Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's daily crossword puzzle, It's Lit
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! It's Lit
Constructor: Greg Snitkin
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- ARG (41A: Country whose national sport is pato (Abbr.) Pato is a game played on horseback. It combines elements of polo and basketball. The word "pato" is Spanish for "duck." Early versions of the game used a duck inside a basket instead of a ball. (Can you imagine?!) The current version of pato uses a ball that has six handles. Pato has been the national sport of Argentina (ARG) since 1953.
- ROAD (62A: "The Ballad of the Witches' ___") Agatha All Along is a Disney+ TV miniseries that aired this fall. The show is a spin-off from the Marvel miniseries WandaVision, and features the character Agatha Harkness (played by Kathryn Hahn). "The Ballad of the Witches' ROAD" is a song from Agatha All Along. Eight versions of the song were used throughout the series.
- NASCAR (39D: Org. featured in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby") Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 movie featuring Will Ferrell as the titular character. Ricky Bobby is a successful but immature NASCAR driver.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- RAGU (13A: Rao's competitor) Rao's is an Italian-American restaurant located in New York City with a sister restaurant in Los Angeles, California. Rao's sells their products, including pasta sauces, in stores, making them a competitor of RAGÚ. The RAGÚ brand has been on the market since 1937.
- ADULT (18A: Person never seen in "Peanuts") If you've ever watched a Peanuts special, you are probably familiar with the garbled voice used to represent an ADULT speaking.
- HANUKKIAH (19A: Holiday candelabrum with nine branches) A HANUKKIAH, also known as a Hanukkah menorah is a nine-branched candelabrum used during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Eight of the candles on a HANUKKIAH represent the eight nights of Hanukkah, while the ninth candle holds the shamash, a candle used to light the other candles.
- OED (23A: Ref. that added "group chat" in 2024) The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was first published by Oxford University Press in 1884. The online version of the OED is updated quarterly, with the addition of new words as well as new uses of existing words. I always find it interesting to see what new words are added.
- SARA (27A: "Waitress" composer Bareilles) SARA Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics for the musical Waitress, which premiered on Broadway in 2016. It's based on the 2007 movie of the same name written by Adrienne Shelly. Having seen both the musical and the movie, my advice is to never see either one on an empty stomach. Pies feature prominently in both.
- NORA (39A: Romance writer Roberts) NORA Roberts has written over 225 romance novels. NORA Roberts is a pen name, shortened from her birth name of Eleanor Marie Robertson, which NORA adopted, she says, because she assumed that all romance authors had pen names. In addition to writing under the name NORA Roberts, she also uses the pseudonyms J.D. Robb, Jill March, and Sarah Hardesty.
- SNL (42A: NBC show currently celebrating its 50th season) SNL is making back-to-back puzzle appearances, as we also saw it yesterday.
- ALIEN (60A: Marvin the Martian, e.g.) Marvin the Martian is a character from Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The ALIEN character was originally voiced by Mel Blanc, and first appeared in a 1948 Bugs Bunny cartoon. Interestingly, Marvin, who wears a Roman soldier's uniform and basketball shoes, was unnamed until 1979. Marvin has made appearances in a number of cartoons, movies, and video games.
- SASHA (1D: Malia Obama's sister) This is a reference to the sisters, SASHA and Malia, daughters of Barack and Michelle Obama. This is SASHA's second appearance in the puzzle this month.
- RAPIDS (6D: They're classified I-VI for rafters) Class I RAPIDS are easy for rafters to navigate and require little maneuvering. On the other end of the scale, Class VI RAPIDS are life-threatening and generally not recommended even for experienced rafters.
- KOALA (20D: Eucalyptus-eating "bear") The word bear is in quotation marks here because although a KOALA is often called a KOALA "bear" because of its resemblance to a bear, a KOALA is actually a marsupial. Its closest relative is the wombat.
- OMEGA (30D: Last Greek letter) The 24-letter Greek alphabet ends with the letters psi and OMEGA. Yesterday we saw PSI in the puzzle, clued as [Second-to-last Greek letter].
- SANS (51D: Without, in French) This makes me think of SANS-serif fonts, fonts in which the letters are without serifs (flourishing lines or strokes).
- RAMI (58D: Oscar winner Malek) RAMI Malek won an Academy Award (aka an Oscar) for Best Actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. He also won a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award for this role.
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- HANUKKIAH (19A: Holiday candelabrum with nine branches)
- CHAPTER BOOK (36A: Children's story divided into sections)
- FRAT PARTY (57A: Event organized by campus bros)
IT'S LIT: Each theme answer is LIT, using a different meaning of the word. The candles on a HANUKKIAH are LIT each night of Hanukkah. A CHAPTER BOOK is LIT, as in short for literature. A FRAT PARTY is LIT, meaning exciting.
It was so much fun to uncover each theme answer and discover the relationship to the title. It was also great to see Hanukkah content as Hanukkah continues. I thought this puzzle title sounded vaguely familiar. We have indeed seen a puzzle titled "IT'S LIT!" before, over four years ago. That puzzle had a slightly different theme. I always enjoy seeing different ways a theme can be interpreted. Congratulations to Greg Snitkin making a USA Today debut! Thank you, Greg, for this delightful puzzle.