Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, G&T
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! G&T
Constructor: Stella Zawistowski
Editor: Jared Goudsmit
ACE (13A: Highest card in Teen Patti) Teen Patti is a gambling card game that originated in India. It is played with a standard 52-card deck without jokers. Hands in Teen Patti consist of three cards, and the highest hand is three ACEs. Although Teen Patti is new to me, the answer here is fairly inferable, as an ACE is the highest card in many games.
LEVI (20A: Composer/lyricist Celerio) LEVI Celero (1910-2002) composed over 4,000 songs during his lifetime. He was recognized as a National Artist of the Philippines in 1997. The Film Academy of the Philippines honored LEVI Celero with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989, in recognition of the songs he composed for movies. Fun fact: LEVI Celerio was also known for using a leaf as a musical instrument. Guinness Book of World Records recognized him as the "only leaf player in the world."
LAO (32A: Kaipen cuisine) Kaipen is a snack in LAO cuisine that is made of green algae, garlic, vegetables, and sesame seeds. The paper-thin snack is fried until crispy.
AMOR (41D: "___ Eterno" (Juan Gabriel song)) Juan Gabriel (1950-2016) was one of the most prolific Mexican singers and songwriters of all time, and the best-selling artist in Mexican history. His flamboyant style earned him the nickname "El Divo de Juarez." "AMOR Eterno" ("Eternal Love") was one of Juan Gabriel's signature songs.
OHIO (15A: Kings Island's state) Kings Island is an amusement park located in Mason, OHIO (in the southwest part of the state near Cincinnati). Kings Island, which opened in 1972, is owned and operated by Six Flags. If you want to visit Kings Island, you'll need to wait until April, as it's currently closed for the season.
GAME THEORY (24A: Field of math that examines players' strategies) GAME THEORY models interactions between participants in certain situations, in order to study how and why people make decisions. GAME THEORY has applications in social science, logic, systems science, economics, and computer science.
BRITPOP (33A: Genre for Oasis) The music genre known as BRITPOP arose in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom (where else?). It is characterized by bright, catchy themes that are in contrast to the grunge music also popular at that time. The band Oasis, founded in Manchester in 1991, is considered one of the most successful BRITPOP groups of all time.
EMAIL (36A: "This meeting could've been an ___") The other day I read about a company inviting employees to suggest names for conference rooms in a new building. One suggestion was to name a conference room "this meeting could've been an EMAIL." That idea amuses me probably more than it should.
LABOR (38A: Childbirth process) and EPIDURAL (55A: Childbirth anesthetic) A pair of childbirth clues today. (Twin childbirth clues?) An EPIDURAL is a method of anesthesia in which medication is injected into the EPIDURAL space around the spinal cord. This results in a localized loss of sensation. EPIDURALs can be used for pain relief during LABOR.
CATE (67A: Oscar winner Blanchett) CATE Blanchett has won two Oscars, aka Academy Awards. In 2005, she was awarded an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator. In 2014 she won a Best Actress Oscar for Blue Jasmine.
SEAN (68A: "Stranger Things" actor Astin) Stranger Things is a Netflix TV series about a small town dealing with a hostile alternate dimension. In the show's second and third seasons, SEAN Astin portrays Bob Newby.
SHED (70A: Leave hair all over the couch, say) This clue made me laugh! The top of the couch (actually a loveseat) is a favorite spot for my cat, Willow, to lay. That spot has to be "defuzzed" on a regular basis. How can one cat SHED so much fur?!
EAGLE (1D: "Crowned" bird of prey) The crowned EAGLE is a species of EAGLE that lives in sub-Saharan Africa. The quotation marks around the word crowned in the clue indicate that this word is paired with the answer to form the name of a bird of prey.
EAR (6D: Serving of corn) and CHEESIEST (22D: Most corny) Let's hear it for corn clues.
SLIMED (8D: Covered in green goop at the Kids' Choice Awards) "You've been SLIMED!" SLIME has been an integral part of the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards show since 2002. Nickelodeon's iconic green SLIME made its first appearance in 1979 on the Canadian sketch comedy show, You Can't Do That on Television. If you'd like to learn more, take a minute and a half to watch, "A Brief History of Nickelodeon SLIME."
AHA (10D: "I've got it!") AHA! It's one of my favorite exclamations.
NATO (18D: ___ phonetic alphabet) The NATO Phonetic Alphabet is a widely used radiotelephone spelling alphabet. It's been a few months since I've had an opportunity to review the NATO phonetic alphabet, which I like to do each time it's mentioned in the puzzle. Today I decided to review by spelling my last name using the NATO phonetic: Hotel - Oscar - Echo - Lima - Sierra - Charlie - Hotel - Echo - Romeo.
GEO (24D: Prefix with "cache" or "Guessr") A GEOcache is a container of items (usually a logbook, pencil, and a variety of small, inexpensive objects) which is hidden at a specific location for searchers to find using GPS coordinates. GEOcaching is a lot of fun, and a good way to explore an area. GEOGuessr is a web-based game in which players guess locations based on Google Street View imagery. The game was created by Anton Wallén in 2013.
YOLO (28D: "Be adventurous!" acronym) YOLO = You Only Live Once
MGM (45D: _etro-_oldwyn-_ayer) The film production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, often shortened to MGM, was founded in 1924. Since 2022, MGM has been a subsidiary of Amazon.
AMA (58D: Online Q&A) AMA = Ask Me Anything
NEO (62D: "The Matrix" hero) There are four movies in The Matrix franchise, the first of which (The Matrix) was released in 1999, and the latest of which (The Matrix Resurrections) came out in 2021. The series deals with the technological fall of humanity, and the creation of artificial intelligence and self-aware machines. Although I haven't seen the movies, I've learned from crosswords that in these movies, Keanu Reeves portrays computer programmer Thomas Anderson, who operates as a hacker using the name NEO.
GRAVY TRAIN (16A: Source of easy money)
GAME THEORY (24A: Field of math that examines players' strategies)
GET TOGETHER (47A: Meetup)
GOOD TIMING (61A: "You came in right when I hoped you would!")
G&T: In each theme answer, the first word begins with a G and the second word begins with a T. Our G&T phrases are GRAVY TRAIN, GAME THEORY, GET TOGETHER, and GOOD TIMING.
This is a fun initialism theme. G&T often stands for the classic cocktail, gin and tonic. I enjoy these types of themes because it's interesting to discover what else these initials could stand for. The appearance of GOOD TIMING in the grid as a theme answer made me realize that this is a phrase I use on a fairly regular basis. Thank you, Stella, for this excellent puzzle.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for February 10, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
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'You're never fully exposed to her identity, but you get hints of her throughout the space,' which features three separate rooms and a choose-your-own-adventure feel. Enter through the Ruby Room, a red and gold bar area that welcomes diners with tables flanking an oval-shaped bar. The Piano Room, a more subdued dining area featuring an actual piano, welcomes diners with inviting rose-colored banquettes and soft music playing on the sound system. Photographs line the walls depicting a coquettish Evelyn, or parts of her — a leg in one shot, lips in another. Room Seven, the most high-energy space, features a dining area with a separate bar, a massive disco ball hanging overhead, and room for people to drink, mingle, and dance. From its multi-room setup to the music and design, Evelyn is built for fun and photos. When my wife and I visited at 8 p.m. for dinner on a Friday around six weeks after its opening, the bar buzzed with people, and nearly every table was full. 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During my visit, it was presented on a tray with an empty glass, an ice bowl with a mini carafe nestled inside, and two garnishes — lemon peel and olives. In a show of unexpected hospitality, the bartender replaced my glass with fresh ice-cold stemware when I was halfway through with my drink, ensuring the last few sips were as frosty as the first. If you want to splurge, the Price of Fame is the most indulgent martini on the menu. Made with saffron-infused Nolet's Reserve gin, dry vermouth, black truffle bitters, and caviar-stuffed olives, this cocktail costs a cool $150, reasonable considering the pricey gin and accoutrements. It's still an exercise of excess, of course, but arguably more fun and interesting than paying $150 for a glass of wine or scotch. Diners can also expect riffs on original cocktails, including the margarita and Old Fashioned, plus around 20 wines by the glass, plenty more in bottles, and a few beers. 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