There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! On What Planet?
Constructor: Jay Silverman
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor
Jay: Happy, as ever, to be back in the USA Today with this puzzle. I pitched it to the team with the title “Across the Universe,” and I still aspire to get a puzzle published with a Beatles-inspired title someday – but that’ll have to wait a little longer. So it goes!
This is an idea I had been tinkering with since December 2022 (!!!) but never quite got it right – but the team liked the idea and was willing to work with me on it to get it to a good and publishable place. Grateful for all their help on this one.
As always, my thanks to the USA Today team for their patience with me and for giving me the opportunity to share something fun with the world. Hope you all enjoy solving it.
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- INDIE (15A: Like the video game Gris) Gris is an INDIE video game released in 2018. The game follows the story of the title character (whose name means “grey” in Spanish) as she journeys through sorrow and grief and restores color to her world. Gris won a number of awards including the Italian Video Game Award for Best INDIE Game, and the 2019 Webby Award for Best Visual Design. At The Game Awards 2019, Gris received the Games for Impact Award, which was presented at the ceremony by the Muppets Dr Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker.
- LIU (11D: “Why Women Kill” actress Lucy) Why Women Kill (2019-2021) is a TV series that (as the title suggests) focuses on deaths caused by women. The show’s first season follows the story of three women who each live in a different time period: 1963, 1984, and 2019. All three women live in the same house in Pasadena, California during their respective time periods, and each woman learns their husband has been unfaithful. Lucy LIU portrays Simone Grove, who lives in the house from 1974 to 2017.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- UTAH (17A: Only U.S. state with a three-word capital) This is fun geography-based trivia. That capital of UTAH with a three-word name is Salt Lake City.
- NEPTUNE BEACH (19A: Coastal community near Jacksonville, FL) NEPTUNE BEACH is located in the northeast part of Florida along the Atlantic Ocean.
- YES AND (22A: Two-word maxim of improv comedy) The improvisational comedy rule of thumb, “YES, AND…” is the idea that a participant accepts what someone else has said – YES – before expanding on that line of thinking – AND.
- RIO (23A: Major Brazilian port, for short) RIO de Janeiro – RIO, for short – is located on the eastern coast of Brazil. It is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). RIO’s port is the main port for cruise ships visiting Brazil. It is also an important port for cargo ships.
- GREEK (32A: Alphabet that gave English the word “alphabet”) The English word alphabet has its origins in the GREEK word “alphabētos,” which came from the first two letters of the GREEK alphabet, alpha and beta.
- VENUS WILLIAMS (34A: First Black woman ranked No. 1 singles player in the Open Era) VENUS WILLIAMS has won seven Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal. She has spent a total of 11 weeks ranked as the No. 1 singles player.
- REVUE (38A: “Sondheim on Sondheim,” e.g.) The musical REVUE Sondheim on Sondheim premiered on Broadway in 2010. It consisted of songs written by Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021) for nineteen shows, interspersed with taped interviews with Sondheim.
- UTES (40A: Colorado Natives) UTES are members of the UTE Tribe, an indigenous people who have lived in present-day Utah and Colorado for many centuries. The state of UTAH is named after the UTE tribe.
- SATURN AWARDS (50A: Annual prizes given to top sci-fi and horror films) The SATURN AWARDS are presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. SATURN AWARDS are presented in a number of different categories. Winners at the 52nd Annual SATURN AWARDS (2023/24) included Dune: Part Two for Best Science Fiction Film, Alien: Romulus for Best Horror Film, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice for Best Fantasy Film.
- PIANO (58A: Alicia Keys’ instrument, aptly) Singer and songwriter Alicia Keys is a classically trained pianist. I wonder if her last name of KEYS influenced her decision to learn to play the PIANO.
- I, TONYA (1D: 2017 figure skating biopic) The movie, I, TONYA, is loosely based on actual events surrounding TONYA Harding’s connection to the 1994 assault on fellow figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. Margot Robbie portrays TONYA Harding in the movie.
- DISCO (8D: Donna Summer’s genre) Donna Summer (1948-2012) was known as the “Queen of DISCO.” During her career, she had 32 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, four of which reached the top spot. She also won five Grammy Awards. In 2023, HBO released a documentary about her life titled Love to Love you, Donna Summer, a nod to her first top ten hit, “Love to Love You Baby” (1975).
- GNUS (32D: Animals that often graze with zebras) GNUS and zebras have a symbiotic relationship when it comes to grazing. GNUS prefer to eat shorter grass, while zebras prefer grazing on the taller grass, thus minimizing the competition for food. Additionally, GNUS and zebras alert each other to nearby predators.
- JIGSAW (33A: Puzzle that’s pieced together) It’s fun that the crossword puzzle is giving a shout-out to the JIGSAW puzzle. The last JIGSAW puzzle my husband and I put together featured (unsurprisingly!) cats and dogs.
- LEE (36D: Bruce of martial arts fame) Bruce LEE (1940-1973) was a martial artist and actor. He is credited with helping popularize martial arts movies in the 1970s.
- TIN (54D: Sn, on the periodic table) The chemical element TIN has an atomic number of 50. Its chemical symbol, Sn, is from the Latin word “stannum.” TIN is a soft metal, and can be bent by hand.
- A couple of other clues I especially enjoyed:
- POP (24A: ___ Art (genre that may incorporate imagery from advertising)
- EVEN (35D: Like 2024, but not 2025)
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- NEPTUNE BEACH (19A: Coastal community near Jacksonville, FL)
- VENUS WILLIAMS (34A: First Black woman ranked No. 1 singles player in the Open Era)
- SATURN AWARDS (50A: Annual prizes given to top sci-fi and horror films)
ON WHAT PLANET?: The first word of each theme answer is the name of a PLANET.
It’s fun that we have a variety of theme answers – a city, a person, and an event. VENUS WILLIAMS was the first of the theme answers I filled in. It was helpful when figuring out the other theme answers to know that each of them would begin with the name of a PLANET. Thank you, Jay, for this enjoyable puzzle.
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