Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, Turtles All the Way Down

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27-05-2025

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Turtles All the Way Down
Constructor: Orca Jimmy Peniston
Editor: Jared Goudsmit
LEEKS (38A: Veggies worn on Saint David's Day) Saint David's Day is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales. It is observed on March 1, which is the date of Saint David's death in 589 BCE. Traditional Saint David's Day activities include wearing daffodils and LEEKS, two national symbols of Wales.
ACTS (9A: "Into the Woods" has two) Into the Woods is a 1987 musical by Stephen Sondheim that intertwines the plots of several fairy tales. As the clue informs us, it has two ACTS.
KNEE (15A: Joint bent in a Nordic hamstring curl) The Nordic hamstring curl is an exercise in which a person starts in a kneeling position (i.e. with KNEEs bent) and then slowly lowers their body forward by extending the KNEE.
SHIP (16A: Captain Hook's vessel) We're talking about the fictional Captain Hook here, the antagonist in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan. Captain Hook's vessel was the pirate SHIP the Jolly Roger.
TEAMMATE (20A: Bronny, to LeBron James, e.g.) An astute solver might have guessed the answer here was "son" – until seeing the letter count of the answer. LeBron "Bronny" James is the son of LeBron James. Both LeBron and Bronny James currently play basketball for NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, making them TEAMMATEs.
EGYPT (33A: Country where Sham el-Nessim is celebrated) Sham el-Nessim is a national holiday in EGYPT that marks the beginning of spring. The holiday's name translates to "smelling the breeze" in English, and appropriately, it's celebrated outside with picnics, music, and games. Sham El-Nessim is celebrated on the Monday after Coptic Easter (which occurs later than the Easter holiday in Western Christianity).
SAX (44A: John Coltrane's instrument) John Coltrane (1926-1967) was a SAX player, bandleader, and composer. In 2007, John Coltrane was posthumously awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship, and iconic centrality to the history of jazz."
BERT (45A: Muppet with a pet pigeon) and ERNIE (62A: Muppet with a rubber duck) and ELMO (54D: Muppet with a pet named Dorothy) This is a lovely little Muppet sub-theme. I like the choice to write all three clues in the "Muppet with a..." format. By the way, BERT's pet pigeon is named Bernice, ERNIE's rubber duck is named Rubber Duckie, and ELMO's pet named Dorothy is a goldfish.
CLICK BAIT (58A: "This One Weird Trick..." headline, e.g.) Resist the CLICK BAIT, no matter how interesting or intriguing it seems.
REES (67A: "Mudbound" director Dee) Mudbound is a 2017 movie directed by Dee REES. It is based on Hillary Jordan's 2008 novel of the same name. The movie is a historical drama telling the story of two World War II veterans – one white, one Black – who return home to Mississippi after the war.
UNDER THE SEA (6D: "The Little Mermaid" song that features steel drums) "UNDER THE SEA" is a calypso-style song sung by the crab Sebastian (voiced by Samuel E. Wright) in Disney's animated 1989 movie The Little Mermaid. The song is Sebastian's attempt to dissuade Ariel (the titular mermaid) from her plan to go after Prince Eric. I can hear those steel drums now... "UNDER THE SEA / UNDER THE SEA / Darling it's better / Down where it's wetter / Take it from me..."
FRUIT NINJA (30D: Mobile game that involves slicing apples, mangoes, coconuts, etc.) FRUIT NINJA is a game in which a player uses their finger to slice fruit that appears on the screen. It's been quite some time since I've played FRUIT NINJA (but amazingly I have played it), but I recognized the description here immediately.
TACOS (47D: Foods "al pastor") TACOS al pastor is made with pork that has been marinated with pineapple, dried chilies, and spices and then skewered on a spit and grilled.
ONION (Cajun holy trinity veggie) In Cajun cuisine, which originated in Louisiana and was developed by CAJUNs (an ethnic group who are descendants of Acadian exiles), the "holy trinity" of aromatic vegetables – green pepper, ONION, and celery – is used in many recipes.
BAR (59A: Mixologist's workplace) A mixologist, aka a bartender, mixes and serves alcoholic beverages at a BAR.
PENALTY BOX (3D: Place for a punished hockey player)
UNDER THE SEA (6D: "The Little Mermaid" song that features steel drums)
FRUIT NINJA (30D: Mobile game that involves slicing apples, mangoes, coconuts, etc.)
TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN: The last word of each vertical (DOWN) theme answer is a type of TURTLE: BOX TURTLE, SEA TURTLE, and NINJA TURTLE.
TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN is an expression alluding to a mythical TURTLE that holds the Earth on its back, and suggests that this TURTLE rests on the back of another TURTLE, which rests on another TURTLE, etc. TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN is also the title of a young adult novel by John Green and the 2024 film adaptation of the novel. Today TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN is an appropriate title for this puzzle in which types of TURTLES are found DOWN in the theme answers. Thank you, Orca Jimmy, for this interesting puzzle.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for May 27, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher