Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's daily crossword puzzle, House Blend
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! House Blend
Constructor: Joe Rodini
Editor: Jared Goudsmit
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- UTE (7D: People aka Nuuchiu) The UTE are an indigenous people who lived in the regions that are now Utah and Colorado. The state of Utah is named after the UTE. This part I knew. Today I learned that the UTE refer to themselves as the Núuchi-u (pronounced "new-chew"), a word that means "the People."
- FINN (24D: "Stranger Things" actor Wolfhard) Stranger Things is a Netflix TV series about a small town dealing with a hostile alternate dimension. I have written about Stranger Things previously, but I have not yet written about FINN Wolfhard, who plays the role of Mike Wheeler, one of the central group of kids featured in the show.
- SAO (55D: ___ Paulo Fashion Week) This answer was inferable for me, as I guessed this was referring to an event taking place in SÃO Paulo, Brazil. SÃO Paulo Fashion Week takes place twice a year, in the spring and the fall. The 2024 Fall SÃO Paulo Fashion Week took place October 16 to October 20.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- SULU (6A: "Star Trek" lieutenant) Lieutenant Hikaru SULU is a character from the original Star Trek series (1966-1969). Lieutenant SULU also appeared in the first six Star Trek movies (1979-1991), and in the animated Star Trek series (1973-1974). In these appearances, Lieutenant SULU was portrayed by George Takei. In 2009, John Cho took over the portrayal of SULU. John Cho plays the role of SULU in the movies Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Star Trek Beyond (2016).
- OTOH (15A: Texter's "Then again...") OTOH = on the other hand
- MGS (38A: "Green Onions" group Booker T. & the ___) Booker T. & the M.G.'S were a band that played R&B, soul, funk, and instrumental rock. "Green Onions" is an instrumental song that became a hit when it was released in 1962. The song became the title track of the group's debut album.
- STL (42A: Missouri city near Cahokia Mounds (Abbr.)) Cahokia Mounds is an archeology site in Illinois, located across the Mississippi River from St. Louis (STL), Missouri. A pre-Columbian city existed on the site around 1050-1350 C.E. Cahokia Mounds is a National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today the site includes around 80 earthen mounds (of the estimated nearly 120 original), earthworks created to serve a variety of purposes in the original city, such as platforms for houses or burial sites.
- ZHAO (56A: Oscar-winning director Chloe) Chloe ZHAO won an Academy Award for directing the movie Nomadland. The 2020 movie is based on Jessica Bruder's 2017 nonfiction book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.
- OMEN (58A: A coyote crossing your path, e.g.) Some people view a coyote crossing one's path as a bad OMEN, a sign that one should turn back. Others view a coyote sighting as a more positive OMEN, a sign to take a look within and seek for balance.
- RAY (61A: "Cownose" fish, or a sunbeam) The cownose RAY is a species of RAY that lives in the Western Atlantic Ocean. Their name is a reference to their elongated head that some say resembles the nose of a cow. For solvers that might not be familiar with the cownose RAY, the second part of the clue references a RAY of light, aka a sunbeam.
- UVA (63A: Charlottesville univ.) The University of Virginia (UVA) is located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The abbreviation of university in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation.
- THE SOUND OF MUSIC (64A: "Do-Re-Mi" film) "Do, a deer, a female deer / Re, a drop of golden sun / Mi, a name I call myself..." I figured if I was going to have "Do-Re-Mi" as an earworm today, I could share the joy! "Do-Re-Mi" is, of course, a song from Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
- SOUL (69A: Gladys Knight genre) Gladys Knight was the lead singer of Gladys Knight & the Pips, and also had a successful solo career. She has won 10 Grammy Awards, and is known as the "Empress of SOUL."
- US OPEN (2D: Tennis tournament in Queens) In tennis, the Grand Slam tournaments are the Australian OPEN, the French OPEN, Wimbledon, and the US OPEN. The US OPEN is played in Queens, New York City at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The US OPEN takes place over two weeks beginning the last Monday of August.
- DIOR (35D: Fashion designer Christian) French designer Christian DIOR (1905-1957) launched his first fashion collection in 1947. The name of the line was Corolle, from thebotanical term "corolla," meaning "circlet of flower petals." Carmel Snow, the editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar coined the term New Look to describe the line.
- HAROLD (49D: "___ and the Purple Crayon" (1955 kids' book, or a 2024 film)) Crockett Johnson wrote and illustrated the classic children's book, HAROLD and the Purple Crayon, which was first published in 1955. HAROLD, the book's protagonist, is a four-year-old boy who goes on adventures as he draws things with his purple crayon. A live-action movie based on the book and with the same name was released earlier this year. Zachary Levi portrays HAROLD, who has grown into a man. HAROLD uses his purple crayon to enter the real world.
- A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
- BEGS (25A: Asks for Milk-Bone biscuits, say)
- HERE (68A: "I'm in attendance!")
- DUO (66D: Bert and Ernie, e.g.)
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- YOUR SHOE'S UNTIED (17A: "Look down, those are loose laces")
- ANTIQUE SHOP (39A: Store that might sell vintage plates and porcelain dolls)
- THE SOUND OF MUSIC (64A: "Do-Re-Mi" film)
HOUSE BLEND: Each theme answer contains an anagram (i.e. BLEND) of the word HOUSE: YOUR SHOE'S UNTIED, ANTIQUE SHOP, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
We have a hidden anagram theme today, which the word BLEND in the title nicely hints at. Each theme answer contains one of the following letter strings: HOESU, UESHO, or HESOU. And each of these letter strings is an anagram of the word HOUSE. Thank you, Joe, for this enjoyable puzzle.