Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's daily crossword puzzle, League Leaders
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! League Leaders
Constructor: Brian Callahan
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor
Brian: Since there’s never a shortage of pet content on Sally’s blog (hi Willow!), I wanted to take this opportunity share a picture of my 8-lb. terrier mix, Penny. In addition to being my crossword construction companion, Penny does her best “cat impression” by cuddling up in my lap every morning and occasionally climbing on furniture. Hope you enjoy this puzzle!
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- CHIMP (1A: "___ Crazy" (HBO docuseries about an ape owner)) The four episodes of HBO's documentary, CHIMP Crazy, originally aired in August 2024. The series is directed and produced by Eric Goode, who directed the Netflix series Tiger King. CHIMP Crazy follows the story of Tonia Haddix, an animal broker who refuses to turn over one of the chimpanzees in the care of the Missouri Primate Foundation following a court order to do so.
- GOA (43A: Indian state where deknni originated) Deknni is a semi-classical dance form that originated in the Indian state of GOA. It is characterized by graceful movements and expressive gestures that tell a story. The country of India is comprised of 28 states and eight union territories. GOA is India's smallest state, and is located on India's western coast, along the Arabian Sea.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- LIU (15A: "Barbie" actor Simu) Simu LIU portrays "Tourist Ken," one of eight characters named Ken in the 2023 movie Barbie.
- RATIO (16A: Sine or cosine, e.g.) Who put math in my word puzzle? I'm actually a fan of math, but it's been a bit since I've studied trigonometry, which is concerned with trigonometric RATIOs. These RATIOs – the trigonometric functions sine and cosine – describe the relationships between the angles and side lengths in triangles.
- FANTASY SUITE (20A: Romantic room on "The Bachelorette") The FANTASY SUITE on The Bachelorette is the one opportunity for the show's lead to spend time with contestants off-camera. (Apparently, though, the producers are never far away.)
- PIER (26A: Place for a cruise ship) and OCEAN (28A: Place for a cruise ship) I'm a fan of clue echoes, and it was fun to see one for these two consecutive clues.
- AHS (32A: Ryan Murphy series with 12 seasons, for short) AHS here stands for American Horror Story, a TV series that first aired in 2011. AHS is an anthology TV series, meaning each season is a self-contained miniseries with a different set of characters and story lines. Ryan Murphy co-created AHS with Brad Falchuk. American Horror Story: Delicate is the show's 12th season, which aired from September 2023 to April 2024. The show has been renewed for a 13th season.
- MAC (44A: Big ___ (Golden Arches burger)) The Big MAC is having a moment, as we saw BIG MACS as an answer yesterday.
- TABOO (60A: Party game in which certain words are off-limits) In the game TABOO, the goal is to get one's teammates to guess a particular word. The catch is that certain words are TABOO – that is, off-limits – and of course these words are ones that would be helpful!
- AIMEE (61A: Singer Mann) I wrote about AIMEE Mann last month, when we saw her last name in the puzzle.
- NPR (62A: "All Things Considered" network) The NPR program, All Things Considered, debuted in 1971. The show highlights the news each day, providing analysis, commentary, and interviews. The current hosts of All Things Considered are Ailsa Chang, Mary Louise Kelly, Ari Shapiro, Juana Summers, and Scott Detrow.
- TECHS (64A: Some pharmacy workers, for short) This clue for TECHS made me happy. My undergraduate degree is in pharmacy, and I worked as a pharmacist for several years before going to graduate school I definitely have an appreciation for pharmacy TECHS and the many things they do!
- PUPU (8D: ___ platter (Hawaiian appetizer)) In Hawaiian, the word "PŪ-PŪ" denotes a relish, appetizer, or canapé. A PUPU platter consists of an assortment of appetizers. We saw PUPU PLATTER as a theme answer a few weeks ago.
- CRATE (9D: Safe space for some dogs) When used appropriately, a dog CRATE serves a similar purpose for a dog as a playpen does for a toddler. The CRATE provides a space for a dog to be comfortable and feel safe when it's necessary to keep a dog in one place.
- RACE WALK (10D: Compete in a long-distance Olympic event) A RACE WALK (also seen as RACEWALK) differs from a run in that one foot must be in contact with the ground at all times. The 20 kilometer RACE WALK – both men and women's – is an Olympics event. The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France saw the debut of the marathon RACE WALK mixed relay. This event is the distance of a marathon (26.219 miles), and is completed by two athletes, one man and one woman, who each complete two legs of the race.
- CEDAR POINT (29D: Amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio) CEDAR POINT, which opened in 1870, is the oldest operating amusement park in the United States. (The oldest U.S. amusement park is Lake Compounce in Connecticut.) CEDAR POINT is located in Sandusky, Ohio on a peninsula in Lake Erie.
- ERIVO (30D: "Wicked" actress Cynthia) In the 2024 movie Wicked – the first part of a movie adaptation of the stage musical of the same name – Cynthia ERIVO portrays Elphaba Thropp, the future Wicked Witch of the West. Cynthia ERIVO will reprise the role of Elphaba in the second part, Wicked: For Good, which is scheduled to be released in November of this year. (I am trying to wait patiently!) Cynthia ERIVO is absolutely amazing in Wicked, and I'm delighted to see her get some crossword recognition.
- TECUMSEH (39D: Shawnee chief who resisted westward U.S. expansion) TECUMSEH (c. 1768-1813) was a Shawnee chief who promoted intertribal unity and promoted resistance to U.S. westward expansion. He was about 45 years old when he was killed in the War of 1812 in which he sided with the British against the U.S. TECUMSEH was greatly admired during his lifetime, and he has become a folk hero in Indigenous, American, and Canadian history.
- GIN (45D: Bee's knees spirit) Bee's knees is a cocktail made of GIN, lemon juice, and honey. This clue reminded me that a year ago when we saw THE BEE'S KNEES as an answer in a freestyle puzzle, I investigated whether bee's have knees. They do. Since bees are insects and have six legs, they have six knees.
- A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
- SANG (46A: Yodeled or crooned)
- I CAN SEE THAT (3D: "Your point is taken")
- THINGAMABOB (25D: Doohickey)
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- FANTASY SUITE (20A: Romantic room on "The Bachelorette")
- LITTLE DID WE KNOW (38A: "It was unfamiliar to us at the time, but...")
- MINOR SETBACK (51A: Small obstacle)
LEAGUE LEADERS: The first word of each theme answer (the LEADER, in a way) can be place in front of (i.e. be a LEADER of) the word LEAGUE. That gives us FANTASY LEAGUE, LITTLE LEAGUE, and MINOR LEAGUE.
The word LEADERS in today's title gave me a pretty good indication that the theme would involve the first words of the theme answers. It was satisfying to uncover each theme answer and verify that my guess was correct. "FANTASY SUITE ... yep, FANTASY LEAGUE is a thing. LITTLE DID WE KNOW ... of course, LITTLE LEAGUE. MINOR SETBACK ... oh, MINOR LEAGUE." It's interesting, isn't it, that LITTLE and MINOR are both synonyms for small, but LITTLE LEAGUE and MINOR LEAGUE are definitely not the same thing. Thank you, Brian, for this delightful puzzle. Thank you, also, for sharing a photo of Penny! Pet photos are always welcome.