Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's daily crossword puzzle, Duck Duck Goose
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Duck Duck Goose
Constructors: Emily Biegas & Sala Wanetick
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- AERO (15A: ___ Press Coffee Maker) According to the company's website, an AEROPress Coffee Maker produces coffee that is "full-bodied like a French Press, smooth like a Pour-Over, and rich like an Espresso." Alan Adler invented the AEROPress Coffee Maker in the early 2000s in an attempt to find a better way to make a single cup of coffee in a short amount of time. Fun fact: Before inventing the AEROPress, Alan Adler invented the Aerobie, a flying disc that broke the world record for farthest thrown object.
- DONALD GLOVER (20A: Co-creator of the Prime series "Mr. and Mrs. Smith") Mr & Mrs. Smith is a TV series that premiered in February of this year. I was created by DONALD GLOVER and Francesca Sloane. DONALD GLOVER also stars in the series, along with Maya Erskine. They play two spies who, although they are strangers, team up to live undercover as a married couple, the TITULAR Mr & Mrs. Smith. Although I am familiar with DONALD GLOVER, this show is new to me.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- LEAN (17A: "___ on Me" (Bill Withers hit)) "LEAN on Me" is one of those songs that sparks many memories for me, so I enjoyed seeing it in the puzzle. It is one of only a few songs to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with versions recorded by two different artists. Bill Withers, who wrote the song, took it to the top of the charts in 1972. A version recorded by Club Nouveau reached number one in 1987. Thanks for the earworm, puzzle!
- NIBLING (25A: Gender-neutral term for a niece or nephew) NIBLING is a non-gender-specific term that can be used to refer to the children of one's siblings. The term is a portmanteau of the words "niece" or "nephew" and "sibling."
- RUBBER SOUL (39A: Beatles album with "Drive My Car" and "In My Life") RUBBER SOUL is the sixth studio album by the Beatles. It was released just over 59 years ago, on December 3, 1965.
- J LO (44A: "This is Me ... Now" artist) Speaking of albums, This Is Me ... Now, is the ninth studio album from Jennifer Lopez – aka J LO. The album was released in February of this year.
- CATTIER (51A: More snarky) CATTIER, you say? Although this answer doesn't directly refer to cats, it will come as no surprise to regular readers that I am taking this opportunity to share a photo of my cat, Willow. There isn't quite enough room for her to comfortably fit on the plant stand by our dining room window. It tickles me how she supports herself with a paw on the window sill.
- DUNE (55A: Sci-fi franchise based on a Frank Herbert novel) The DUNE sci-fi franchise is based on the 1965 book by Frank Herbert (1920-1986) and its five sequels. Today I learned that the novel DUNE and the album RUBBER SOUL came out the same year.
- MOTHER NATURE (57A: English translation of the Inca goddess Pachamama) In INCA mythology, Pachamama is a fertility goddess who oversees planting and harvesting of crops.
- ALAN (64A: PETA Humanitarian Award winner Cumming) ALAN Cumming received the PETA Humanitarian Award in 2017 for his advocacy for animals. ALAN Cumming has followed a vegan diet since 2012. He has also starred in several PETA ad campaigns. ALAN Cumming is making back-to-back puzzle appearances, as yesterday he was mentioned in the clue for ELI.
- LAYS (69A: Better Made competitor) Better Made and LAYS are companies that make potato chips. Better Made is a couple of years older, as the company was founded in 1930. LAYS began in 1932.
- THANOS (3D: Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Marvel supervillain) THANOS is a Marvel Comics supervillain. If you'd like to learn more about THANOS and the Infinity Gauntlet, I highly recommend reading about Amanda Rafkin's July 2, 2022 puzzle titled "Running the Gauntlet."
- CARDI (5D: ___ B (Billboard's 2020 Woman of the Year) and RAPS (39D: Performs like 5-Down) CARDI B was the first female RAP artist to receive Billboard's Woman of the Year award. The year before, in 2019, CARDI B was the first solo female artist to win the Grammy Award for Best RAP Album, for Invasion of Privacy .
- AMT (12D: 8 oz., e.g.) The abbreviation of ounces (oz.) in the clue alerts solvers the answer will be the abbreviation for amount (AMT).
- EMO (43D: Death Cab for Cutie genre) Death Cab for Cutie is a band whose music has been classified as EMO, indie rock, indie pop, and alt rock. Their most recent album is Asphalt Meadows, released in 2022.
- TITULAR (46D: ___ character (Dracula, e.g.)) TITULAR is a word I use on a fairly regular basis in writing "Off the Grid," as I discuss a number of title characters. (In fact, you may have noticed that I used it earlier in this article...) It was fun to see the word as an answer.
- SERRANO (47D: Spicy pepper) The Scoville scale is used to describe the relative spiciness of chili peppers in Scoville heat units (SHU). In terms of spiciness, SERRANO peppers (10,000-25,000 SHU) are a bit hotter than jalapeño peppers (2,500-10,000 SHU), but not nearly as hot as pepper X (2,693,000 SHU).
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- DONALD GLOVER (20A: Co-creator of the Prime series "Mr. and Mrs. Smith")
- RUBBER SOUL (39A: Beatles album with "Drive My Car" and "In My Life")
- MOTHER NATURE (57A: English translation of the Inca goddess Pachamama)
DUCK DUCK GOOSE: The first words of the first two theme answers pair with the word DUCK, while the first word of the third theme answer pairs with the word GOOSE. Our new DUCK DUCK GOOSE phrases are DONALD DUCK, RUBBER DUCK, and MOTHER GOOSE.
This is a clever and delightful theme. I enjoyed the use of two different words to pair with the words in the theme answers, with the title providing the perfect justification. My favorite of the new phrases is RUBBER DUCK. A couple of years ago, our daughter and her husband (who was her boyfriend at the time) hid 50 small RUBBER DUCKs in our house. My husband and I have yet to find them all. I just found a new one a few days ago – in a box that I obviously don't open often. Thank you, Emily and Sala, for this excellent puzzle.