Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY’s daily crossword puzzle, The Writing Process

Contents

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle Random Thoughts & Interesting Things Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! The Writing Process

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

IRAN (17D: Country that celebrates Sizdah Bedar) In IRAN, Sizdah Bedar is celebrated thirteen days after Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. The festival is also known as Nature’s Day and is celebrated by spending time outdoors.
EDEN (25D: “Lempicka” actress Espinosa) Lempicka is a musical based on the life of Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980), a Polish painter who fled to Paris, France during the Russian Revolution. EDEN Espinoza played the role of Tamara de Lempicka when the musical opened on Broadway in 2024. For the role she received a Tony Award Nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

ALOO (13A: Hindi for “potato”) The clue here is giving the reminder I occasionally provide.
EPEE (20A: Slowest form of fencing) There are three swords used in the sport of fencing: foil, saber, and ÉPÉE. Part of the reason that ÉPÉE is the slowest form of fencing is that the ÉPÉE is the heaviest of the fencing weapons. ÉPÉE is also slower because the entire body is a target area, so fencers must be cautious not to get hit.
BO DIDDLEY (28A: Blues legend known for his rectangular guitar) BO DIDDLEY (1928-2008) was a rock and roll musician. HE was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. BO DIDDLEY’s trademark instrument was a rectangular guitar nicknamed “The Twang Machine.”
PAELLA (34A: Valencian rice dish) PAELLA is a traditional dish in Spanish cuisine. It originated from Valencia, one of Spain’s autonomies (administrative divisions of government). “PAELLA” is the word for “frying pan” in the Valencian/Catalan language, and the wide, shallow pan used to cook the dish gave PAELLA its name. Recipes vary, but PAELLA consists of rice, vegetables, meat, and seasonings. Its yellow color comes from saffron or turmeric.
NEIL (39A: Young with the album “Trans”) Trans is NEIL Young’s thirteenth studio album, released in 1983. The album incorporated the use of vocoders (speech encoders), synthesizers, and electric beats and was of a different style than his previous albums.
BOO RADLEY (44A: Misjudged neighbor in “To Kill a Mockingbird”) To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is narrated by an adult Scout Finch who is remembering events of her childhood. BOO RADLEY is a neighbor of the Finch family.
BOOK A TRIP (59A: Use Kayak, perhaps) The capital K of Kayak alerts solvers that the word is referring not to the boat, but to the travel service company, which one might use to BOOK A TRIP.
ELLE (63A: “The Great” actress Fanning) The Great (2020-2023) is a satirical historical fiction TV series very loosely based on Catherine the Great. In the first and third seasons, the show was titled onscreen as The Great: An Occasionally True Story. During the second season, the title used was The Great: An Almost Entirely Untrue Story. ELLE Fanning portrays Catherine, who was the empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796.
ALPS (2D: Mont Blanc’s range) Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the ALPS. It is located on the France-Italy border and has an elevation of 15,766 feet.
BRO (9D: Mario, to Luigi) Mario and Luigi are the brothers in the Mario Bros. video games – they are fraternal twins. Mario, who wears a red shirt, is the oldest of the twins. Luigi wears a green shirt.
EPIPEN (21D: Lifesaving allergy device) EPIPEN is the trademark name for a brand of epinephrine autoinjector, a medical device used to inject a measured dose of epinephrine to treat anaphylaxis (a life-threatening type of allergic reaction).
CAIRO (26D: Capital near the Sphinx) The Great Sphinx is a statue located in Giza, Egypt. It is one of the oldest known sculptures in Egypt, dating to the 2500s BCE. A sphinx is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion. Giza is located across the Nile River from CAIRO, the capital of Egypt.
YALE (31D: New Haven school) YALE is located in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1701 as the Collegiate School, and is the third-oldest college in the United States, following Harvard and College of William & Mary. In 1718, the Collegiate School was renamed YALE College after Elihu YALE, who was persuaded to donate money to construct a new building for the school.
ARAB (32D: Like most people in Jordan) Jordan is a country in West Asia. Its capital is Amman. 95% of Jordan’s residents are ARABs. Jordan was mentioned two days ago in the clue for PETRA, [World Heritage Site in Jordan].
PET (61D: Animal that gets belly rubs) My cat, Willow, says, “Did somebody say belly rubs?”

A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
- RING (35A: Piece of jewelry slipped on after a “yes”)
- POLKA (57A: Genre of dance music with accordions)
- NOON (3D: Twelve hours before midnight)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

B POSITIVE (16A: Blood type that sounds like an optimist’s advice)
BO DIDDLEY (28A: Blues legend known for his rectangular guitar)
BOO RADLEY (44A: Misjudged neighbor in “To Kill a Mockingbird”)
BOOK A TRIP (59A: Use Kayak, perhaps)

THE WRITING PROCESS: The first words of the theme answers are “WRITING” a BOOK, letter by letter: B → BO → BOO → BOOK.

We don’t see “add-a-letter” progression themes like this too often, and I think they’re quite fun. If only THE WRITING PROCESS were as easy as adding these four letters together! Thank you, Zhouqin, for this enjoyable puzzle.