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Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's daily crossword puzzle, I Have to Take This

Sally Hoelscher   Paste BN

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! I Have to Take This

Constructor: Billy Ouska

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

  • KAREN (28A: Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer ___ O) Yeah Yeah Yeahs is an indie rock band whose member are KAREN O (vocals and piano), Nick Zenner (guitar and keyboard), and Brian Chase (drums). Their fifth studio album, Cool It Down, was released in 2022.
  • AIDAN (32A: NFL player Hutchinson) AIDAN Hutchinson is a defensive end for NFL's Detroit Lions. He was the second pick of the 2022 NFL draft.
  • GOOFY (6D: Snowboarding stance that's a synonym of "wacky") In snowboarding and other board sports (such as skateboarding), riders either use a "regular" stance, with the left foot leading on the board, or a "GOOFY" stance, with the right foot leading on the board. I was grateful for the "wacky" hint in the clue, as this terminology is new to me.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

  • MENLO (14A: ___ Park, California) MENLO Park is a city in Silicon Valley in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of California. MENLO Park is home to the corporate headquarters of Meta (formerly Facebook).
  • OBOE (15A: Woodwind instrument featured in "Peter and the Wolf") Peter and the Wolf is a musical symphony composed by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The piece tells a Russian folk tale, with different instruments representing the various characters. The OBOE represents a duck.
  • TALE (16A: "The Handmaid's ___") The Handmaid's TALE is a 1985 book by Margaret Atwood. The dystopian TALE is set in the near-future in New England in the Republic of Gilead, a patriarchal, totalitarian state that has overthrown the U.S. government. The book has been adapted for the stage, film, and TV.
  • THE FIFTH SEASON (20A: First book in N.K. Jemisin's "Broken Earth" series) The Broken Earth series is a sci-fi trilogy written by N.K. Jemisin. All three books in the series - THE FIFTH SEASON (2015), The Obelisk Gate (2016), and The Stone Sky (2017) - won Hugo Awards for Best Novel, making N.K. Jemisin the first author to win the award in three consecutive years. Fun fact: N.K. Jemisin was born in Iowa City, Iowa (18 years before I moved here) while her parents were attending graduate school at the University of Iowa.
  • RAE (30A: TikTok star Addison) Addison RAE began posting on TikTok in 2019. With over 88 million followers (yes, you read that correctly!), her TikTok account is the fifth-most followed account on the platform. Addison RAE made her acting debut in the 2021 movie He's All That, which is a remake of the 1999 film She's All That.
  • A SEAT AT THE TABLE (36A: Solange's chart-topping 2016 album) Solange's third studio album, A SEAT AT THE TABLE, was her first number-one album on the Billboard 200. The lead single from the album, "Cranes in the Sky," won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. 
  • THE FLOOR IS LAVA (49A: Game in which players might stand on furniture) THE FLOOR IS LAVA is a classic game that requires players to avoid touching THE FLOOR. Let's face it, it's just an excuse to climb on the furniture – sounds like a great time to me.
  • LUIGI (57A: Mario's taller brother) Mario and LUIGI are the brothers in the Mario Bros. video games. Mario and LUIGI are fraternal twins and, as the clue informs us, LUIGI is a bit taller than Mario.
  • AMA (1D: Reddit Q&A sesh) AMA = Ask Me Anything
  • ALOE VERA (4D: Medicinal succulent) We frequently see ALOE in the puzzle, so it was fun to see the plant's full name, so to speak. ALOE VERA leaves contain a gel that is used topically in lotions and cosmetics, as well as for the treatment of minor burns and insect bites.
  • TEEN (13D: Mary Shelley, age-wise, when she wrote "Frankenstein") Mary Shelley (1797-1851) wrote Frankenstein in 1816, when she was 19 years old. It was published two years later. I wonder what Mary Shelley would make of the fact that her story is ubiquitous in our culture today and has been adapted so many times?
  • ADHD (29D: Condition depicted in "The Extraordinaries") The Extraordinaries (2020) is a young adult novel by TJ Klune. It is "a queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD and the heroes he loves." The book, which is the first of a trilogy, has been praised for its positive representation of a TEEN with ADHD. I haven't read The Extraordinaries, but I have read another book by TJ Klune, The House in the Cerulean Sea. I thoroughly enjoyed that book, so I'm guessing I would enjoy The Extraordinaries as well.
  • HELEN (47D: Activist Keller who won the Presidential Medal of Freedom) HELEN Keller (1880-1968) was an author, disability rights advocate, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree; she graduated from Radcliffe College in 1904. HELEN Keller was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
  • RITE (52D: Bat mitzvah or confirmation) A bat mitzvah is a Jewish RITE celebrating the coming of age of girls. Confirmation is a Christian RITE in which young people profess their faith.
  • A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
    • MAIL (48A: Santa and the IRS receive lots of it)
    • ET TU (60A: Caesar's famous cry)
    • OVER (50D: Done, no more, finito)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

  • THE FIFTH SEASON (20A: First book in N.K. Jemisin's "Broken Earth" series)
  • A SEAT AT THE TABLE (36A: Solange's chart-topping 2016 album)
  • THE FLOOR IS LAVA (49A: Game in which players might stand on furniture)

I HAVE TO TAKE THIS: The first two words of each theme answer describe something one can TAKE. One can TAKE THE FIFTH (refuse to testify against oneself), TAKE A SEAT (sit down), or TAKE THE FLOOR (begin speaking to a group).

Today's title intrigued me, and there was a nice "Aha!" moment when I realized the theme. This is a great group of theme answers. Thank you, Billy, for this enjoyable puzzle.

One more thing today. Since it's December 31, I have compiled a year-end recap for you. I used to do this recap on the birthday of my blog, but as the blog moved to its new home this year, I decided to switch to a year-end recap. (If you'd like to check out my previous recaps, you can find them at these links: June 9, 2021; June 9, 2022; and June 9, 2023.) As regular readers might have noticed, I like data and numbers. So here is the 2024 recap of "Off the Grid" (previously "Sally's Take") by the numbers:

  • 3 = Goals. Since I began blogging about the USA Today crossword in 2020, I've had 3 main goals for my write-ups – that they be Informational, Conversational, and Kind. I consider this blog to be less of a review, and more of a conversation about each day's puzzle. (And yes, I realize my goals for the blog form the acronym, ICK. The acronym was unintentional, but when I realized it I was amused, so now I try to avoid being ICK by adhering to my ICK goals!)
  • 366 = Puzzles. The 366 USA Today crosswords of 2024 were constructed by 127 different constructors. Of those constructors, 76 of them (60%) made their USA Today crossword debut in the past year. Congratulations again to all of them! This past year, 57% of the crosswords were constructed by women and nonbinary constructors. There were 49 puzzles in 2024 (that's 13% of the puzzles) that were collaborations by two constructors. I am grateful to all of the constructors for making puzzles that have been delightful to write about.
  • 5009 = Answers highlighted. The 5009 unique answers I've highlighted this year (some have been highlighted multiple times, of course) range alphabetically from A LA to ZOOMER.
  • 160 = Cat mentions. I do talk about cats frequently. My cat, Willow, and I have a deal. She "helps" me write, and in return I highlight any and all cat references in each puzzle. Sometimes I begin talking about other things and end up talking about cats. At any rate, CAT has been mentioned in some way in 44% of my write-ups this year. I appreciate that I'm able to make cats (and other pets, too!) a part of my columns. Thank you to the constructors who have shared their pet photos with me.
  • 33 = ASIA appearances. ASIA led the way in puzzle/blog appearances this year. For the first time since 2020 when I began writing about the USA Today crossword, ASIA made more appearances than ERIE, which we saw 23 times this year. (Keep in mind that there are some words – such as ORE, perhaps – which may appear in the puzzle more often, but I only track answers when I highlight them.) Other notable entries: I highlighted OREO 17 times this year and OHIO 14 times.
  • 1 = Blog move. A significant event of 2024 was, of course that in March my blog transitioned from my own personal site to being on the USA Today site (where you are reading it now). This has been amazing, and still feels just slightly surreal to me. Writing "Off the Grid" continues to bring me many moments of joy. Thank you for reading! Whether you are one of the readers who followed me here, or one of the readers that discovered "Off the Grid" this year, I am thankful for you! Whether you read the blog daily or just occasionally, I'm grateful. I love hearing from you, so feel free to email me (SHoelscher@gannett.com) at any time.

Special thanks to Amanda Rakfkin, Jared Goudmit, and Anna Gundlach for their amazing editing of the puzzles of the past year.

I'll see you next year!

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