Spoilers ahead. You might want to try solving today’s puzzle before reading on! Top Dollar
constructor: Shannon Rupp
Editor: Amanda Lufkin
Comment from the creator of Today’s Crossword
Shannon: I am relatively new to USA TODAY puzzles, and this is my third time solving a crossword puzzle here. One of the things I like about making (and solving) USA TODAY puzzles is that the themes are easy to follow and the hints are straightforward, so creators can include something new or interesting for solvers. Amanda Rafkin, puzzle editor, suggested that I use TREE OF CODES, even though I had used TREE OF LIFE in the first puzzle I submitted. I had never heard of TREE OF CODES before making this puzzle. This puzzle mixes elements of books and physical sculptures, so I hope you’ll check it out. I’m happy to include hints about my hometown of St. Louis, my favorite sport in LEADOFF, and a reference to the Humboldt penguin, which is native to Peru! (Did you know there are penguins near the equator?) And I’m so happy that the MOO hint made it through the edits. It makes me laugh even at myself. Thanks for solving it!
What I learned from today’s puzzle
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The Tree of Code (5D: Jonathan Safran Foer’s Book with Die Cut Pages) 2010 Book Code Tree For me it was a new one for Shannon. I was fascinated by the idea of this book. Jonathan Safran Foer didn’t write this book, he composed it from another book. Jonathan Safran Foer wrote one of his favorite books, Crocodile Town The words on each page were cut out from Bruno Schulz’s work (1934). The words that remain tell a different story than the original. The title is Code Treecut from vinegarwoodt of CrockodIles. This reminded me of the Blackout poems I had done in writing workshops before, but on a much larger scale. Printing the book was a challenge because each page was die-cut with a different pattern. After talking to several printers, Jonathan Safran Foer found a printer in Belgium who was willing to take on the job.
Random thoughts and interesting things
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Two (5A: number of uteruses in most shark species) This is true. Many shark species have two uteruses, one on each side. Fetuses can develop in both uteruses, and fetuses may also swim from uterus to uterus. In some shark species, fetuses exhibit cannibalistic behavior, eating other fetuses until there is only one baby shark in the uterus. Nature is funny!
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The Lord of the Rings (18A: Samwise and Bilbo series, abbreviated) Samwise and Bilbo are J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings). In the film adaptations of the series, Sean Astin and Ian Holm played Samwise and Bilbo, respectively.
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AED (20A: A Device Near Your First Aid Kit) An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable device that can diagnose and treat life-threatening arrhythmias by delivering an electrical current to restore the heart’s normal rhythm.
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Album (21A: “Midnights” or “Harry’s House”) midnight This is Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album. Harry’s House Harry Styles’ third studio album. Both albums were released in 2022.
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STL (22A: Gateway Arch City (abbreviated)) and LEAD OFF (25A: First Off) A few weeks ago, I took a midweek road trip to St. Louis, Missouri (STL) to see my mom and sister and to go to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. Unfortunately, the game was rained out, so I didn’t get to see the first offense. However, I did enjoy walking around the Gateway Arch while in St. Louis. No matter how many times I see it, it’s a view I never get bored of.
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FROOT LOOPS (23A: Toucan Sam Cereal) Toucan Sam, an anthropomorphic bird, has been the mascot for FROOT LOOPS since the cereal was first released in 1963. Originally, FROOT LOOPS consisted of only red, orange, and yellow loops, but in the 1990s green, purple, and eventually blue were added to complete the rainbow array.
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OMEGA (34A: The Last Greek Letter) It was just two days ago that we reviewed the beginning of the Greek alphabet. Now we will review the last of the 24 letter alphabet. The last six letters of the Greek alphabet are Tau, Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi, and Omega.
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POKE (35A: raw fish in sauce) This is “POKE” (rhymes with “okay”), not “POKE” (rhymes with “joke”). POKE is Hawaiian for “cut into small pieces across the board” and as the hint suggests, POKE is a dish of diced raw fish.
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I TOO (36A: “___, Singing America”) Langston Hughes (1901-1967) wrote the poem “I, TOO” in 1925. The poem begins with the lines, “I, TOO, singing America,” and ends with, “I, TOO, it’s America.” Any day is a good day to remember this poem.
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Peru (37A: South American country home to the Humboldt penguin) The Humboldt penguin lives along the rocky coasts of Peru and Chile in South America. The penguins spend most of their time in the sea but come onto land to breed and nest. Their webbed feet have sharp claws that help them navigate the rocky cliffs along the coast. Humboldt penguins build their nests by digging holes in guano or by finding caves along the cliffs.
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Pet Spa (47A: A Soothing Spot for Puppies and Kittens) Shannon sent us a photo of her cat, Roxy, along with this tip. It’s unclear if Roxy has been to a pet spa.
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MLS (57A: Organization of Minnesota United FC) Minnesota United FC is a Major League Soccer (MLS) team based in Minneapolis St. Paul. The abbreviation for the word “organization” in the clue alerts the solver that the answer will also be an abbreviation.
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MOO (58A: A word for a joke about a cow barging in) I love silly jokes about cows barging in so I was happy to see it mentioned here.
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“knock Knock”
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“Who is it?”
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“The annoying cow”
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“You’re disturbing the cows…”
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“Moo!”
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PSY (61A: Rapper from “Gangnam Style”) Do you remember “Gangnam Style” by Korean artist PSY? It was in 2012 that the music video for “Gangnam Style” became a hot topic and was the first to surpass 1 billion views on YouTube. To date, it has been viewed over 5 billion times.
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Owl (7D: Bird from the Tootsie Pop Commercial) “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop Tootsie Roll?” The 1969 commercial that asked this question featured not only an owl, but also a cow, a fox, and a turtle. The conclusion: “The world will never know.” I’ve written before about some college students’ attempts to research the answer to this question.
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DIA (26D: ___ de los Muertos) DIA de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated on November 1 and 2. This Mexican holiday is a time to pray for and remember family and friends who have passed away.
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Apollo (42D: Moon Landing Mission) The Apollo program, which ran from 1962 to 1972, was NASA’s program that ultimately led to astronauts walking on the Moon. The ongoing NASA program, Artemis, has the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable habitat on the Moon.
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Euro (45D: money spent at the Louvre) The Louvre in Paris, France, is the most visited art museum in the world. Among the artworks on display at the Louvre are paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisaand the sculpture of Alexander of Antioch, Venus de Milo. France is one of 20 European Union member states that use the euro as their currency.
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Samba (48D: Afro-Brazilian dance) Samba is a dance that originated in the Afro-Brazilian community of Rio de Janeiro. In this article you will find the history of samba and a video showing examples of the dance.
Crossword Puzzle Theme Overview
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Sign Language (4D: Certain Interpreter Expertise)
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The Tree of Code (5D: Jonathan Safran Foer Book with Die Cut Pages)
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Bill of Rights (8D: document containing the first 10 amendments)
The top word in each vertical theme answer can be followed by the word DOLLAR to form new phrases such as DOLLAR SIGN, DOLLAR TREE, and DOLLAR BILL.
This is a classic USA TODAY crossword puzzle. The word TOP in the title was a hint that the theme might be found among the answers vertically, i.e. downwards, and that was exactly the case today. This was a solid set of answers for Theme, and as I said above, I was happy to learn about Theme. Code TreeThank you Shannon for this fun puzzle.
One more thing today: this seems like a good time to let you know about a new crossword tournament taking place later this year. Shannon Rupp is one of the co-organizers of the Midwest Crossword Tournament, which will be held on Saturday, October 5, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois (you may already know Shannon’s co-organizer’s name). The Midwest Crossword Tournament features puzzles created and edited by Midwest creators. Participation is open to everyone (not just Midwesterners), and solvers can participate in person or online. Check it out and consider registering.
For more information on USA TODAY’s crossword puzzles,
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers May 28, 2024 Author: Sally Hoelscher
