Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, See In

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28-01-2025

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! See In
Constructor: Kapil Mehta
Editor: Anna Gundlach
Kapil: Here is what I liked about "See In." The word "See" for starters is so evocative. For me, it conjures up the idea of looking deeply and relating to things around me. Then I enjoyed building in two theme answers that span the entire grid with 15 letters. Such long answers make constructing the puzzle a bit more difficult but the visual and literal impact is high. And finally, the last clue [60D: Fitting place for this clue's answer] is just right. The credit for that clue goes to the editors though!
MEN (9D: "X-___ '97" (superhero cartoon)) X-MEN '97 is an animated Disney+ TV series that debuted last year. The show is a revival of X-MEN: The Animated Series, which aired from 1992-1997. Although I'm not familiar with this specific show, the answer here was inferable, as I am familiar with the X-MEN characters, humans born with the X-gene, a mutation that confers superhuman abilities.
TBS (46D: "Dinner and a Movie" network) The TBS TV series Dinner and a Movie originally aired from 1995-2011, and was revived last year. Each episode includes – as the name suggests – a movie and a themed dinner to go along with it. The revised series is hosted by Jason Biggs and Jenny Mollen.
MRS (1A: "___ Robinson" (Simon & Garfunkel hit)) "MRS. Robinson" is a 1968 song by Simon & Garfunkel. Fragments of the song were used in the 1967 movie The Graduate (before the song's release as a single). "MRS. Robinson" won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. "And here's to you, MRS. Robinson..."
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS (17A: "___ of the Third Kind" (sci-fi movie)) CLOSE ENCOUNTERS of the Third Kind is a 1977 sci-fi movie written and directed by Steven Spielberg. As the movie's title suggests, it is about people who have CLOSE ENCOUNTERS with UFOs. Interesting fact: Apparently Steven Spielberg received a 20-page letter from NASA (which turned down the opportunity to be involved in the film) asking him not to release the movie.
LIRA (23A: Turkish currency) Turkey is a country mostly located in West Asia (a part of the country extends into Southeast Europe). The capital of Turkey is Ankara, and its currency is the Turkish LIRA.
OPERA (33A: "Tosca" or "Porgy and Bess") Giacomo Puccini's OPERA, Tosca, premiered in Rome in 1900. The title character, Tosca, is the only female character in the OPERA. Porgy and Bess is an OPERA composed by George Gershwin, with libretto by Dubose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. It was first performed in Boston in September 1935 and premiered on Broadway a couple of weeks later.
MISE-EN-SCENE (35A: Staging and design) MISE-EN-SCÈNE is a French phrase that means "placing on stage." The term is used in theater and film production to refer to staging and design. I've heard this term before, but definitely needed the help of crossing answers to remind me of it.
SARONGS (43A: Southeast Asian body wraps) SARONGS are loose garments that consist of long strips of fabric wrapped around the body. They are often wrapped around the waist and are worn by women and men.
HMONG (53A: Indigenous Southeast Asian people) The HMONG people are an ethnic group in China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. As I have previously written, many HMONG immigrated to the United States following the Vietnam War.
RALEIGH (2D: North Carolina's capital) I believe I was in the fifth grade when I learned all of the U.S. state capitals. That was a year or two ago (and getting longer every year!), so when presented with a clue such as this I sometimes need to dust off some little-used parts of my brain. All this is to say that I'm thankful for the opportunity to review that RALEIGH is the capital of North Carolina. It's the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte.
WESLEY (12D: "Blade" actor Snipes) The 1998 movie Blade is the first movie in the Blade franchise, which currently includes three movies and a TV series. WESLEY Snipes portrays the title character in the movies, a daywalker (half-vampire) who hunts vampires.
SEA (18D: Sargasso or Caspian) The Sargasso SEA is an area of the Atlantic Ocean characterized by the growth of Sargassum seaweed and blue water that is often calm. Unlike other SEAs, the Sargasso SEA has no land boundaries. The Caspian SEA is the world's largest inland body of water. It is located between Europe and Asia, and is bordered by Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan.
CAT (19D: Pet that might chirp at squirrels) My CAT, Willow, likes to sit at the window and watch the squirrels and birds in our yard. She doesn't usually chirp at them; she generally reserves that for stray cats that wander into her territory.
EL DORADO (38D: Legendary city of gold) The legendary city of gold known as EL DORADO is said to be located somewhere in the Americas. Stories of this mythical city surfaced in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, but although many have searched for it, none have found it.
BIG BEN (47D: Great Clock of Westminster) BIG BEN is located at the north end of the Palace of Westminster (also called the Houses of Parliament) in London, England. BIG BEN is the nickname of the clock's bell, and is also used to refer to the clock tower itself.
ADA (57D: programming pioneer Lovelace) It's been just over a week since we saw ADA Lovelace mentioned in a puzzle, so it's time. I'm always happy to see a mention of ADA Lovelace (1815-1852). A mathematician and computer programmer, she is considered to be one of the first to recognize the full potential of computers.
END (60D: Fitting place for this clue's answer) It's a little thing, but it always makes me smile to see END in the lower corner of the puzzle.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS (17A: "___ of the Third Kind" (sci-fi movie))
MISE-EN-SCENE (35A: Staging and design)
PLEASE ELABORATE (56A: "Could you clarify?")
SEE IN: IN each theme answer, the word SEE is found: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, MISE-EN-SCENE, and PLEASE ELABORATE.
The title of today's puzzle allowed me to make a confident guess about the theme. Always enjoyable to have a guess prove correct. In Kapil's note, he mentioned appreciating that two of the theme answers are grid-spanning. I agree that, although it doesn't affect the effectiveness of the theme at all, grid-spanning theme answers are especially satisfying. Thank you, Kapil, for this excellent puzzle.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for January 28, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher