There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solvetoday's puzzlebefore reading further!Drunken Noodles Constructor:Amanda Rafkin Editor:Amanda Rafkin THAI (25A: Rad na cuisine) In THAI cuisine, rad na (also written rat na) is a stir-fried dish made with wide rice noodles, meat or tofu, and gai lan (also known as Chinese broccoli) served in a sauce made with soy sauce and fish sauce. GOLDEN SOMBRERO (53A: Baseball term for a batter striking out four times in a single game) Add GOLDEN SOMBRERO to the list of sports things I have learned from solving crossword puzzles. The term GOLDEN SOMBRERO derived from"hat trick,"which is a term used in several sports to refer to a (usually positive) achievement of a trio of events. The thought was that since four is bigger than three, a bigger "hat" should be referenced. If a baseball player strikes out four times in the same game they have earned a GOLDEN SOMBRERO. If a batter strikes out five times in a single game, their "hat" is upgraded to a platinum SOMBRERO. SHORT STORY (7D: One of nine in Mary Gaitskill's book "Bad Behavior") The SHORT STORY collectionBad Behavior, published in 1988, is Mary Gaitskill's first published book. She also writes novels and essays. As I was learning about Mary Gaitskill's work, I came across an essay of hers published last year inThe Cut, titled"Was I capable of Killing My Cat for Bad Behavior?"As a cat owner (specifically the owner of a cat who is happiest when she is the only cat), I found the essay intriguing and at times relatable. Interestingly, in spite of its title, the essay is not related to her short story collectionBad Behavior. POR QUE NO LOS DOS (15A: "Why not both," in Spanish) The phrase "POR QUE NO LOS DOS" became popular following a2011 Old El Paso commercial. ELIOT (23A: Mary Ann Evans aka George ___) George ELIOT was the pen name of English writer Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880), whose novels includeThe Mill on the Floss(1860), andSilas Marner(1861). FMRI (45A: _unctional _agnetic _esonance _maging) With a split fill-in-the-blank clue such as this one, each blank represents one missing letter. In this case, the missing letters are FMRI, which stand for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. An FMRI (usually written with a lowercase f, as fMRI), is a test that measures brain activity by evaluating blood flow in different areas of the brain. ANO (50A: Year, in Portuguese) In Portuguese, the word for year is ANO. In Spanish, the word for year is AÑO. You'll notice that in Spanish, the word for year has a tilde over the letter N. Sometimes, you'll see the word ANO in crosswords clued as the Spanish word. The difficulty is that the Spanish word ANO, without the tilde, means "anus." There are no tildes in crossword grids, of course, so clueing this word in reference to Portuguese is much safer. HANA (57A: Actress and model ___ Mae Lee) In the threePitch Perfectmovies (2012-2017), HANA Mae Lee portrayed Lilly Onakurama, one of the members of the a cappella group, the Barden Bellas. As a model, HANA Mae Lee has appeared in campaigns for Honda, Nokia, and American Express. LAT (58A: SoCal newspaper) TheLos Angeles Times, orLAT, has been reporting on southern California (SoCal) news since December 4, 1881. The abbreviation SoCal in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation. FOR (60A: "What Was I Made ___?" (Oscar-winning song))"What Was I Made FOR?"is a 2023 song by Billie Eilish. It is a single fromBarbie the Album, the soundtrack for the 2023 movieBarbie. The song won an Oscar (Academy Award) for Best Original Song, as well as a Grammy Award for Song of the Year. REN (6D: Stimpy's buddy)The REN & Stimpy Showis an animated TV series that originally aired from 1991-1996. REN is a chihuahua, and Stimpy is a Manx cat. HISS (22D: Angry cat sound) For the most part, the only time my cat, Willow, will HISS is if another cat is in "her" house. I don't have any photos of that, because when it happens I'm usually busy attempting to keep the cats apart! Instead, here's a photo of Willow looking superior (which is pretty much her normal look). NOVELS (41D: "White Oleander" and "Disobedience")White Oleanderis a 1999 NOVEL by Janet Fitch that was adapted into a 2002 movie of the same name. It centers on a young girl named Astrid who is placed in foster care after her mother is sentenced to life in prison.Disobedienceis Naomi Alderman's 2006 debut NOVEL that was adapted into a 2017 movie of the same name. It tells the story of a woman who returns to the strict Orthodox Jewish community in which she was raised after living in New York City for many years. MEN (46A: "I don't dress for women / I don't dress for ___ / Lately I've been dressing for revenge) "I don't dress for women / I don't dress for MEN / Lately I've been dressing for revenge," is a line from Taylor Swift's 2022 song,"Vigilante Shit."As one might guess from the title and these lyrics, the song is about a woman out for revenge. LEA (54D: "Old Friends" actress Salonga)Stephen Sondheim's Old Friendsis a musical revue honoring Stephen Sondheim. It was originally designed as a one-night performance in 2022, but went on to be performed in London's West End, in Los Angeles, and on Broadway – where it is currently playing and scheduled to run until June 29. LEA Salonga is part of the show's cast. A few other clues I especially enjoyed: MARKER (37A: Component of a roll-and-write game, sometimes) SHAKE (18A: Command that might cause a dog to extend its paw) FAXING (34A: Mostly obsolete way of sending documents) POR QUE NO LOS DOS (15A: "Why not both," in Spanish) FAST AND LOOSE (34A: In a reckless manner) GOLDEN SOMBRERO (53A: Baseball term for a batter striking out four times in a single game) DRUNKEN NOODLES: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word NOODLES: POR QUE NO LOS DOS, FAST AND LOOSE, and GOLDEN SOMBRERO. DRUNKEN NOODLES is a spicy Thai stir-fried dish. Today, however, it serves nicely as this puzzle's title, with "DRUNKEN" serving as an indicator that this is a hidden anagram theme. In the theme answers, we find the following anagrams of the word NOODLES: E/NO/LOS/D, ND/LOOSE, and OLDEN/SO. Thank you, Amanda, for this enjoyable puzzle. USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Crossword Blog & Answers for June 22, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
