SALLY HOELSCHER
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Broken Link
Sally HoelscherUSA TODAY
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Broken Link
Constructor: Jesse Guzman
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- DEGRASSI (7D: Canadian teen drama franchise) The DEGRASSI franchise began with the TV series The Kids of DEGRASSI Street (1979-1986), which was co-created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. There are now four other TV series in the franchise, as well as movies and books. The franchise was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2023.
- TRIET (14D: "Anatomy of a Fall" director Justine) Anatomy of a Fall (2023) is a French film about a woman trying to prove her innocence after her husband's death. The legal drama won the Palme d'Or (the highest prize awarded) at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. Justine TRIET directed the movie, as well as co-writing the screenplay with Arthur Harari.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- BEE GEES (22A: "Stayin' Alive" band) The BEE GEES released "Stayin' Alive" 48 years ago, in 1977, as part of the soundtrack for the movie Saturday Night Fever. In addition to being a catchy tune that can easily become an earworm, "Stayin' Alive" is one of the songs that can be used to assist people administering CPR to perform chest compressions at the correct rate. The song has around 103 beats per minute, and the recommended rate of chest compressions for CPR is 100-120 beats per minute.
- TSA (23A: Org. that would prevent snakes on a plane (hopefully)) Ha! This clue made me laugh. It's a nice shoutout to the 2006 movie Snakes on a Plane.
- ARE (27A: The "r" in "u r a qt") In textspeak, "u r a qt," stands for "you ARE a cutie."
- GREASE (29A: Musical with the song "Summer Nights") The best-known version of "Summer Nights" is sung by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. They recorded it in 1978 for the movie adaptation of the musical.
- CONTOUR LINE (31A: Curve on a topographic map) On a topographic map, a CONTOUR LINE connects points of equal elevation.
- EMO (45A: Aesthetic similar to "scene") The scene subculture arose in the 2000s from the EMO subculture, so it makes sense that they are similar. Scene fashion is characterized by skinny jeans, bright-colored clothing, and straight, long hair (that is sometimes dyed in bright colors).
- MIT (60A: Sch. that hosts an annual Mystery Hunt) The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Each year, about 120 teams – comprised of 5 to 150 people each – compete in a puzzle hunt. A puzzle hunt is a series of puzzles linked together in some way, that when solved accomplishes an objective. In the case of the MIT Mystery Hunt, the ultimate objective is to find a "coin" hidden on the MIT campus. The MIT Mystery Hunt is held in January, with each hunt being designed by the team that won the previous year.
- ESOTERIC (3D: Like obscure knowledge) ESOTERIC is a lovely-sounding word.
- BABY (5D: Beanie ___ (stuffed animal)) The first Beanie BABY was created in 1993. The nine original Beanie babies were Legs the Frog, Squealer the Pig, Spot the Dog, Flash the Dolphin, Splash the Whale, Chocolate the Moose, Patti the Platypus, Brownie the Bear, and Pinchers the Lobster. Any mention of Beanie Babies reminds me of my daughter, who went through a phase of collecting them when she was growing up.
- BRB (22D: Letters meaning "gimme one sec") BRB = be right back
- NO FILTER (32D: Hashtag that celebrates natural beauty) Although I don't use #NOFILTER when I post on social media, I certainly could, as I tend not to use FILTERs. The main reason I use NO FILTER, however, is simply that I find there are too many choices, and I can't decide, so I default to NO FILTER. I am all for celebrating natural beauty, however, so that's a nice side effect of my indecision.
- EAGLE CAM (34D: It can record a lofty nest) EAGLE CAMs are extremely cool (in my opinion), as they are a non-invasive way for people to get a peek at the lives of EAGLEs, something we wouldn't otherwise be able to see. There are many different EAGLE CAMs. Here's a link to an EAGLE CAM in Decorah, Iowa.
- PIEROGI (37D: Polish dumpling) Typical fillings for the dumplings known as PIEROGI are potato, cheese, or sauerkraut. They are often served with sour cream.
- A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
- REINS (4D: Santa's handful)
- I'M SO THERE (6D: "Sign me up!")
- STAGE MOM (13D: Parent living vicariously through a theater kid)
- YES (20D: Dubious answer to "Are you asleep?")
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- STAY IN YOUR LANE (19A: "Don't get involved")
- CONTOUR LINE (31A: Curve on a topographic map)
- FOUR-LEAF CLOVER (48A: Lucky shamrock)
BROKEN LINK: The letters URL, representing a website LINK, are BROKEN across two words in each theme answer: STAY IN YOUR LANE, CONTOUR LINE, and FOUR-LEAF CLOVER.
From the puzzle's title, I made a guess that the word LINK would be BROKEN by each theme answer. This is a theme type we often see in USA Today puzzles, so that was a reasonable guess. When I filled in STAY IN YOUR LANE, I knew I was on the wrong track. I had a fabulous "Aha!" moment when I discovered the BROKEN UR/L in each theme answer. Congratulations to Jesse Guzman making a USA Today crossword debut! Thank you, Jesse, for this delightful puzzle.