NYT Connections April 9, 2025 #668 Hints & Answers

The word 'sphere' derives from the Greek 'sphaira' meaning 'ball,' and has been used in English since the late 14th century. In ancient astronomy and cosmology, celestial bodies were believed to be embedded in transparent, concentric spheres that rotated around the Earth. This concept, known as the 'celestial spheres' model, dominated Western astronomical thinking for nearly 2,000 years until it was replaced by heliocentric models during the Scientific Revolution.

The slang term 'sock' meaning to punch someone dates back to the early 20th century and may be connected to the 'sock' in 'sock puppet,' which involves a punching motion when animated. Similarly, 'slug' as a verb meaning to hit someone hard has been in use since the 1830s and is thought to relate to the heavy, forceful movement of a slug (ammunition) being fired or the slow, heavy movement of the mollusk.

The infamous witches' brew scene in Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act IV, Scene 1) features the memorable incantation 'Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.' The recipe includes numerous animal parts beyond those in this category, such as 'eye of newt, toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog,' along with 'adder's fork, blind-worm's sting, lizard's leg, and howlet's wing.' Many scholars believe these grotesque-sounding ingredients were actually code names for harmless herbs and plants used by real herbalists and apothecaries of Shakespeare's time, who would use such terms to keep their medicinal formulas secret or to avoid persecution during witch hunts.

The foxglove plant (Digitalis purpurea) contains powerful cardiac glycosides that can both kill and cure. While toxic if consumed directly, its extract was first used medicinally in the late 18th century by William Withering to treat dropsy (now known as edema). Modern derivatives of these compounds, collectively called digitalis, remain vital heart medications today. The name 'foxglove' itself has curious origins—some suggest it refers to the shape of the flowers resembling gloves that would fit a fox's paw, while others propose it's a corruption of 'folk's glove,' referencing folklore that fairies gave the flowers to foxes to wear as magic gloves to help them silently steal chickens.