3 days ago
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Narrow Openings
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Narrow Openings
Constructor: Marshal Herrmann
Editor: Anna Gundlach
Marshal: I'm happy to have another puzzle published at USA Today! It's a pleasure to construct themed puzzles for the USA Today because they allow a lot of freedom in the grid pattern, so I have more flexibility to create what I think is the most fun puzzle. I hope you enjoyed it!
Crosswords are subjective, so what constructors find "fun" will vary based on their personal experiences and taste. Here are some entries that I particularly enjoyed because they had some personal connection: SEQUOIAS (I recently road-tripped from Chicago to Yosemite with my girlfriend, and we were in awe of those giants), LATTE ART (one of my best friends recently purchased an espresso machine, and I've been the happy beneficiary of many increasingly-artsy lattes), TRICK DECK (I took magic lessons as an adult and still own a trick deck, although I've since switched hobbies), BOSTON (I lived there for four years), and KENJI (my favorite food writer; his recipes and content are top-notch).
ANTI (5A: "___-Hero" (Taylor Swift hit) "ANTI-Hero" is the lead single from Taylor Swift's 2022 album, Midnights. I quite enjoy this song with its lyrics that include, "I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser," and "It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me."
OAHU (14A: Waikiki's island) Waikiki is a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is known for Waikiki Beach, located on the south shore of the island of OAHU.
KENJI (19A: Food writer J. ___ Lopez-Alt) J. KENJI López-Alt is the Chief Culinary Consultant at the food blog Serious Eats, where he wrote a column called "The Food Lab." He adapted the column into his first book, "The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, which became a New York Times bestseller and won a James Beard Foundation award.
BEALE (34A: ___ Street (home to the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum)) BEALE Street is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and is the street that the song "BEALE Street Blues" took its name from. As the clue informs us, the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum is located on BEALE Street. This museum, which opened in 2000, began as a Smithsonian Institution research project, and is the Smithsonian's first permanent exhibit outside Washington D.C. and New York.
PAI (53A: ___ gow poker) At first I thought that PAI gow poker was new to me, but then I realized I wrote about it when we saw PAI GOW POKER as a theme answer a couple of years ago. PAI gow poker, also called double-hand poker, is a card game version of the Chinese gambling game, PAI gow, which is played with dominoes.
JOUST (55A: Compete in a Renaissance Faire sport) A Renaissance Faire (or Ren Faire, for short) is a medieval-themed festival. If you go to a Renaissance Faire, you might be addressed as "Lord" or "Lady," watch a JOUSTing event, or purchase Renaissance-themed handcrafts at the shoppes. You might even compete in a JOUSTing event.
THIN MINTS (60A: Top-selling Girl Scout cookie variety) Honestly, I will eat almost any variety of Girl Scout cookies. But I can understand why THIN MINTS are the top-seller; they are delicious. (The second-best selling Girl Scout cookie variety is Samoas.)
MARTY (62A: "Back to the Future" hero McFly) Back to the Future is, of course, the classic 1985 movie that starred Christopher Lloyd as eccentric scientist Doc Brown, who sends his friend MARTY McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) on a time travel journey.
EDNA (67A: "Country Girl" author O'Brien) Country Girl is the 2012 memoir of Irish writer EDNA O'Brien (1930-2024). EDNA O'Brien's debut book, The Country Girls – the first book in a trilogy – tells the story of two Irish country girls that move to the city in search of love and adventure. The book was published in 1960, a time when women in Ireland did not have many rights. EDNA O'Brien wrote about sexual matters and social issues facing women. All three books in The Country Girls trilogy were banned by the Irish censorship board when they were published.
BOSTON (1D: City home to Bunker Hill and Beacon Hill) Bunker Hill is a hill in the BOSTON, Massachusetts neighborhood of Charlestown. The Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War was fought near there. Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood in BOSTON. The Massachusetts State House is located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.
TRICK DECK (7D: Magician's prop that might have blank cards) This entry reminds me of the TV Magic Cards that were popular when I was a kid. Those TRICK DECKs didn't have blank cards, however. Instead, every other card in the DECK was identical.
HIJINKS (12D: Rambunctious antics) HIJINKS is a fun word. It's also spelled "high jinks."
DES (22D: Marathon runner Linden) I just learned about DES Linden – who won the Boston marathon in 2018 – when she appeared in the puzzle a week ago.
MARGOT (28D: "Barbie" star Robbie) MARGOT Robbie portrays the title character in the 2023 movie Barbie. Although to be fair, there are quite a few characters in the movie named Barbie. One of my favorite scenes from the movie is when all the Barbies are greeting each other. "Hi, Barbie!" "Hi, Barbie!" "Hi Barbie!"...
IBISES (30D: Sacred birds to ancient Egyptians) One species of IBISES, the African sacred IBISES, are known for their role in Ancient Egyptian religion. The Egyptian god, Thoth, was depicted as having the head of an IBIS.
SEQUOIAS (37D: Giant trees in Yosemite's Mariposa Grove) Giant SEQUOIAS are the largest known living tree on Earth. (They are not the tallest, though they are tall, but are the largest by volume.) Giant SEQUOIAS are native to the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. Mariposa Grove is the largest grove of Giant SEQUOIAS in Yosemite National Park. Another good place to view SEQUOIAS is in SEQUOIA National Park. Both Yosemite National Park and SEQUOIA National Park are located in California.
KILL TIME (39D: Solve a crossword while waiting around, perhaps) Solving a crossword is an excellent way to KILL TIME, I'd say.
USHER (52D: 2024 Super Bowl halftime headliner) USHER released his self-titled debut album in 1994 when he was 15 years old. In 2024, USHER headlined the halftime show for Super Bowl LVIII. On the same day he performed at the Super Bowl, USHER released his ninth studio album, Coming Home.
NPC (61D: Uncontrollable video game figure (Abbr.)) NPC here stands for "non-player character." NPCs are having a moment in the crossword sun, as yesterday we saw NPCS clued as [They may bestow quests in video games (Abbr.)].
A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
TACKLE (25A: Football move or position)
LIFTOFF (46A: Word after a NASA countdown)
LATTE ART (38D: Pictures made by baristas)
SKINNY-DIP (17A: Swim in one's birthday suit)
SLIM PICKINGS (37A: What a rummaged-through rummage sale has left over)
THIN MINTS (60A: Top-selling Girl Scout cookie variety)
NARROW OPENINGS: The OPENING word of each theme answer is a synonym for NARROW: SKINNY, SLIM, and THIN.
I am a fan of synonym themes, and this is a fun one. It's particularly nice that these synonyms of NARROW have meanings other than NARROW in the theme answers. I appreciated learning, from his constructor's notes, which entries Marshal was especially excited about. Thank you, Marshal, for this enjoyable puzzle.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for May 31, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
