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Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's daily crossword puzzle, HR Meeting

Sally Hoelscher   Paste BN

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

Constructor: Daniel Hrynick

Editor: Anna Gundlach

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

  • ARI (23A: "Mrs. America" actress Graynor) Mrs. America is a TV miniseries that tells the story of efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and the work of conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly to stop the ERA from becoming law. (I wrote about the ERA last week.) The nine-part series was named one of the ten best TV shows of 2020 by the American Film Institute. ARI Graynor portrays Brenda Feigen, an attorney who was the Legislative Vice President of the National Organization for Women (NOW).
  • GORDITA (28A: Taco Bell's Cheesy ___ Crunch) In Mexican cuisine GORDITA is a type of thick tortilla made with masa (cornmeal dough) and stuffed with meat and cheese. Taco Bell describes its Cheesy GORDITA Crunch as "a warm flatbread layered with three-cheese blend and wrapped around a crunchy taco filled with seasoned beef, spicy ranch sauce, crispy lettuce and shredded cheddar cheese."

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

  • ETTA (17A: "At Last" singer James) "At Last" is the title track of ETTA James's debut album, which was released in 1960. It became her signature song, and her version of it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. "At Last" was originally written for a 1941 musical, Sun Valley Serenade.
  • SEARCH RESULTS (20A: Google lists hundreds of millions of them for "funny cat videos") This clue made me smile. Also, of course I took the bait and spent some time (the actual amount of which I'm not going to confess) watching funny cat videos. It was quite enjoyable. Here's a funny photo of my cat, Willow. Perhaps she is voicing her opinion on me watching videos of other cats
  • O'NEAL (32A: Shaquille in the video game "Shaq Fu") Shaq Fu is a video game originally released in 2014. The game's playable character is former professional basketball player Shaquille O'NEAL. The storyline of the game has Shaquille O'NEAL traveling to another dimension to rescue a young boy from an evil mummy. Although I easily figured out the answer here, I wasn't previously familiar with this video game. I learned that some people consider Shaq Fu to be one of the worst video games ever made.
  • CARA (33A: Actress Delevingne) In addition to being an actress, CARA Delevingne is a model and author. If you are a fan of the TV series Only Murders in the Building, you might remember that she portrayed Alice Banks in the show's second season. CARA Delevingne made her stage debut earlier this year in London playing the role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret.
  • BOO (47A: Ghost in Mario games) Speaking of video games, BOO is a white spherical ghost enemy introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3. BOO sneaks up on players from behind. If a player faces BOO it covers its face. In some games, Mario has the option of eating a BOO mushroom that turns him into the character BOO Mario (who looks like BOO, but with Mario's hat and a white mustache).
  • NEWT (64A: Semiaquatic salamander) An adult NEWT spends most of its time on land, but returns to the water to breed. A juvenile NEWT is called an eft, something I'm noting because the word eft occasionally makes an appearance in crosswords. Because of their thin, sensitive skin, which is sensitive to subtle changes in pH, NEWTs serve as bioindicators. Their presence or absence can indicate the health of an environment.
  • SPOT (68A: Bengal cat marking) A Bengal cat is a hybrid cat breed that is the result of crossing an Asian leopard cat (a small wild cat) with a domestic cat. Some Bengal cats have SPOTs, but their markings can also include rosettes, arrowhead markings, or marbling.
  • AGES AGO (1D: Quite some time in the past) and LATER ON (2D: Some time in the future) This corner of the puzzle is having difficulty living in the present moment! I quite enjoyed this clue pair.
  • ASTAIRE (3D: "Shall We Dance" dancer Fred) Shall We Dance is a 1937 musical movie featuring the classic dancing duo of Fred ASTAIRE and Ginger Rogers. The movie's music was written by another iconic duo, George and Ira Gershwin. One of the songs the Gershwins wrote for Shall We Dance is "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." "You like to-may-to / and I like to-mah-to..." In the movie, the scene with this song has Fred ASTAIRE and Ginger Rogers tap dancing while wearing roller skates.
  • DES (13D: ___ Moines) DES Moines is the capital of Iowa. DES Moines hasn't always been the capital of Iowa. When Iowa became a state in 1846, its capital was Iowa City. (Hello from Iowa City!) Iowa's capital was moved to the more centrally-located city of DES Moines in 1851.
  • CHILE (21D: Santiago's country) CHILE is a country located along the western coast of South America. Santiago is the capital of CHILE and its largest city.
  • DAYS (29D: The French Republican calendar had 10 each week) The French Republican calendar, also known as the French Revolutionary calendar, was used by the French government from 1793 to 1805 (and by the Paris commune for 18 days in 1871) as a replacement of the Gregorian calendar. The calendar consisted of twelve 30-DAY months, each consisting of three weeks of 10 DAYS each. Five to six DAYS were added at the end of each year to keep the calendar in alignment with the solar year. This clue has me wondering if a 10-DAY week would mean more workdays or more weekend?
  • TEA (46D: Lapsang souchong or oolong) Lapsang souchong is a variety of black TEA made from TEA leaves that have been smoke-dried. Oolong is a TEA made from semi-oxidized TEA leaves, and can be made from a variety of TEA plant cultivars. Oolong is similar to black TEA.
  • SAINTS (50D: New Orleans team) The New Orleans SAINTS are an NFL team. The team was founded in 1967 as part of an NFL expansion. So far, the New Orleans SAINTS have only made one Super Bowl appearance. In 2009, the New Orleans SAINTS beat the Indianapolis Colts to win Super Bowl XLIV.
  • A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
    • E-BIKE (16A: Ride with two wheels and a battery)
    • OR WHAT (5D: "And if I choose not to?")
    • RIM SHOT (11D: Drum sound after a punchline)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

  • SEARCH RESULTS (20A: Google lists hundreds of millions of them for "funny cat videos")
  • YEAH RIGHT (36A: "Pfft, I bet")
  • CASH REGISTER (55A: Food co-op checkout machine)

HR MEETING: In each theme answer, the first word ends with an H and the second word begins with an R, resulting in an HR MEETING at the junction of the two words: SEARCH RESULTS, YEAH RIGHT, and CASH REGISTER.

I'm guessing many people don't eagerly anticipate a MEETING with HR. However, HR MEETING is quite enjoyable as a puzzle theme. I notice the constructor of this puzzle has a last name that begins with HR; I wonder if that provided inspiration for this theme. Speaking of today's constructor, congratulations to Daniel Hrynick making a Paste BN crossword debut! Thank you, Daniel, for this excellent puzzle.

For more on Paste BN’s Crossword Puzzles

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