Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Trap Remix
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solvetoday's puzzlebefore reading further!Trap Remix Constructor:Amie Walker Editor:Amie Walker LOLA (50A: "Sinners" actor Kirke)Sinnersis a movie released in April of this year. Michael B. Jordan has two roles in the film, playing identical twin brothers, Elijah and Elias Moore, whose nicknames are "Smoke" and "Stack." In 1932, the brothers return to their Mississippi hometown after years working in Chicago for the Mob. They open a juke joint, and things don't go smoothly. LOLA Kirke portrays a character named Joan in the movie. The story ofhow LOLA Kirke got a part inSinnersinvolves the Grand Ole Opry and a NSFW music video. AIMEE (26D: "The White Lotus" star ___ Lou Wood)The White Lotusis a TV series made for HBO about a fictional resort chain called White Lotus. The show, which premiered in 2021, is an anthology series, one that presents a different story or may have a different cast or be set in a different location each season. AIMEE Lou Wood portrays Chelsea in the show's third season, which is set in Thailand. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the role. IT'S (5A: "And every time I look at you, ___ like the first time") "And every time I look at you, IT'S like the first time," is a line from Taylor Swift's 2010 song,"Mine." PETRA (8A: World Heritage Site in Jordan) The city ofPETRA, which may have been established as early as the 5th century BCE, was partly built and partly carved into rock. PETRA, located in West Asia in the country of Jordan, is now a historic and archeological site and aUNESCO World Heritage Site. ERIC (18A: Prince who sings "Her Voice" in the stage musical "The Little Mermaid")The Little Mermaidmusical, based of course on Disney's 1989 animated movie, premiered on Broadway in 2008."Her Voice,"sung by Prince ERIC, is a song written for the musical. SOUR PATCH KIDS (20A: Tart gummy candy brand) SOUR PATCH KIDS is a brand of SOUR and sweet gummy candy. The brand's slogans are "SOUR than sweet," and "SOUR, sweet, gone." Fun fact: The original name of the candy wasMars Men. MEGAN (23A: Soccer star Rapinoe) MEGAN Rapinoe is a former professional soccer player. She played on the U.S. national team from 2006-2023. She also played for the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team, Seattle Reign FC, from 2013-2023. In addition to soccer, MEGAN Rapinoe is also known for her advocacy, especially for the LGBTQIA+ community. YOU (24A: The "y" of "tysm") tysm = thank YOU so much ETAS (25A: BUR landing predictions) BUR is the airport code for Hollywood Burbank Airport located in Burbank, California (in Los Angeles county). MISFIT (30A: Island of ___ Toys) The 1964 animated TV special,Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeerintroduced the world to the Island of MISFIT Toys. AM I (37A: "Who ___?" (Les Miserables song))Les Miserablesis a musical based on Victor Hugo's 1862 novel of the same name. The song"Who AM I?"is sung by Jean Valjean. ALI (42A: "Beef" star Wong)Beefis a Netflix TV series about two people involved in a road rage incident that leads to them becoming enemies and getting involved in each other's lives. ALI Wong and Steven Yeun co-star in the show, which premiered in 2023. Both ALI Wong and Steven Yeun won Emmy Awards for the portrayal of their characters, andBeefwon an Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. RASTA (54A: Person who worships Jah) The religion known as Rastafari or Rastafarianism developed in the 1930s in Jamaica. Rastafari is based on a specific interpretation of the Bible. RASTA beliefs include monotheism, a belief in one God, who is referred to as Jah. ABBA (63A: "Honey, Honey" group) ABBA released their song"Honey, Honey"in 1974.Yesterdaywe saw ABBA mentioned in a clue for EUROVISION [Song contest that ABBA won in 1974]. MEAT (66A: What seitan might replace in a recipe) Seitan, also known as wheat gluten, is made by washing wheat flour dough to remove the soluble starch, leaving the gluten behind. Seitan is used as a MEAT substitute. SPICY (7D: Like the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper) I think it's safe to say the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper is SPICY, as it's among the hottest peppers in the world. On the Scoville scale, the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper registers at 1,000,000 to 1,463,700 SHU (Scoville heat units). For comparison, a green bell pepper rates 0 SHU, a jalapeño rates 2,500-10,000 SHU, and a habanero rates 100,000-350,000 SHU. TRUST FALL (10D: It might require a good support system at work) This clue made me chuckle. A TRUST FALL is a classic team building exercise in which one person FALLs backward and TRUSTs their fellow employees to provide a "good support system" and catch them. As I've mentioned previously, I have a distrust of TRUST FALLs. KUMAR (22D: "Harold & ___ Go to White Castle)Harold & KUMAR Go to White Castle(2004) is a buddy stoner movie starring John Cho and Kal Penn in the title roles. It is the first movie in what has become theHarold & KUMARfranchise. OTTO (29D: Name hidden in "Hot Topic") Where's OTTO? He's doing a bit of shopping at Hot Topic. EVIL LAUGH (33D: MWAH-ha-ha-ha, you'll never stop me" sound) Ha! I like this clue a lot. I'm not saying I have an EVIL LAUGH, but I'm also not saying I don't. SOUR PATCH KIDS (20A: Tart gummy candy brand) WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM (38A: "Things just went sideways for us") AMUSEMENT PARK (57A: Place to ride roller coasters) TRAP REMIX: An anagram (or REMIX) of the word TRAP is found in each theme answer: SOUR PATCH KIDS, WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM, and AMUSEMENT PARK. When there is a word in the title that relates to moving things around – such as twist, chopped, or REMIX – it's good to be on the lookout for an anagram theme. Indeed, that's what we have today, with three anagrams (remixes) of the word TRAP: R/PAT, T/A/PR, and T/PAR. Thank you, Amie, for this splendid puzzle. USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Crossword Blog & Answers for July 25, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Trap Remix There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solvetoday...
