the theme. Thank you, Malaika, for this excellent puzzle.

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