Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Starter Homes
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Starter Homes
Constructor: Sala Wanetick
Editor: Jared Goudsmit
APPLE (1A: "I guess the ___ don't fall far from the tree" (Charli XCX lyric)) "I guess the APPLE don't fall far from the tree" is a line from Charli XCX's 2024 song "APPLE." This is a fun clue, because fans of Charli XCX will enjoy seeing the song referenced. However, the answer is still gettable for solvers not familiar with Charli XCX, since "the APPLE doesn't fall far from the tree" is a common idiom.
ABBA (6A: "Mamma Mia" group) Mamma Mia is a jukebox musical featuring the songs of ABBA. I've seen Mamma Mia multiple times, both the stage production and the movie adaptation. As I was refreshing my memory about which ABBA songs were included in Mamma Mia, I noticed that ABBA favored repetition in their song titles: "Honey, Honey," "Money, Money, Money," "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!," and "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do."
SOLID (13A: Like Mercury, but not mercury) Mercury (with a capital M) is a SOLID, rocky planet. However, mercury (with a lowercase m) is a silvery element that is a liquid (therefore not a SOLID) at standard temperature and pressure. I quite like this somewhat science-y clue.
ALI (16A: Academy Award winner Mahershala) Mahershala ALI has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor. In 2017, he received an Academy Award for his portrayal of Juan (a drug dealer who becomes a father figure to the film's main character) in the movie Moonlight. In 2019, Mahershala ALI received an Academy Award for his portrayal of Don Shirley (an African American pianist who hires an Italian American bouncer – played by Viggo Mortensen – as his driver) in the biographical movie Green Book.
THC (21A: Psychoactive ingredient in pot brownies) Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the active ingredient in many weed gummies and other cannabis-infused edibles such as pot brownies. THC can induce a range of effects including, relaxation, euphoria, heightened sensory perception, and either decreased or increased anxiety.
OSCAR (31A: Muppet who lives in a trash can) I'm a fan of the curmudgeonly OSCAR the Grouch who lives in a trash can on Sesame Street. OSCAR was originally performed by puppeteer Caroll Spinney (1933-2019), who also played Big Bird. Since 2018, OSCAR has been performed by Eric Jacobson.
FUN (43A: "All I wanna do is have some ___ / I got a feelin' I'm not the only one" (Sheryl Crow lyric)) "All I Wanna Do" is a 1994 song by Sheryl Crow. "All I wanna do is have some FUN / I got a feelin' I'm not the only one..." Here's my FUN fact about Sheryl Crow: In the early 1980s, we both lived in Columbia, Missouri (though we didn't know each other). Sheryl Crow was a student at the University of Missouri at that time, and I was attending high school.
SOUL (44A: 2020 Pixar film about a jazz musician) SOUL is a 2020 Pixar movie. The animated film focuses on the life of Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a part-time music teacher who dreams of playing jazz full-time. After Joe's SOUL and body are accidentally separated, he must find a way to reunite them. SOUL won Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.
TNT (45A: "Inside the NBA" channel) Inside the NBA is a TNT show that does halftime and postgame analysis of NBA games. The show is hosted by Ernie Johnson, and analysis is currently provided by Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith.
EGGS (50A: Masala omelet ingredients) A masala omelet is an omelet variation associated with Indian cuisine. The main ingredients of the dish are EGGS, onions, green chilies, and tomatoes.
MALI (56A: Landlocked West African country) MALI is (as the clue informs us) a landlocked country in West Africa. MALI is bordered by Algeria, Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Senegal. The capital of MALI is Bamako.
MACAROON (10D: Cookie often eaten during Passover) A MACAROON is a mounded cookie made with egg whites, sugar, and ground almonds; it often contains coconut. MACAROONs may be eaten during the Jewish holiday Passover, since they are kosher and do not contain leavening or flour.
ASS (35D: Mule's dad) A mule is the offspring of a male donkey (aka ASS) and a female horse.
GAMING (51D: Playing Minecraft, say) Minecraft is a sandbox game, a video game in which players have a chance to be creative and explore the world without a set objectives to accomplish. While GAMING, players can discover and extract raw materials, craft tools, and build things.
SITTER (53D: Person looking after pets) My cat, Willow, is not a fan of being left with a SITTER, and she always has a lot to say about it afterwards.
LGA (64D: Airport near JFK) John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) both serve the New York City (NYC) Metropolitan area. Both JFK and LGA are located in the NYC borough of Queens, about 10 miles apart from each other.
OBI (65D: ___-Wan Kenobi) This clue has me wondering which Star Wars character shows up in crosswords most often. Is it OBI-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Yoda, Luke Skywalker...?
A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
PLURAL (3D: Like "geese" and "cacti")
ABACUS (6D: Calculator with beads)
HULA HOOP (39D: Round toy that's twirled)
STUDIO AUDIENCES (17A: Sitcoms are often filmed in front of them)
HOUSE DRESSING (39A: Part of a restaurant's standard salad)
LODGE A COMPLAINT (64A: Gripe to the manager, say)
STARTER HOMES: The first, or STARTER, word of each theme answer is a type of HOME: STUDIO, HOUSE, and LODGE.
Make yourself at HOME, whether you live in a STUDIO, a HOUSE, or a LODGE. I particularly enjoy the fact that each type of HOME does not mean HOME in the theme answer. Thank you, Sala, for this interesting puzzle.
USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for June 4, 2024 by Sally Hoelscher
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