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Crosswords

The Crossword, Dec. 22: Spinning Tops

Athina Ioannidou and guest attend the Sephora Cardiff Opening on October 23, 2025 in Cardiff, Wales.

53-Across: Floral liquid in some beauty products

|Dave Benett/Getty Images for Sephora Cardiff

Since we’ve no place to go, let’s solve the Monday crossword. This week’s puzzle was constructed by Rebecca Goldstein and Rachel Fabi, and edited by Hoang-Kim Vu. Rebecca is a research scientist in Albany, Calif. Rachel is a bioethicist in Syracuse, N.Y. Together, they are the Fall 2025 Boswords Themeless League Champions, Stormy Division, Pairs.

Defector crosswords, launched in partnership with our friends at AVCX, run every Monday. If you’re interested in submitting a puzzle to us, you can read our guidelines HERE.

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