Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Primetime

Sally Hoelscher, USA TODAY
·6 min read
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There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Primetime

Constructor: Ryan Mathiason

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

March 23, 2024
March 23, 2024

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

  • OVAL (19A: Chamoe's shape) A chamoe (pronounced "cham-wae") is a variety of melon produced in East Asia. Sometimes referred to as Korean melon, chamoe is an OVAL melon with yellow rind. Inside, its white flesh and seeds is reminiscent of cucumber. Chamoe is less sweet than honeydew melon.

  • TWO-MINUTE DRILL (20A: Fast-paced football strategy) In football, the TWO-MINUTE DRILL is a type of hurry-up offense that focuses on clock management to maximize the number of plays in the last TWO MINUTEs before half time or game end.

  • MARINO (25A: Former Dolphins quarterback Dan) Dan MARINO was a quarterback for NFL's Miami Dolphins for 17 seasons, from 1983-1999. Although the Dolphins never won a Super Bowl during Dan MARINO's time with them, he is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history. He still holds several NFL records, including lowest career sack percentage (3.1%). Dan MARINO was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

  • EPEE (65A: Fencing sword for Sun Yiwen) Sun Yiwen is a Chinese fencer. In 2021, she won a gold medal in Individual Women's ÉPÉE at the Olympic Games. Although I did not know Sun Yiwen, the answer here was inferable, as the fencing sword ÉPÉE frequently appears in crosswords. I often say "(almost) everything I know about sports I learned from crosswords." Today I've learned three sports things from this puzzle: the TWO-MINUTE DRILL, Dan MARINO, and Sun Yiwen.

  • TODD (68A: Jason ___ aka the Red Hood) Jason TODD is a DC Comics character who made his first appearance in the comic book Batman #357 (March 1983). Jason TODD began his DC Comics career as Batman's sidekick, Robin, the successor to Dick Grayson, the first Robin. In a later DC storyline, Jason TODD was resurrected as the Red Hood, a vigilante anti-hero in Gotham City.

  • OMELET (47D: Egg dish akin to kuku) Kuku is an egg-based dish in Iranian cuisine.

  • LEEK (58D: Prasopita veggie) In traditional Greek cuisine, prasopita is a LEEK pie. Prasopita has a crust of phyllo (or filo) pastry, and a filling of LEEKs and cheese.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

  • HATS (6A: Ushankas and fezzes) A ushanka is a fur HAT with earflaps that can be fastened on the top of the HAT. The ushanka is a Russian HAT, but versions of the HAT are worn in other areas, including in Nordic countries.  A fez is a felt HAT - often red - that is named for the Moroccan city of Fez. The dye originally used to color the fez came from crimson berries produced in Fez.

  • ARE (24A: "You drink apple juice. I drink tomato sauce. We ___ not the same") The catchphrase, "We ARE not the same," has been used in memes comparing a variety of things. I couldn't find an example of the specific phrase used in this clue, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere. Fortunately, the answer here was inferable.

  • ACED (33A: Got a perfect score on) and A PLUS (7D: Grade for a perfect score) A PLUS for this nice pair of perfect clues.

  • ERIE (44A: Great Lake that touches New York) In addition to New York, Lake ERIE also touches the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, and the Canadian province of Ontario. This is the fourth appearance of our crossword-friend ERIE this month.

  • HOT (46A: Like Australia in January) Since Australia is located in the Southern Hemisphere (south of the equator), its summer season, with the HOTtest temperatures, spans December, January, and February.

  • BUSTER (49A: Dave & ___'s) Dave & BUSTER's is a chain of restaurants that feature a video arcade. DAVE & Buster's was founded in Dallas, Texas in 1982, and has since expanded to other locations.

  • COM (50A: www.theokraproject.___) The Okra Project is a mutual aid collective founded in 2018 in New York City that is "focused on supporting Black Trans people and alleviating the barriers" that face the community. The Okra Project works to provide food security by providing home-cooked meals. They also address safety and housing security and support mental health.

  • FIVE-SECOND RULE (53A: Guideline for deciding whether to eat food off the floor) The FIVE-SECOND RULE is a myth that stipulates that if food is dropped on the floor, it's safe to eat (i.e. not exposed to contamination) as long as it's picked up within FIVE SECONDS. The FIVE-SECOND RULE has been debunked by numerous studies, but that doesn't keep people (myself included on occasion) from eating food that has dropped on the floor.

  • I'M OLD (21D: Exclamation after realizing some Gen Alpha kids are 14, maybe) Generation Alpha (or Gen Alpha) is the demographic cohort of those born in 2010 or after. The oldest Gen Alpha members will turn 14 this year. I have always said it is never my own age, but that of those around me that makes me feel "I'M OLD."

  • IDES (28D: The ___ of March) The IDES are (appropriately) having a moment this month. We saw IDES in the puzzle on March 17 and March 18.

  • IOWA (29D: Caitlin Clark's college) Caitlin Clark is a senior who plays basketball for the University of IOWA. She recently became NCAA's all-time scoring leader for basketball, surpassing Pete Maravich's record. She's an amazing player. Since I live in IOWA City, home to the University of IOWA, and am also an IOWA alum, I was extremely excited to see this clue, and be able to say, "Hey, here's a sports clue that I know the answer to!" This clue is also timely, because the IOWA Women's basketball team plays their first game of the NCAA tournament today.

  • NYC (36D: TriBeCa's city, for short) TriBeCa is a New York City (NYC) neighborhood whose name is derived from its location. TriBeCa  is a shortened version of "Triangle Below Canal Street." The neighborhood is bordered by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Chambers Street. Those four streets form a quadrilateral rather than a triangle, but hey, that's what imagination is for.

  • VINE (55D: App where the "I Smell Like Beef" video was first posted) VINE is a now-defunct video hosting site that allowed users to share six-second looping video clips. "I Smell Like Beef" was a video clip shared in 2014 of a young girl repeating the phrase, "I smell like beef," for no apparent reason. In 2022, Ava, the young girl in the viral "I Smell Like Beef" video joined TikTok.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

  • TWO-MINUTE DRILL (20A: Fast-paced football strategy)

  • THREE-DAY WEEKEND (39A: Opportunity for a short vacation)

  • FIVE-SECOND RULE (53A: Guideline for deciding whether to eat food off the floor)

Each theme answer begins with a PRIME number – TWO, THREE, FIVE – followed by a unit of TIME – MINUTE, DAY, SECOND.

I really enjoyed this theme with its dual parts of PRIME numbers and units of TIME. Congratulations to Ryan Mathiason making a USA TODAY debut. Thank you, Ryan, for this delightful puzzle. And Go Hawks!

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for March 23, 2024 by Sally Hoelscher