Yahoo Lifestyle Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Incognito Tab
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Incognito Tab
Constructor: Maddy Ziegler
Editor: Jared Goudsmit
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
OCT (23A: Black Poetry Day mo.) Black Poetry Day – OCT. 17 – is a day designated to honor Black poets. The date was chosen because it is the birthday of Jupiter Hammon (1711 - c. 1806). Jupiter Hammon's poem, "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries," was published in 1761, and he was the first Black poet in North America to be published. Of course, you don't have to wait until OCT. 17 each year to read the work of Black poets. Any day is a good day to read a poem by Amanda Gorman, James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, or any other Black poet.
EAT (30A: Have some echicha) Echicha is a dish that originated in Nigeria, particularly in the Igbo region in the southeastern part of the country. Echicha consists of Cocoyam (a starchy root vegetable) and mgbụmgbụ (a legume also known as pigeon pea). The vegetables are steamed until soft and mixed with a sauce of palm oil, onions, and seasoning.
ART (44A: ___ButMakeItSports (social media account that compares photos of athletes with paintings) ARTButMakeItSports is a social media account that was started on Twitter (which is now X) in December 2019 by LJ Rader. He now maintains ARTButMakeItSports accounts on a number of social media sites, including Instagram and Bluesky. LJ Rader takes sports photos and matches them with works of art.
GOOF TROOP (3D: '90s animated series featuring a Disney dog) As you might guess from the title, the animated sitcom GOOF TROOP features the Disney cartoon character Goofy. On the show, Goofy is a single dad. Other characters include Goofy's son, Max, and their neighbor Pete. The show aired for two seasons in 1992, and there were two spin-off movies, A Goofy Movie (1995) and An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000).
DANA (8D: "Noble Blood" host Schwartz) Noble Blood is a history podcast that explores the darker history of some fascinating royals – "the tyrants and the tragic, the murderers and the murdered, and everyone in between." It is hosted by author, screenwriter, and journalist DANA Schwartz.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
AC/DC (6A: "High Voltage" band) High Voltage is AC/DC's debut studio album, released in 1975. That album was released only in Australia and New Zealand. A year later AC/DC released their first internationally released album. It was also called High Voltage, though the track listings of the two albums that share a name are different.
PARITY (27A: Pay ___ (fair compensation topic)) Pay PARITY is the practice of paying people equitably. That is, employees with similar jobs in the same location receive equal pay regardless of race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, or other identity.
POSH (34A: ___ spice (Victoria Beckham's nickname)) Victoria Beckham is a singer, fashion designer, and TV personality. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, she was a member of the Spice Girls, and was known as POSH Spice.
QUINTA BRUNSON (53A: Star and creator of "Abbott Elementary") Abbott Elementary (2021-present) is a mockumentary (a show that presents fictional events as if they were a documentary) that focuses on a group of educators in the Philadelphia public school system. QUINTA BRUNSON created the show and stars as second grade teacher Janine Teagues. Abbott Elementary is on my (rather lengthy) list of shows to watch "someday." On one of our road trips, my husband and I listened to the audiobook of QUINTA BRUNSON's book, She Memes Well, and really enjoyed it. In several of the essays, she talks about the creation of Abbott Elementary. Fun fact: We've seen QUINTA BRUNSON as a theme answer two times before: April 5, 2022 and November 21, 2022. One of those puzzles also took advantage of the hidden TAB in QUINTA BRUNSON's name, though with a little different twist.
ELMO (4D: Muppet who sings "Anyone Can Be Friends") On this ninth day of 2025, ELMO is making his third crossword appearance of the year. "Anyone Can Be Friends" is a song ELMO sings on Sesame Street. The first time the song was sung on the show, ELMO sang it to some Martians who were studying the people of Earth.
CRIBBAGE (9D: Card game with pegs) CRIBBAGE is a card game. Score is kept by moving pegs along a track on a CRIBBAGE board. I learned to play CRIBBAGE about 50 years ago. My family was on a road trip and my Grandma Doris was traveling with us. In the back seat of the car, my Grandma Doris taught my sister and I how to play CRIBBAGE. Thank you to this answer for reminding me of that.
GAY (21D: Like many characters in "The L Word") The L Word was a Showtime TV drama that aired from 2004-2009. A sequel series, The L Word: Generation Q, aired from 2019-2023. Both of the series included many GAY characters.
SLAM (55D: Grand ___ (tennis feat)) In tennis, the Grand SLAM tournaments are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Tennis players winning all four tournaments in the same year are said to have achieved a Grand SLAM. If a player wins all four championships consecutively, but not in the same calendar year, as Serena Williams did in 2002-2003, that is referred to as a non-calendar-year Grand SLAM, or a Serena Slam.
A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
METAL (67A: Apt homophone of "medal")
ODD MAN OUT (35D: Person who differs from the rest of the group)
NURSE (47D: Word before "practitioner" or "shark")
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
FORGET ABOUT IT (20A: "Ugh, never mind!")
I GOT A BETTER IDEA (38A: "Let's try this instead...")
QUINTA BRUNSON (53A: Star and creator of "Abbott Elementary")
INCOGNITO TAB: The word TAB is hidden (i.e. INCOGNITO) in each theme answer: FORGET ABOUT IT, I GOT A BETTER IDEA, and QUINTA BRUNSON.
INCOGNITO mode is a browser setting that doesn't save browsing activity (like history and cookies) on a device. INCOGNITO mode is used to keep one's online activity private from other users on the same computer. An INCOGNITO TAB is a browser TAB opened in INCOGNITO mode. (FYI: INCOGNITO mode does not keep your activity private from your internet service provider or from third parties when you visit websites.) Today, INCOGNITO TAB makes a great theme pointing at the hidden TAB in each theme answer. Thank you, Maddy, for this enjoyable puzzle.
For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for January 9, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
