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26-05-2025
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Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Blanket Term
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Blanket Term Constructors: Tom Pepper & Zhouqin Burnikel Editor: Amanda Rafkin HISS (1A: Sound from an annoyed cat) The only time my cat, Willow, ever lets out a HISS is when she discovers an unwelcome feline visitor in her house. I don't have any pictures of that, since when that happens I'm usually playing referee between the cats. Instead, here's a picture of Willow trying to convince me to pet her instead of working. (How could I possibly refuse?) WAS (26A: "It ___ a dark and stormy night") In the Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy began using a typewriter on top of his doghouse on July 12, 1965 (nearly 60 years ago!). Many of Snoopy's stories begin, "It WAS a dark and stormy night." ORCAS (30A: Whales known as "wolves of the sea") ORCAS and wolves are both apex predators, meaning they have no natural predators. ORCAS earned the nickname "wolves of the sea," because they hunt in groups, like wolves do. PASTA (33A: Fusilli or gemelli) Fusilli is corkscrew-shaped PASTA. Gemelli is a type of PASTA that appears to be two tubes twisted around each other. AFGHAN HOUND (36A: Silky-haired hunting dog) The AFGHAN HOUND gets its name because the breed originated in the mountain regions of Afghanistan. AFGHAN HOUNDs are characterized by fur that is long, fine, and silky. FORT (42A: Structure that might be made of pillows and blankets) I am a fan of a blanket FORT; it makes such a cozy hideaway. This is a nice theme bonus – whether you call a BLANKET a THROW, an AFGHAN, or a COVER – it can be used to build a FORT. COD (48A: Common fish for lutefisk) Lutefisk is made by drying and salting COD (or whitefish), and then rehydrating it in a lye-solution. The result is gelatinous in texture. Lutefisk originated from Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland). It is popular in some parts of the United States, where it is often associated with Christmas celebrations. ITHACA (2D: Cornell's city) Cornell University was founded in ITHACA, New York in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White. Cornell is a land grant university (an institution of higher education given federal land by the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890). ALF (6D: 1980s sitcom alien from the planet Melmac) ALF is a TV sitcom that ran for four seasons from 1986 to 1990. The title character was an "alien life form" (aka an extraterrestrial, or ET) from the planet Melmac. OTTAWA (8D: City home to Canada's Parliament Hill) OTTAWA is the capital of Canada. It is located in the southern part of the province of Ontario, and is Canada's fourth-largest city (following Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary). Parliament Hill is an area of land in downtown OTTAWA, located along the OTTAWA River. The Parliament of Canada is housed in three buildings located on Parliament Hill. TINA (10D: Bette's partner on "The L Word") The L Word was a Showtime TV drama that aired from 2004-2009. One of the show's main characters is Bette Porter, portrayed by Jennifer Beals, considered by some to be one of the most important LGBTQ TV characters of all time. Another main character is TINA Kennard, portrayed by Laurel Holloman. As the clue mentions, TINA and Bette are partners (though their relationship is on again, off again throughout the series). NAS (22D: Rapper Lil ___ X) Lil NAS X's song "Old Town Road" (2019) is tied (with "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey) for the most weeks (19) at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart. AGE (34D: What Adele's album titles represent) To date, Adele has recorded four studio albums: 19 (2008), 21 (2011), 25 (2015), and 30 (2021). The numbers reflect Adele's AGE when she wrote the songs on the album, not necessarily her AGE when the albums were released. KFC (39D: Colonel Sanders' chain) KFC, formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, was founded in North Corbin, Kentucky in 1930. Founder Harland Sanders (1890-1980) was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel (an honor bestowed by Kentucky's governor) in 1935, and became known as Colonel Sanders, the company's spokesman. REDDIT (47D: Popular discussion website) REDDIT is an online news aggregation and discussion website. One of the features of REDDIT is multiple discussion boards, or subreddits, focusing on a variety of topics. REDDIT users get to upvote and downvote posts, so the most popular posts appear at the top of a feed. THROW A FIT (17A: React angrily) AFGHAN HOUND (36A: Silky-haired hunting dog) COVER BAND (58A: Tribute group playing familiar songs) BLANKET TERM: The first word of each theme answer is a TERM that means BLANKET: THROW, AFGHAN, and COVER. A BLANKET TERM is a generic term used to describe a number of items. For example, "color" is a BLANKET TERM, whereas "red," "yellow," and "blue" are specific terms. In today's theme, however, BLANKET TERM refers to a TERM that literally means BLANKET. That's very fun. Thank you, Tom and Zhouqin, 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 May 20, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
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27-04-2025
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Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, That Stinks! (Freestyle)
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! That Stinks! Constructor: Rafael Musa Editor: Amanda Rafkin ANA (7D: ___ Carolina (Brazilian singer)) ANA Carolina released her self-titled debut album in 1999. The album was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Pop Album. I enjoyed listening to this duet ANA Carolina did with John Legend in 2015. SPLENDA (21A: Sugar substitute brand) SPLENDA manufactures a number of sugar substitute products. Original SPLENDA, introduced in 1999, contains the artificial sweetener sucralose. SPLENDA also has products containing stevia, monk fruit, and allulose. ACUTE (26A: Like a 30-degree angle) It's time for some geometry review. A right angle measures 90 degrees. Angles measuring less than 90 degrees (such as a 30-degree angle) are ACUTE. Angles measuring more than 90 degrees are obtuse. BEAR CLAW (28A: Paw-shaped pastry) BEAR CLAW pastries are made with yeasted sweet dough, shaped in a semi-circle with slices along the curved edge. As the dough rises, the sections separate, giving the pastry a claw-like shape. A BEAR CLAW is usually filled with almond paste. AVA (38A: "Sweet but Psycho" singer Max) "Sweet but Psycho" is the lead single from AVA Max's 2018 debut studio album Heaven and Hell. The song reached number 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. SOS (47A: "Help me!") and BOAT (50A: Yacht or catamaran) It seems fitting for these two answers / clues to appear consecutively. EOS (60A: Skin care company named after a goddess) In Greek mythology, EOS is the goddess and personification of the dawn. The beauty and skincare company EOS (Evolution of Smooth) was founded in 2006. EOS lip balms are known for their colorful, egg-shaped packaging. BRAIN TEASER (5D: Tricky mental challenge) In addition to solving crosswords, I do a number of other BRAIN TEASER puzzles every day. I tell myself it's good for my BRAIN; that's how I justify the time spent "playing." One BRAIN TEASER I have been enjoying is the game Order Up, created by Adam Wagner, which gives a list of seven things that need to be put in order based on a theme (that you have to figure out). FRONTLINE (11D: ___ Health Care Workers (group in the Time 2020 Person of the Year shortlist)) Remembering that the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020 (and how could we forget...) makes it understandable why FRONTLINE Health Care Workers made the shortlist for Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2020. Ultimately, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who were elected President and Vice-President of the United States in November 2020 were selected as the 2020 Persons of the Year. MEAT PIES (36D: Savory pastries featured in "Sweeney Todd") Sweeney TODD is a 1979 Stephen Sondheim musical based on a 1970 play of the same name by Christopher Bond. The musical's full title is Sweeney TODD: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Yes, MEAT PIES are indeed featured in the musical. Sweeney Todd's barber shop is located above a MEAT PIE shop run by Mrs. Lovett. In case you haven't seen Sweeney Todd, I'll just leave it at that to prevent spoilers. GATOS (42D: Cats, in Spanish) My cat, Willow, is happy to see a mention of cats in the puzzle, whether it's in English or Spanish. Here's a photo of Willow sitting on my lap while I'm working. Although you can't read it clearly, the shirt I'm wearing says, "MY CAT'S FAVORITE PERSON." E! NEWS (46D: Celebrity gossip show) E! NEWS is a program on the cable network E!. E! NEWS reports celebrity gossip as well as news about upcoming movies and TV shows. BABE (50D: Titular pig in a 1995 film) The 1995 movie BABE is an adaptation of Dick King-Smith's 1983 book, The Sheep-Pig. In the movie, BABE is a pig who learns how to herd sheep. In addition to its titular pig, BABE features a number of other animals. Real animals and animatronic puppets were used to play the animal characters. OSLO (51D: Nordic capital by a fjord) A fjord is a long, deep inlet. Fjords are often situated in valleys with cliffs on either side of the water. OSLO, the capital of Norway, is located on the appropriately named OSLO Fjord. Many places in Norway are near fjords, as the over 17,000 miles of coastline is made up mainly of fjords. For comparison, the baseline coastline (drawn in a straight line without following the fjords) is just over 1,500 miles. PARR (54D: Catherine ___ (last wife of Henry VIII)) Catherine PARR (1512-1548) was the sixth wife of Henry VIII (1491-1547). She was married to Henry VIII at the time of his death. Ever since I saw the musical Six, any mention of Henry VIII and his wives reminds me of it. This is a good thing, as I thoroughly enjoyed Six and its modern retelling by Henry VIII's wives, whose fates were "divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived." THAT STINKS! (Freestyle): There's no theme today, because this is a freestyle, or themeless, puzzle. The title is a nod to HOT GARBAGE (17A: Terrible thing, colloquially). No matter what this puzzle's title claims, this puzzle does not stink! And it is not HOT GARBAGE! There's oh so much to like here. In addition to the answers I've highlighted above, I also really enjoyed ABOUT THAT, BAGEL CHIPS, ELEPHANT, and SOLAR PANEL. Thank you, Rafa, for this splendid puzzle. USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for April 27, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
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31-01-2025
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Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, National Backwards Day
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! National Backwards Day Constructors: Amie Walker & Amanda Rafkin Editor: Amanda Rafkin Amie: Wishing Amanda Rafkin the happiest of birthday weekends! FINITE (21A: "The rules of hair care are simple and ___") "The rules of hair care are simple and FINITE," is a quote from the 2001 movie Legally Blonde. It was spoken by the character Elle Woods (portrayed by Reese Witherspoon). Although I know quite a bit about the movie Legally Blonde from writing about it, I haven't actually seen it. (I'm always hesitant to admit I haven't seen a movie...) Thankfully, crossing answers helped me out here. NINJA (39A: Scorpion, in Mortal Kombat, e.g.) The Mortal Kombat franchise began with a Mortal Kombat arcade game released in 1992. Since then, the franchise has grown to include comic books, card games, movies, an animated TV series, and even a live-action tour. Scorpion is one of the characters in Mortal Kombat, and is a playable character in most of the video games. Scorpion is a NINJA who dresses in yellow and uses a rope dart to harpoon opponents. STARDUST (11D: "93 Percent ___" (Nikita Gill poem about our cosmic makeup)) Nikita Gill is a poet and writer who has written eight books of poetry, and also uses social media to engage with readers. She wrote her poem, "93 Percent STARDUST" after reading Carl Sagan's book "Cosmos." ASL (17D: AIM-era icebreaker question (Abbr.)) Although I now know that I lived through the AIM-era, I didn't know what it was. AIM here stands for "AOL Instant Messenger," and the AIM-era was the late 1990s to 2000s, when AIM was popular. As I mentioned a few days ago, ASL in this context (usually written as "a/s/l?") stands for "age / sex / location." RAP (1A: Genre featured in the "Karma" remix) "Karma" is a Taylor Swift song, from her Midnights album. A remix of "Karma" features the RAP artist Ice Spice. BODY (4A: "Her ___ Is Bible" (Fletcher song)) Fletcher is a pop artist whose debut studio album, Girl of My Dreams, was released in 2022. "Her BODY is Bible" was the first single released from that album. ANITA (14A: Ariana's "West Side Story" role) In the 2021 musical film West Side Story – which is an adaptation of the 1957 stage musical – Ariana DeBose portrays ANITA. The use of Ariana DeBose's first name here signals that the answer is the character's first name. AMY ADAMS (16A: "Enchanted" star who sings "True Love's Kiss") In Disney's 2007 movie, Enchanted, AMY ADAMS portrays Princess Giselle. The movie is a hybrid of animation and live-action. The song "True Love's Kiss" occurs early in the movie during its animated portion. SESAME (18A: Type of seed in tahini) Tahini is essentially ground toasted SESAME seed. You might think of it as SESAME seed butter. Tahini is a main ingredient in hummus and baba ghanoush DIY (28A: Handyperson's letters) DIY = do-it-yourself. As I write this, my husband is working on a DIY project to redo the stairs leading into our basement. EPA (29A: Clean Air Act org.) The Clean Air Act, which is intended to control air pollution in the U.S., was enacted in 1963 and has been amended multiple times since then. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the agency that administers the Clean Air Act and develops regulations to meet the law's mandates. MUSEUMS (41A: LACMA, MoMA and the Louvre) LACMA is the Los Angeles County MUSEUM of Art in California. The MUSEUM of Modern Art (MoMA) is located in New York City. The Louvre is an art MUSEUM in Paris, France. TWOFER (50A: BOGO offer) BOGO = buy one, get one ELSA (56A: Older "Frozen" sister) and OLAF (5D: Snowman in "Frozen") The 2013 Disney animated movie Frozen was an absolute gift to crossword constructors. I'm sure that's not what Disney intended when naming the characters in Frozen, but it has certainly proven to be the case. There are a number of characters in Frozen with four-letter names, and those names are useful crossword fill. In addition to ELSA and OLAF, there's also Anna, Hans, and Sven. ELENA (61A: Justice appointed after Sonia) Sonia Sotomayor was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009. The Supreme Court judge appointed after her was ELENA Kagan, in 2010. Both Sonia Sotomayor and ELENA Kagan were nominated by President Barack Obama. The use of Sonia Sotomayor's first name in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will also be a first name. ARG (63A: Neighbor of Chile (Abbr.)) Chile is located along the western coast of the southern part of South America, between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Chile's neighbor to the east, across the Andes, is Argentina (ARG.). The capital of Chile is Santiago, and the capital of Argentina is Buenos Aires. REAL ID (1D: Requirement to fly domestically starting in 2025) The REAL ID Act of 2005 established specific requirements for U.S. driver's licenses and ID cards. Those requirements include verification of the personal information on the IDs. As of May 7, 2025, a REAL ID will be a requirement for domestic flights. BAD (4D: "Now I'm down ___ crying at the gym") "Now I'm down BAD crying at the gym" is a lyric from Taylor Swift's 2024 song "Down BAD," which is on the album The Tortured Poets Department. TIS (10D: "___ the damn season" (Taylor Swift song)) "'TIS the Damn Season" is a song from Taylor Swift's 2020 album, Evermore. Amie and Amanda have managed to get not just one, but three Taylor Swift references in this puzzle. NUTELLA (39D: Hazelnut cocoa spread) Ah, NUTELLA! I am a fan of this hazelnut cocoa spread. (Its main ingredients are actually sugar and palm oil, with hazelnuts and cocoa appearing further down on the not to think about that.) NUTELLA was introduced by the Italian company, Ferrero, in 1964, and is now produced in a number of facilities around the world. When I was a senior in high school, our family hosted an exchange student from Germany. Ursula was the one that introduced us to NUTELLA, which was not widely available in the United States at that time. I'm glad NUTELLA is now easy to find in the U.S., though I have to limit myself to only buying it occasionally. ORANGE (46D: Gritty's color) Gritty is a 7-foot-tall furry ORANGE creature, and the mascot of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers. Gritty was introduced as the team's mascot in 2018. In 2024, Gritty was selected as NHL's Mascot of the Year. You can follow Gritty on Instagram. OED 51D: Its 2024 Word of the Year was "brain rot" (Abbr.)) The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has been selecting a Word of the Year since 2004. The first word selected to be OED's Word of the year was "chav" (which is now listed in the OED as a derogatory term). As the clue informs us, the OED selected "brain rot" as the Word of the Year for 2024. Interestingly, the first recorded use of "brain rot" was as far back as 1854. Henry David Thoreau used the term in his book Walden. ISN'T (53D: "It wasn't over. It still ___ over") "It wasn't over. It still ISN'T over," is a line from the 2004 movie, The Notebook. The movie is based on Nicholas Sparks' 1996 book of the same name. This line is spoken by Noah (portrayed by Ryan Gosling) to Allie (portrayed by Rachel McAdams). AMY ADAMS (16A: "Enchanted" star who sings "True Love's Kiss") DISNEY ADULT (36A: Grown-up who's Happy at the Magic Kingdom) HOW YA DOIN' (58A: Casual check-in phrase) NATIONAL BACKWARDS DAY: Each theme answer contains the word DAY going BACKWARDS: AMY ADAMS, DISNEY ADULT, and HOW YA DOIN'. Happy NATIONAL BACKWARDS DAY! This light-hearted holiday is celebrated annually on January 31. I'm just now thinking that I really should have solved this puzzle from the lower right corner to the upper left corner, which is BACKWARDS from my usual process. One suggestion I read for celebrating NATIONAL BACKWARDS DAY is to eat dessert first. Suddenly I'm a fan of this holiday. Thank you, Amie and Amanda, for this delightful puzzle. USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for January 31, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
