Spoilers ahead. You might want to try solving today’s puzzle before reading on!
Constructors: Olivia Mitra Framke & Sally Hoelscher
Editor: Amanda Lufkin
Comment from the creator of Today’s Crossword
Olivia: I’m so happy to be back at USA TODAY with my good friend Sally. Looking back at this puzzle, I’m thrilled to see so many references to my interests, from tennis to sheet music to the Roll-and-Write board game to Star Wars (of course)… It’s always great when editing preserves the author’s voice. I hope you all enjoy this fun, spring-like theme. My rooftop garden is already blooming!
Sally: It’s always fun collaborating with Olivia, and this puzzle marks our 10th collaboration, seven of which have been for USA TODAY puzzles.
What I learned from today’s puzzle
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EMO (9D: My Chemical Romance genre) This tip was added during editing and introduced me to the EMO band My Chemical Romance. Interestingly, as I researched the band, I discovered that although they are considered an influential group in the EMO genre, My Chemical Romance sometimes rejects the EMO classification. My Chemical Romance’s music has also been called alternative rock, pop punk, punk rock, and hard rock.
Random thoughts and interesting things
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Biomes (15A: Taiga or Tundra, etc.) Taiga, also known as boreal forest, is a biome characterized by pine, spruce, and larch forests. Tundra is an area where tree growth is limited due to extremely cold temperatures and a short growing season. There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra (located on the edge of the Northern Hemisphere), Antarctic tundra (most of Antarctica), and alpine tundra (high mountain areas).
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The Sea (16A: “Can you see the line where the sky meets the sea? It’s calling to me.”) “Can you see the line where the sky meets the sea? It’s calling to me” is a lyric from the 2016 Disney animated film “How Far I’ll Go.” Moana.
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Isabel Bloom (17A: Artist Known for Concrete Sculptures) As an artistic medium, concrete is cheap, readily available, and weather-resistant. It eventually became the medium of choice for Isabel Bloom (1908-2001), whose concrete sculptures often depicted children and animals. Isabel Bloom was born in Texas, but her family moved to Davenport, Iowa, when she was one year old. The Isabel Bloom Company, which produces sculptures in Isabel Bloom’s style and continues her legacy, still has a studio in Davenport today. I have an Isabel Bloom rabbit sculpture that was given to me as a bridesmaid by a college roommate who also grew up in Davenport, Iowa.
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Odd-eyed cats (21A: Odd-eyed cats (cats with different colored eyes)) Odd-eyed cats, as the hint and name suggests, have different colored eyes. Odd-eyed cats can occur in any breed. However, the condition is not associated with any particular breed, although it is more common in some breeds, such as the Khao Mani, which I wrote about earlier this month. My cat, Willow, is not odd-eyed. As you can see in this photo, both of her eyes are green.
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Orion (26A: Archer with a Celestial Belt) The constellation known as Orion is named after a hunter in Greek mythology. The three brightest stars in the constellation appear to be aligned in a straight line and are called Orion’s belt.
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WOMEN IN STEM (31A: an organization working on gender equality in science, math, technology, etc.) WOMEN IN STEM is an organization that works with high schools around the world. Their approach aims to address the limited opportunities for STEM activities at the high school level and is trying to change long-standing thinking about WOMEN IN STEM. This theme answer was suggested by Amanda during our initial conversation about setting the theme. I am always happy to feature WOMEN IN STEM.
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ISLES (47A: Survivor) American version of the reality TV show Survivor It first aired in 2000. In each season, a group of strangers are placed in an isolated location where they must navigate challenges while securing food and shelter. The show just finished its 46th season, which is set in the Fiji Islands.
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CHIA (66A: ___ Pets (1970s Trend)) Ah, the CHIA pet. Those terracotta figures that hold chia seeds that sprout and look like hair. CHIA pets aren’t as popular as they were back in the 1970s, but they’re definitely still around and available in a variety of designs.
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Sharp (67A: musical #) The symbol #: Is that a number sign, a pound sign, a musical sharp or a hashtag? Of course, all of these!
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King (69A: Billie Jean ___ (Tennis Legend)) Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987, Billie Jean King is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. In 1973, a tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King was called the “Battle of the Sexes.” Billie Jean King won in three sets.
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North (70A: the direction of the North Star) Polaris is Alpha Ursa MinorPolaris, commonly known as the North Star, is a star whose stable position in the northern sky has historically aided in navigation.
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SOSA (72A: Mercedes ___ (Latin Grammy Award Winner)) Mercedes SOSA (1935-2009) was an Argentine singer known for her folk-inspired style and lyrics about social issues. She won six Latin Grammy Awards, including a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.
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Rebels (4D: ___ Alliance (enemy of the Galactic Empire in “Star Wars”) Members of the Rebel Alliance are: Star Wars Franchise. In our collaboration, Olivia Star Wars References: When I asked her what to say about REBEL Alliance, she suggested mentioning the anime TV series. traitor (2014-2018). This series is Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sithand characters from the original work will appear Star Wars trilogy, and some new characters. Edited to add: Olivia told me that due to the complicated political situation between the Jedi and the Republic in the prequels, and some of the factions in the spinoffs, it’s not accurate to say that the Rebel Alliance are the main characters of the franchise. Bad group, The Mandalorian, Etc. I’m assuming this is correct.
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ABBY (6D: Wambach, six-time U.S. Soccer Player of the Year) A member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, ABBY Wambach helped the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team win two Olympic gold medals.
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Nile River (7D: African Rivers) The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It flows through 11 countries, including Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi, before flowing north into the Mediterranean Sea.
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OWL (25D: Duolingo’s mascot bird) Duolingo is a language learning app that uses a gamified approach to learning, including interactive exercises and quizzes. Duolingo’s mascot is a green cartoon OWL named Duo.
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Oreo (58D: Dirt Cake flavored cookie) Dirt cake is a dessert made with crushed Oreo cookies, pudding, and gummy worms. Dirt Cake Oreo was released in February this year. It is a chocolate cookie topped with “gummy worm-like sprinkles”. It has two layers of cream, one brownie flavored and one chocolate flavored, and contains Oreo crumbs. It feels like a very meta variation of Oreo.
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OHIO (59D: States with the First and Last Syllables Pronounced the Same) OHIO is the only U.S. state whose first and last syllables are pronounced the same. Unless, of course, you count the only monosyllabic U.S. state whose first and last syllables are the same syllable. (That state is Maine.)
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THO (59D: “OTOH…”) OTOH is short for “on the other hand.” The contraction is a hint that the answer will be a contraction (THO is for although).
Crossword Puzzle Theme Overview
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Isabel Bloom (17A: an artist known for her concrete sculptures)
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Women in STEM (31A: an organization that works to promote gender equality in science, mathematics, technology, etc.)
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Light bulb (44A: may symbolize an idea)
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Putting Down Roots (56D: Settling in a community)
The last word in each answer is part of a flower.
I’m a fan of progressive themes. In progressive themes, the order in which the theme answers appear in the puzzle becomes part of the theme. In this puzzle, as you go down the puzzle, you encounter the floral parts from top to bottom: the flower, the stem, the bulb, and the root. When I write about my puzzles, I like to look back and remember how the idea for the puzzle came about. This theme was Olivia’s idea. (Side note: If you’ve ever wondered why sometimes Olivia’s name is listed first in our collaborations and sometimes mine, Olivia and I have a tradition that whoever comes up with the theme gets listed in the byline first.) Olivia initially pitched this idea to me with lightbulbs, plants for faces, and grass roots as the theme answers. As the idea evolved, only one of the theme answers was accepted, and we replaced the plants with stems and added flowers. I’m pretty happy with how this puzzle turned out, and I hope you all enjoy solving it as well. As always, thanks to Olivia for her help and Amanda for editing. Here are some photos that fit today’s theme:
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers May 30, 2024 Author: Sally Hoelscher
