Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's daily crossword puzzle, Au Pair
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Au Pair
Constructor: Joe Rodini
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- BAUHAUS MOVEMENT (37A: Design philosophy that had a profound influence on modernist architecture) The BAUHAUS MOVEMENT originated from the Staatliches Bauhaus, a German school founded shortly after World War I, in 1919. Walter Gropius, the school's founder set out to establish a new style of design and architecture. The German word BAUHAUS means "build house." Although the school was only open for 14 years (it was closed by the Nazi regime), its unique approach continues to influence modern and contemporary design. The motto of the BAUHAUS MOVEMENT is "form follows function." Although I needed the help of crossing answers to uncover BAUHAUS MOVEMENT, once I had it filled in I realized I had heard about this design philosophy on an architecture boat tour in Chicago, Illinois. There are several buildings in Chicago associated with the BAUHAUS MOVEMENT.
- HALO (12D: Launch game for Xbox) A launch game is a video game that is released simultaneously with its respective gaming console. (I thought I'd mention that just in case anyone besides me is not up on the world of video games.) HALO is a first-person shooter video game franchise. The first game in the franchise, HALO: Combat Evolved, was released – along with Xbox – in 2001.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- LEGO (13A: Toy company with theme parks) The chain of theme parks associated with LEGO are known (appropriately) as LEGOland Parks. The first LEGOland opened in Denmark in 1968. There are currently 11 LEGOland Parks, located in Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Maylasia, United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Korea, and the United states (California, Florida, and New York).
- OCEAN (15A: Anglerfish's home) Anglerfish live deep in the OCEAN. They earned their name because they use a specially-adapted luminescent fin to lure prey close enough to be eaten - a specific sort of deep-sea fishing. Fun fact: Only female anglerfish have bioluminescence; in addition to using this feature for attracting prey, they also use it to attract the attention of males and facilitate mating.
- AUDREY TAUTOU (20A: "Amelie" star) In the 2001 French movie, Amélie, AUDREY TAUTOU portrays the title character. Amélie is a waitress who, inspired by an accidental discovery, begins to concoct schemes to make other people happy.
- TOP (32A: 2022 National Toy Hall of Fame inductee) The National Toy Hall of Fame is located at The Strong Museum in Rochester, New York. It recognizes "toys that have inspired creative play and enjoyed popularity over a sustained period." As the clue informs us, the TOP – a toy that dates back at least 5,000 years – was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2022. The TOP's fellow inductees in 2022 were Lite-Brite and Masters of the Universe.
- HAUDENOSAUNEE (51A: Endonym for the Iroquois people) The HAUDENOSAUNEE are an indigenous confederacy comprised of Six Nations: the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora peoples. An endonym is a name that a group of people use to refer to themselves.
- TIC-TAC-TOE (58A: What contestants on "Hollywood Squares" play) The game show Hollywood Squares features celebrities seated in the squares of a vertical 3 x 3 grid that resembles a TIC-TAC-TOE board. Two contestants take turns choosing a celebrity, who is then asked a question. The contestant has the option to agree or disagree with the answer and, if correct, they win the square and it is marked with either an X or an O. One difference from TIC-TAC-TOE, is that if the Hollywood Squares game ends in a draw, the player with the most squares wins. Hollywood Squares first aired in 1966, and has had several revivals over the years. CBS is reviving the show once more, in fact. The latest version of Hollywood Squares will premiere on January 9, 2025. Drew Barrymore will be seated in the center square, and the game will be hosted by Nate Burleson.
- BLM (1D: Movement fighting against racism, for short) BLM stands for Black Lives Matter. Always a good reminder.
- ANNE (7D: Actress Hathaway) I used this clue as an opportunity to see what ANNE Hathaway has been working on recently. She starred in two movies released this year, Mothers' Instinct and The Idea of You. ANNE Hathaway will star in the science fiction movie, Flowervale Street, which will be released in May of 2025. She will also portray the title character in the upcoming movie, Mother Mary, although a release date for that movie has not been announced.
- NYU (16D: Where Spike Lee earned his MFA) Film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor Spike Lee earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from New York University (NYU) in 1983. The abbreviation of MFA in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation.
- SAMOA (27D: Girl Scout cookie also called a Caramel deLite) If you are eating a vanilla Girl Scout cookie coated in caramel and topped with toasted coconut and chocolate stripes, it might be called a SAMOA (meaning it was made by ABC Bakers) or a Caramel Delite (meaning it was baked by Little Brownie Bakers). Whatever you call this particular cookie, it is the second most popular Girl Scout cookie , following Thin Mints.
- AUSTIN (34D: City where Whole Foods started) The first Whole Foods supermarket opened in AUSTIN, Texas in 1978. The headquarters of Whole Foods is still located in AUSTIN, though the company has been a subsidiary of Amazon since 2017.
- SIMU (54D: Liu who portrayed Rival Ken in "Barbie") One of the things that amuses me about the 2023 movie Barbie is that so many of the characters have the same name. The scenes of "Hi, Barbie. Hi, Barbie. Hi, Barbie. Hi, Ken. Hi, Ken. Hi, Ken," etc. make me chuckle. I have seen SIMU Liu's Ken referred to as "Rival Ken" or "Tourist Ken."
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- AUDREY TAUTOU (20A: "Amelie" star)
- BAUHAUS MOVEMENT (37A: Design philosophy that had a profound influence on modernist architecture)
- HAUDENOSAUNEE (51A: Endonym for the Iroquois people)
AU PAIR: Each theme answer contains the letter pattern AU twice, that is, a PAIR of AUs: AUDREY TAUTOU, BAUHAUS MOVEMENT, and HAUDENOSAUNEE.
An AU PAIR is a person from another country who lives with and works for a host family in exchange for room and board. AU PAIRs often do childcare as well as other household work. AU PAIR is a French phrase meaning "equal to." In today's puzzle, the phrase is interpreted literally to refer to a PAIR of AUs. Thank you, Joe, for this enjoyable puzzle.