Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's daily crossword puzzle, Tofu Scramble
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Tofu Scramble
Constructor: Larry Snyder
Editor: Amanda
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- COMMON (49D: Stage name for Lonnie Rashid Lynn) COMMON is a Grammy Award-winning rap artist from Chicago, Illinois. I have heard of the rapper COMMON, but I did not recognize the name Lonnie Rashid Lynn. COMMON teamed up with John Legend on the 2014 song, "Glory," which was the theme song for the movie Selma. The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. In the movie, COMMON portrayed James Bevel, who was a minister and leader in the Civil Rights Movement.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- PANDA (1A: "Kung Fu ___" (animated film franchise)) Kung Fu PANDA is a franchise of animated movies about a group of anthropomorphic animals (animals that talk and act like people). The first Kung Fu PANDA movie was released in 2008. The titular PANDA of the franchise is Ping Xiao Po (Po, for short), who has been voiced by Jack Black and Mick Wingert.
- ALDA (6A: "The West Wing" actor Alan) The West Wing (1999-2006) is a TV series set in the West Wing of the White House, which is where the president's office, known as the Oval Office, is located. The show covers two terms of the fictional President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet, portrayed by Martin Sheen. Alan ALDA joined the show for seasons 6 and 7, and played the role of Arnold Vinick, a senator from California who becomes the Republican nominee for president.
- ART (25A: The "A" of MoMA) MoMA is the Museum of Modern ART, located in Manhattan, New York City. MoMA grew out of an idea developed by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan in 1929. During its first four years the museum was located in four different temporary locations. Although Abby Aldrich Rockefeller's husband, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., was opposed to the idea of a museum for modern ART, he eventually donated the land for the current site of the museum on 53rd Street in New York City (NYC) between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
- TSA (26A: Org. that allows you to bring bowling balls but not bowling pins onto an airplane) This is quite an interesting fact. The reason bowling pins are not allowed in carry on luggage is due to the TSA rule that "sports equipment that can be used as a bludgeon (such as bats and clubs) is prohibited in the cabin of the plane." If you're traveling with your bowling pins, they'll need to go in your checked luggage. Your bowling ball, on the other hand, can be placed either in a carry on or a checked bag.
- PEONY (38A: Showy spring bloom) and TULIPS (45D: Showy spring blooms) This puzzle is showing off its spring blooms. I like this showy clue echo.
- PEDRO (1D: "The Last of Us" actor Pascal) The Last of Us is a TV series based on a video game of the same name. PEDRO Pascal portrays Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenager (Bella Ramsey) across the country.
- ALLIE (5D: "Kate & ___ (1980s sitcom)) Kate & ALLIE originally aired on CBS from 1984-1989. The title characters are divorced mothers who decide to live in the same house and raise their children together. Susan Saint James plays Kate, and Jane Curtin plays ALLIE.
- OCTOPUS (19D: Cephalopod with blue blood) This is a fun – and true – animal fact. The protein that transports oxygen in an OCTOPUS' blood contains copper, rather than iron as seen in humans, resulting in their blood appearing blue. Here's another fun fact: An OCTOPUS has three hearts to pump that blue blood.
- ANY (28D: "A rose by ___ other name is a scandal") "A rose by ANY other name is a scandal," is a lyric from the Taylor Swift song, "The Albatross," from her 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department. I like this lyric clue, because it's fairly inferable, even for solvers that might not be familiar with the song.
- GRACE (30D: "___ and Frankie" (sitcom)) GRACE and Frankie is a Netflix TV series starring Jane Fonda as GRACE, and Lily Tomlin as Frankie. The two women become unlikely friends after their husbands divorced them to marry each other. It's fun to see both GRACE & Frankie and Kate & ALLIE in the puzzle.
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- DOUBLE STUF OREOS (17A: Oversized cookies since 1974)
- THAT'S NOT FUNNY (39A: "Hey, your joke hurt my feelings!")
- SPELL IT OUT FOR ME (62A: "Explain like I'm 5 years old")
TOFU SCRAMBLE: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word TOFU: DOUBLE STUF OREOS, THAT'S NOT FUNNY, and SPELL IT OUT FOR ME.
Hidden anagram themes can sometimes be tricky for me to spot, but today the word SCRAMBLE in the title gave me a pretty good idea that I should be on the lookout for this type of theme. The word TOFU is anagrammed (or SCRAMBLEd) to TUFO, OTFU, and UTFO, and we find those letter patterns in the theme answers. Thank you, Larry, for this enjoyable puzzle.