Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Found Art
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Found Art
Constructor: Beth Rubin
Editor: Jared Goudsmit
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
TERI (24A: Nava Mau's role in "Baby Reindeer") Baby Reindeer is a seven-episode miniseries that premiered on Netflix in April of this year. The show was created by Richard Gadd, who stars in Baby Reindeer as Donny Dunn, a character based on himself. Nava Mau portrays TERI, a therapist Donny met on a dating site.
STAR TREK: VOYAGER (38A: Sci-fi series with Captain Kathryn Janeway) STAR TREK: VOYAGER originally aired from 1995-2001. The show focuses on the adventures of USS VOYAGER, captained by Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). USS VOYAGER was stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the galaxy, and is trying to make its way back to Alpha Quadrant. Although I was able to fill in STAR TREK fairly easily, I needed the help of crossing answers to vill in VOYAGER. My STAR TREK knowledge mostly dates back to 1970s reruns of STAR TREK: The Original Series (1966-1969)!
AUDI (3D: Q8 automaker) AUDI launched the Q8, a mid-size luxury crossover SUV, in 2018. I'm not really up on car models, but fortunately, there aren't an abundance of four-letter automakers.
EDIE (7D: Journalist Huggins) EDIE Huggins (1935-2008) was a TV reporter on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's WCAU-TV for 42 years. She was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2002.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
ANDIE (17A: "Maid" actress MacDowell) Maid is a 10-episode miniseries released on Netflix in 2021. The show is inspired by a memoir by Stephanie Land, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive. The main character is Alex – portrayed by Margaret Qualley – a young mother with a two-year-old daughter, who gets a job as a maid. ANDIE MacDowell portrays Alex's mother, Paula Langley. In this interview with NPR, ANDIE MacDowell talks about drawing on her own childhood experiences to play her Maid character. Fun fact: ANDIE MacDowell and Margaret Qualley are mother and daughter in real life, as well as in the show.
UCLA (34A: Bruins' college) The Bruins are the sports teams at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The team's mascots are Joe and Josie Bruin. In the 1950s, the UCLA Bruins used live bears as mascots. Fortunately, their current bear mascots are humans in costumes.
OWL (42A: "Someone here is possessed by an ___" (statement that may elicit a "Who?")) This clue made me laugh, and I thought, "There must be a story here." Sure enough, I discovered this is a reference to an often parodied conversation on TikTok. The following conversation has been played out by a number of characters:
Person 1: "Okay, you guys, we have to be careful. Someone here is possessed by an OWL."
Person 2: "Who?"
Person 1: "That's the thing, we don't know..." (Looks suspiciously at Person 2.)
BEBOP (45A: Jazz style with complex harmonies) The BEBOP style of jazz developed in the 1940s. Unlike the earlier dance-oriented swing music-style of jazz, BEBOP was not intended for dancing. The freedom from this constraint meant musicians could play at faster tempos and include complex chord progressions. The term BEBOP is an onomatopoeic word (a word that imitates the sound it describes) derived from the nonsense syllables used in scat singing.
LES (47A: Singer-songwriter Laura) In addition to her solo career, Laura LES is one half of the musical duo 100 gecs. Laura LES and Dylan Brady, known as 100 gecs, released their latest album – 10,000 gecs – in 2023. I have previously written about Laura LES.
ELBA (48A: "Luther" actor Idris) Luther is a BBC TV series in which Idris ELBA stars as the title character, Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. The TV series originally aired from 2010-2019. Idris ELBA reprised the role for a 2023 movie that was a continuation of the series, Luther: The Fallen Sun.
ENID (50A: Name hidden in "screen idol") This clue had me wondering if there is an ENID who is a "screen idol." There is a 2009 TV movie called ENID. It's a biographical film about children's author ENID Blyton. Helena Bonham Carter plays the title character.
OSCAR THE GROUCH (52A: Muppet with a pet worm named Slimey) I am a fan of OSCAR THE GROUCH, the curmudgeonly Sesame Street character who lives in a trash can. OSCAR has an orange pet worm named Slimey. When Slimey originally appeared as a character (OSCAR said that he found him in the mud), he communicated only with squeaks, but in later episodes he was given a voice. In addition to Slimey, OSCAR THE GROUCH also has a number of pet elephants! (Apparently OSCAR's trash can is bigger inside than it appears, somewhat like Mary Poppins' carpet bag.) Sometimes the elephants' trunks are visible sticking out of the trash can, but most often the elephants are heard but not seen. I couldn't resist taking a photo of my OSCAR THE GROUCH figurine checking out his name in the puzzle.
NERO (61A: Fictional detective Wolfe) Cozy mysteries are my genre of choice, and I have an entire bookshelf dedicated to books about NERO Wolfe, so I was delighted to see this clue. NERO Wolfe, a creation of the author Rex Stout, is the ultimate armchair detective, rarely leaving his luxurious brownstone on West 35th Street in New York City where he reads books, tends his orchids, drinks beer, and eats gourmet meals. He relies on his assistant, Archie Goodwin, to do any necessary legwork, and to goad him into working when the bills need to be paid. Rex Stout (1886-1975) wrote 33 novels and 41 novellas and short stories about NERO Wolfe between 1934 and 1975. The NERO Wolfe stories have been adapted for TV, movies, and the stage. (I enjoy the quirkiness of NERO Wolfe, though I will say his attitudes toward women leave something to be desired.)
EYRE (65A: Jane in a Bronte novel) Charlotte Bront? originally published Jane EYRE in 1847 under the pen name Currer Bell.
CHAI (1D: Noon ___ (Kashmiri tea)) Noon CHAI is made with gunpowder tea (green tea leaves rolled into small pellets), milk, and baking soda. It is also called Kashmiri tea, as it originated in Kashmir (a region of the Indian subcontinent).
LAND (2D: About 29% of Earth's surface) It seems like I most commonly see this statistic as 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water. It was fun to see it turned around to 29% of Earth's surface is LAND.
TERRE (9D: ___ Haute, Indiana) TERRE Haute, Indiana is located on the Wabash River near the Indiana-Illinois border. Indiana State University is located in TERRE Haute.
SUSHI BOAT (10D: Vessel that may be filled with California rolls) A container shaped like a BOAT is a traditional and elegant way to serve SUSHI.
AREA (11D: About 224,610 square miles, for Botswana) To help put this number in perspective, the AREA of Botswana is more than the AREA of California (163,695 square miles), and less than the AREA of Texas (268,596 square miles).
TRACY (22D: Chapman who sang "Fast Car" at the 2024 Grammys) I wrote about TRACY Chapman and her song "Fast Car" six days ago.
TESLA (39D: Inventor Nikola) Nikola TESLA (1856-1943) was an inventor and engineer known for his contributions to the design of modern electricity supply systems and alternating current (AC). One of Nikola TESLA's inventions was the TESLA coil, an electrical resonant transformer circuit. TESLA invented the coil in 1891. Although they've been used in a variety of applications, today the main use of TESLA coils are for entertainment and educational purposes. Tesla coils can even be used to play music.
PIRATE (46D: Seafarer who might say "Arrr!") PIRATE is making back-to-back appearances in the puzzle. Yesterday we saw PIRATE clued as [Make unauthorized copies of software].
DONOR (51D: Universal ___ (person with O negative blood)) Since blood that is type O negative has no antigens (surface proteins found on red blood cells), it will not trigger an immune response following a blood transfusion, even if the recipient has a different blood type. Only 7% of the population are universal DONORs, that is, have type O negative blood. That means people with that blood type are in demand as blood DONORs. Hooray for science in the crossword!
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
I DIDN'T HEAR THAT (20A: "Please repeat what you said)
STAR TREK: VOYAGER (38A: Sci-fi series with Captain Kathryn Janeway)
OSCAR THE GROUCH (52A: Muppet with a pet worm named Slimey)
FOUND ART: The word ART is FOUND hidden in each theme answer: I DIDN'T HEAR THAT, STAR TREK: VOYAGER, and OSCAR THE GROUCH.
The hidden or FOUND word is a classic USA Today theme type. It is well executed here with three great theme answers. Thank you, Beth, for this enjoyable puzzle.
For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for August 28, 2024 by Sally Hoelscher
