- - - Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, Go With the Flow (Freestyle)

Sally Hoelscher, USA TODAYJuly 18, 2025 at 1:00 AM

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Go With the Flow (Freestyle)

Constructor: Rafael Musa

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

July 18, 2025What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle -

PEOPLE (45A: Foster the ___ (indie band)) The indie pop band Foster the PEOPLE was started in Los Angeles, California in 2009. Their most recent album, Paradise State of Mind, was released in 2024.

ROSTER (43A: List of people someone is dating, colloquially) To be fair, it's been (much more than) a minute since I've been dating. I was not familiar with this colloquial use of the word ROSTER.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things -

PANAMA HAT (13A: Headwear that actually originated in Ecuador) As the clue mentions, the brimmed straw HAT commonly referred to as the PANAMA HAT originated in Ecuador. When the HATs began to become popular, they were woven in Ecuador, and then shipped (like many other goods) to the Isthmus of PANAMA before going on to their final destinations around the world. In time, the HATs became known for their point of shipping rather than where they were made.

I'LL MANAGE (17A: "Don't worry about me") and MAKE IT STOP (14D: "I can't take this anymore!) Well, things escalated quickly from 17-Across to 14-Down, didn't they? It's fun that these two answers are crossing.

KISSES (20A: Licks from a kitty cat) and CLAWS (34A: Cats' might be trimmed at a pet spa) and MEWS (47A: Kitten cries) My cat, Willow, is a fan of all of this cat content. I am a fan of kitty KISSES.

Kitty kisses -

CARATS (30A: Jewelers' units of mass) A CARAT is equal to 200mg, which is 0.00705 ounces.

HOLI (31A: Festival celebrating Radha and Krishna) HOLI is a Hindu festival celebrating the end of winter and the arrival of spring, as well as the divine and eternal love of Radha and Krishna. In Hinduism, Radha and Krishna are forms of God. HOLI will be celebrated next on March 3-4, 2026.

SON (38A: Apollo, to Zeus) In Greek mythology, Apollo is the SON of Zeus and Leto. In yesterday's puzzle we saw ATHENA clued as [Goddess that burst from Zeus' head]. Apollo was apparently birthed by a more conventional route, although the story is that Leto was in labor for nine days and nine nights. (Whew!)

TBS (50A: "American Dad!" channel) American Dad! is an animated sitcom which premiered on Fox in 2005. The TV show moved to TBS in 2014 for its 12th season. The 21st season of American Dad! premiered on TBS in October 2024. The show centers on an eccentric upper middle class family – the Smiths – who live in a fictionalized version of Langley, Virginia.

ANA (8D: Santa ___, California) and PALO (26D: ___ Alto, California) and RICO (37D: Puerto ___) Today's puzzle is being served with a side of fill-in-the-blank geography review.

DISNEY (9D: Heiress and activist Abigail) Abigail DISNEY is the daughter of Roy E. DISNEY and the granddaughter of Roy O. DISNEY. It was Abigail's grandfather and her great-uncle, Walt, who created the DISNEY Brothers Cartoon Studio. That studio ultimately became the entertainment conglomerate known as the Walt DISNEY Company. Abigail has publicly criticized the DISNEY corporation for not paying many of their workers enough while their CEO is "paid far too much." She is a part of the group, Patriotic Millionaires, who promote a higher tax rate for the wealthy.

DESIRE PATH (10D: Route created by foot traffic, generating a shortcut) Whether or not you are familiar with the phrase "DESIRE PATH," you've likely seen one. When I attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa back in the 1980s, there was a grassy square on campus surrounded by sidewalks. And across the grassy area there were two foot-worn DESIRE PATHs connecting the corners of the square. People do like a shortcut.

ICE T (11D: "Law & Order: SVU" actor) On the TV series Law & Order: SVU, ICE T portrays Fin Tutuola ("Fin" is short for Odafin), a sergeant with the New York Police Department's Special Victims Unit (SVU). ICE T joined the show in its second season. The show began its 26th season in October of last year.

ORANGE WINE (27D: Drink colored by grape skins) Typically, when white WINE is made, after the grapes are crushed, the juice is quickly separated from the grape skins. This is in contrast to red WINE production, which allows the juice to have prolonged contact with the grape skins, allowing for maceration, the leaching of coloring agents and flavor compounds from the skins. ORANGE WINE, also known as amber WINE, is made from white WINE grapes, but the grape skins are not removed.

RODEO (29D: "It's not my first ___!") Yesterday we saw the word ISN'T clued as ["This ___ my first rodeo"].

HULU (40D: "Love, Victor" streaming platform) Love, Victor is a TV show inspired by the 2018 movie Love, Simon. The show follows Victor (played by Michael Cimino), a new student at Creekwood High School who is facing challenges at home and school and struggling with his sexual orientation. Victor learns about Simon's coming out story, and reaches out to him on social media. As the clue informs us, Love, Victor is currently streaming on HULU.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

GO WITH THE FLOW (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless, puzzle. The title is a nod to DESIRE PATH (10D: Route created by foot traffic, generating a shortcut).

I don't know if it was intentional or simply fortuitous, but I appreciate that the placement of black squares in the grid seem to be creating a path of white squares from the upper right corner through the center of the grid to the lower left corner. Let's GO WITH THE FLOW here and say that's a DESIRE PATH. Thank you, Rafa, for this lovely puzzle.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for July 18, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”