Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, sporTS
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! sporTS
Constructor: Erik Agard
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
HANS (52D: Movie composer Zimmer) HANS Zimmer has composed music for over 150 movies. He often integrates electronic music and orchestral arrangements in his work. He won Academy Awards for Best Original Score for The Lion King (1994) and Dune (2021). It turns out that I am familiar with HANS Zimmer's work. I am happy to learn his name and connect it with that work.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
MATTER (1A: Black Lives ___) Black Lives MATTER. This is a good reminder and a great way to start off the puzzle.
This puzzle provided me with a bit of geography review. Geography is not a strong suit for me, so I welcome the review.
ECUADOR (13A: Country south of Colombia) ECUADOR is located on the west coast of South America along the Pacific Ocean. It is south of Colombia and east and south of Peru. The capital of ECUADOR is Quito.
ROMANIA (15A: Country north of Bulgaria) ROMANIA is a European country. In addition to being north of Bulgaria, it is west of Moldova, east of Hungary, and south of Ukraine. The country also borders the Black Sea. The capital of ROMANIA is Bucharest.
ROME (6D: Capital city near Bracciano) ROME is the capital of Italy. Bracciano is a small town in Italy located about 19 miles southeast of ROME. Castello Orsini-Odescalchi – one of the largest and best-maintained castles in Italy – is located in Bracciano.
NILE (11D: Longest African river) The NILE River flows north through Africa into the Mediterranean Sea. The NILE River flows through 11 countries and is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan.
TRIPLE SINGLE (34A: Term for an unimpressive stat line in basketball, popularized by Charles Barkley) Charles Barkley is a former professional basketball player. He is currently a sports analyst for TNT and CBS Sports. Five statistical categories in basketball are points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. If a player accumulates ten or more (i.e. double digits) in two of these categories, they are said to have achieved a double-double. A TRIPLE-double refers to double digits in three of the categories. Charles Barkley popularized the term TRIPLE SINGLE to refer to a player that accumulates nine or fewer each of points, rebounds, and assists. In other words, unimpressive (though still more than I could do!).
TOMMIE SMITH (48A: Black Power saluter at the 1968 Olympics, along with John Carlos) At the 1968 Olympic games award ceremony for the 200-meter running event, the gold medal winner, TOMMIE SMITH, and the bronze medal winner, John Carlos – both Black American athletes – each raised a black-gloved fist during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner." TOMMIE SMITH, in his autobiography, Silent Gesture, stated that the gesture was a human rights salute.
MEMES (1D: Sending each other ___ (modern love language)) This reminded me of the term penguin pebbling that I learned about from the June 16, 2024 puzzle.
REINDEER (15D: Comet, Cupid, or Rudolph, for example) "You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen / Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen / But do you recall / The most famous REINDEER of all?" I figured that if I was going to have "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed REINDEER" as an earworm, the least I could do is share it with you.
NIA (20D: Movie star Long) In the upcoming biographical musical drama, Michael, about Michael Jackson's life, NIA Long portrays Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine. The movie is scheduled to be released in April of next year.
PEARS (35D: Seckel fruits) Seckel PEARS are a cultivar thought to have originated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Also called sugar PEARS, Seckel PEARS are relatively small (less than three inched in length and width), and are very sweet.
A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
EXACTLY (17A: "That's what I'm saying!")
CEO (24A: Corporate big cheese)
EQUAL PAY (55A: What salary transparency helps to ensure)
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
TENNIS SHOES (19A: US Open footwear)
TRIPLE SINGLE (34A: Term for an unimpressive stat line in basketball, popularized by Charles Barkley)
TOMMIE SMITH (48A: Black Power saluter at the 1968 Olympics, along with John Carlos)
sporTS: Each theme answer is a sporTS-related thing with the initials T.S.: TENNIS SHOES, TRIPLE SINGLE, TOMMIE SMITH.
The unusual capitalization in the title caught my attention. When I filled in TENNIS SHOES, I realized the significance of the capital TS. Thank you, Erik, for this excellent puzzle.
For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for October 21, 2024 by Sally Hoelscher