NYT Crossword Answers for Nov. 5, 2024

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TUESDAY PUZZLE — Waiter, there’s a SPIRAL (43A) in my crossword! In fact, there are four of them. But no need to send it back — I’ve just devoured the whole thing, spirals and all.

My compliments to Evan Kalish, the puzzle’s constructor, for serving up a grid that I only wish I could have savored for longer. I was left in quite a state, you might say, after solving it. And now that I’ve nudge-nudged you ad nauseam, let’s dig in, shall we?

Today’s Theme

At first I thought that these spirals must be cinnamon buns, or some kind of funnel cake. Possibly a traditional spanakopita. But the revealer at 36-Across described these whorls as [Popular sushi options], which led me to CALIFORNIA ROLLS.

In this puzzle, “California” takes on a more direct meaning: A closer look at each spiral reveals the name of a different Californian city. We have SAN DIEGO, CUPERTINO, LONG BEACH and PASADENA.

I had trouble identifying the city names until I located the beginning of each spiral, so I suggest that solvers do the same: They’re at 16A in the top left, 11D in the top right, the L in 47A/37D in the lower left quadrant and the P in 55A/50D in the lower right.