Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, ...er...er

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

Constructor: Matthew Luter

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor

Matt: Some folks find them a little old-fashioned, but I love a good letter-pattern theme. Favorite clue here is 51-A, which I sense Sally will appreciate as well...

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• SHARON (9D: ___ Jones & the Dap-Kings) The funk and soul band, SHARON Jones & the Dap-Kings, released their debut album in 2002. It was titled Dap Dippin' with SHARON Jones and the Dap-Kings. In addition to producing their own music, the band also collaborated with Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse. The group's last album, Soul of a Woman, was released in 2017, a year after SHARON Jones died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 60.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• SKIM (9A: Alternative to 2%) We're talking milk here. SKIM milk, also called nonfat milk, is made by removing all of the milk fat from whole milk. On average, whole milk contains 3-4% fat. Milk containing 2% fat is sometimes referred to as low-fat milk. SKIM milk contains less than 0.1% milk fat.
• WNBA (13A: Indiana Fever's org.) The Indiana Fever joined the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000 as an expansion team. The Indiana Fever were the WNBA champions in 2012, but the team has not made it to the playoffs since 2016. The last two years the Indiana Fever had the number one pick at the WNBA draft; that's because (as I understand it) they had the worst win-loss record in the league. In 2023, the Indiana Fever drafted Aliyah Boston as the number one pick, and in 2024 they drafted Caitlin Clark. So far this year, with 12 games left in the season, the Indiana Fever has won 13 games (and lost 15), which is the total number of games they won in the 2023 season.
• NUTTER BUTTER (19A: Cookie shaped like a legume) "Have another NUTTER BUTTER peanut butter sandwich cookie..." NUTTER BUTTER cookies are shaped like a peanut (that's the legume) and feature a creamy peanut butter filling sandwiched between peanut butter-flavored cookies. On the NUTTER BUTTER website, it says, "We're also a cookie who makes memes." There are a number of "Intentionally Nutty Videos" for viewing.
• PHO (36A: Soup served with basil and bean sprouts) PHO is a soup that originated from Vietnam, and consists of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat. PHO is the national dish of Vietnam. Basil and bean sprouts are common garnishes for PHO.
• CASE (37A: Job for Nancy Drew) The Nancy Drew books have been written by a number of authors using the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The first book featuring the teenage sleuth was The Secret of the Old Clock, published in 1930. There have been over 600 Nancy Drew books published to date – that's a lot of CASEs!
• AOL (38A: ISP that distributed an estimated 1 billion free trial CDs) Some of you may, like me, remember receiving unsolicited AOL CDs in the mail. I also vividly remember the "waiting to be connected" sound of the dial-up modem, and Elwood Edwards's voice greeting me with the words, "You've got mail..." Sending out all of those CDs is estimated to have cost the company over $300 million.
• LASER POINTER (51A: Light entertainment for a cat) This is a fun clue. As Matt guessed, I definitely appreciate this one! It works on two levels, as a LASER POINTER provides "light entertainment" in the sense of "fun that doesn't require a lot of mental energy," but also a LASER POINTER provides "entertainment" that is a "light." If you've ever used a LASER POINTER to play with a cat, you know that watching them try to catch the red dot can provide hours of entertainment! When LASER POINTERs and cats are mentioned, I always think of Holly, one of cats who is no longer with us. Holly liked to jump, and one time when we were playing with her, we got her to follow the LASER POINTER's dot up the wall, and on her way down turn off the light switch. Truly amazing "light entertainment" for all involved. I don't have a photo of Holly performing that feat, but here's a photo of our amazing jumper at rest.

• IRISH (59A: Like Sinead O'Connor and Enya) IRISH singer-songwriter and activist Sinéad O'Connor (1966-2023) was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. She was known for her songs that included, "Nothing Compares 2 U," and for her activism that included tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live to protest abuses in the Catholic Church. The singer-songwriter Enya is the best-selling IRISH solo artist. I am particularly a fan of her song, "Orinoco Flow." My favorite Enya fact is that she lives in a castle she named Manderley Castle after the house in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. And she lives in that castle with her cats.
• TATE (20D: UK art institution) There are four TATE galleries that house the United Kingdom's national art collection: TATE MODERN, TATE Britain, TATE Liverpool, and TATE St. Ives. The TATE is named after Henry TATE, one part of the food and beverage company TATE & Lyle.
• SEDER (26D: Four Questions meal) During the SEDER, a ritual marking the beginning of the Jewish holiday Passover, the youngest child asks a series of questions. Each of the Four Questions is preceded by the question, "Why is this night different from all the other nights?" The Four Questions involve children in the SEDER, and serve as a means of explaining the ritual's significance.
• YEN (27D: Japanese currency) The YEN is the currency of Japan. The YEN is the third-most traded currency after the U.S. dollar and the euro.
• THOR (29D: Norse god with a hammer) THOR is the Norse god associated with storms, thunder, and lightning. Mjölnir is THOR's hammer, depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most powerful weapons in existence.
• CLOONEY (41D: Human rights lawyer Amal) Amal CLOONEY is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, who specializes in international law and human rights. She is also the co-founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, with her husband George.
• EILISH (44D: "Bad Guy" singer Billie) "Bad Guy" is a 2019 song by Billie EILISH, who wrote the song with her brother, Finneas O'Connell. The song won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. "Bad Guy" was the first song to be streamed over two billion times on Spotify. 
• GEENA (49D: ___ Davis Institute on Gender in Media) GEENA Davis founded the non-profit organization, the GEENA Davis Institute on Gender in Media, in 2004. The organization conducts research on gender representation in media and advocates for equal representation of women and men. GEENA Davis started the organization because when she started watching children's shows with her daughter, she was "stunned by the lack of female characters and diversity."
• DIP (55D: Queso or tzatziki) Queso is a cheesy DIP, and tzatziki is a cucumber and yogurt DIP.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
  • YOU (27A: "I tell ___ what...")
  • CHEERIOS (43A: Cereal commonly used as baby food)
  • BIT (57D: Commit to the ___)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• NUTTER BUTTER (19A: Cookie shaped like a legume)
• PAPER PUSHER (30A: White-collar employee doing boring work)
• WATER COOLER (39A: Office gossip site)
• LASER POINTER (51A: Light entertainment for a cat)

...ER...ER: Each theme answer follows the pattern ___ER ___ER.

Without any hesitation (...ER...ER), I declare this to be an enjoyable theme. Four fun theme answers today and delightful clues all around. Thank you, Matt, for this excellent puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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

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