Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Break a Dish

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Break a Dish

Constructor: Ryan Mathiason

Editor: Anna Gundlach

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• PETER (15A: "Fargo" actor Stormare) Fargo is a 1996 movie directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It inspired a TV series of the same name that premiered in 2014. In the movie, PETER Stormare portrays Gaear Grimsrud, one of two men hired by a car dealer to kidnap his wife so he can get ransom money from his father-in-law. Fargo won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• BEER (13A: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, for one) Dogfish Head is a brewery located in Milton, Delaware. Founded in 1995, the brewery is known for its experimental BEERs. On the Dogfish Head website, the 90 Minute IPA is described as "abundantly hoppy & compellingly complex." The "90 Minute" in the BEER's name refers to the amount of time that hops are continually added during the BEER-making process. Dogfish Head also makes a 60 Minute IPA and a 120 Minute IPA.
• AVE (27A: 1600 Pennsylvania ___) This is the address of the White House. The President of the United States lives at 1600 Pennsylvania AVE. in Washington, D.C. Fun Fact: 1600 Pennsylvania AVEnue is the name of a 1976 musical by Leonard Bernstein, his last Broadway show. The show was a flop (notably, Leonard Bernstein's only flop), and closed after only seven Broadway performances.
• LOGO (34A: A horseshoe, for the Colts) The Indianapolis Colts are a National Football League (NFL) team. The team was formerly the Baltimore Colts, until relocating to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1984. The team's LOGO is a blue horseshoe.
• DIANE NASH (38A: Civil rights activist who helped coordinate Freedom Rides) DIANE NASH was prominently involved in organizing sit-ins to integrate lunch counters. She was also active with the Freedom Riders who worked to desegregate interstate travel. She co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and worked for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• SOUP (44A: Bouillabaisse or vichyssoise) Bouillabaisse is a fish SOUP that originated in France. Vichyssoise is a SOUP made from leeks, onions, potatoes, and cream. It is traditionally served cold.
• ANA (53A: Santa ___, CA) Santa ANA is a city in southern California. Santa ANA is part of the greater Los Angeles region, and is the county seat of Orange County.
• JOE (54A: ___ Gardner ("Soul" protagonist)) Soul is a 2020 Pixar movie. The animated film focuses on the life of JOE Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx). JOE is a part-time music teacher who dreams of playing jazz full-time. After JOE's soul and body are accidentally separated, he must find a way to reunite them. It's not a straightforward journey, of course, or the movie wouldn't be very interesting. Soul won Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.
• LITTER (58A: Mama cat's quadruplets, e.g.) The thought of a LITTER of four kittens makes me say, "Awww." The average size of a LITTER of kittens is four to six. Since it has been almost 13 years since we adopted our cat, Willow, from the shelter, I don't remember how many LITTER-mates she had.

• DIAPER RASH (62A: It's a real pain in the butt for babies) Ha! Such a funny clue. And also, poor babies with DIAPER RASH – so not fun.
• TIGER (68A: Pi's shipmate in "Life of Pi") Life of Pi is a 2001 novel by Yann Martel. A 2012 movie of the same name was based on the book. Life of Pi tells the story of a teenager named "Pi" Patel, who is telling about his survival of a shipwreck at the age of 16, adrift on the ocean with a Bengal TIGER.
• KIWI (69A: New Zealand bird or fruit) The KIWI is a flightless bird endemic to New Zealand. They have small wings that are hidden under their brown hair-like feathers. The fruit known as the KIWI is native to China, but it was first grown commercially in New Zealand. Prior to the 1960s, the fruit was known as the Chinese gooseberry. The fruit began to be called KIWIfruit because its fuzzy appearance is reminiscent of the KIWI (bird). In 1974, the name KIWIfruit was commercially adopted. In New Zealand, the word KIWI is used to refer to the bird, or as a nickname for a New Zealander. The fruit is referred to as KIWIfruit.
• CHAP (70A: "Old bean") The English country house murder mysteries I am fond of reading introduced me to the term "old bean." I can easily imagine a character in one of these books saying, "I say, old bean, what do you think of visiting my friend in the country next week. It's sure to be a jolly time. Be a good CHAP and come with me." (Spoiler alert: It is in fact not quite a jolly time, as inevitably, someone is murdered.)
• EAR (73A: Organ to "play it by") As I have mentioned before, "play it by EAR" was one of my Dad's favorite sayings. He would often give a little tug on his EAR as he said it.
• TESSA (7D: "Passing" actress Thompson) Passing is a 2021 movie based on Nella Larsen's 1929 book of the same name. In the movie, TESSA Thompson and Ruth Negga portray Irene and Clare, Black women who were childhood friends. When the two reconnect as adults, Irene realizes Clare has been "passing" as white, and has married a wealthy, racist, white man. Fun fact: TESSA Thompson's movie credits also include the 2014 historical drama movie Selma. In that movie she portrayed DIANE NASH.
• NATASHA (46D: "Pocketful of Sunshine" singer Bedingfield) NATASHA Bedingfield released the song "Pocketful of Sunshine" in 2008 as the title track of her second studio album. Listen to this song at your own risk. If you do so, you may find yourself singing, "I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine..." all day.
• MALIA (57D: Barack's oldest daughter) Along with her parents, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, and her sister, Sasha, MALIA Obama's address was 1600 Pennsylvania AVE. from 2009 to 2017. MALIA Obama graduated from Harvard in 2021, and is currently working as a writer and directed. She directed a short film titled, The Heart, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of this year.
• PAWN (63D: Promotable chess piece) In the game of chess, the PAWN is considered the weakest piece. It's also the most numerous piece, as each player begins with eight PAWNs. If a PAWN advances all the way across the board, it is promoted to either a queen, rook, bishop, or knight.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• DINNER RUSH (19A: Busy time at many restaurants)
• DIANE NASH (38A: Civil rights activist who helped coordinate Freedom Rides)
• DIAPER RASH (62A: It's a real pain in the butt for babies)

The word DISH is broken by each theme answer: DINNER RUSH, DIANE NASH, and DIAPER RASH.

In a broken word theme such as this one, I appreciate when the word is either broken in the same way by each theme answer, or broken in a unique way by each theme answer. Today, the BREAK in each DISH is the same: DI-SH. I also appreciate the fact that the letters D, I, S, and H don't appear anywhere else in the theme answers except as part of the broken DISH. That detail is an extra nice touch. Thank you, Ryan, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

• USA TODAY’s Daily Crossword Puzzles
• Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers

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