Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Jam-packed
Constructor: Sala Wanetick
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
ANI (11D: Mikey's "Anora" character) The 2024 movie Anora won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Mikey Madison stars as the title character, Anora "ANI" Mikheeva, a stripper who lives in Brighton Beach, a Russian American neighborhood in Brooklyn. Mikey Madison won an Academy Award for Best Actress for the role.
AOC (17A: Rep. from the Bronx) Alexandria Oasis-Cortez represents New York's 14th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. The abbreviation of representative (rep.) in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation.
ERIE (24A: Cedar Point's county and lake) Cedar Point is an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, which is in ERIE County. The park is located on a peninsula that extends into Lake ERIE. This is the second appearance this month for our crossword friend ERIE.
ELLA (29A: Singer-songwriter ___ Mai) In 2019, ELLA Mai won the Billboard Music Award for Top R&B Artist. Her first U.S. top ten hit was "Boo'd Up," released in 2017. ELLA Mai's most recent single, "Little Things," was released in 2024.
LAVA (42A: Stuff in a '90s lamp) LAVA lamps, with their bobbing and floating globs of wax (it's not actually LAVA in the lamp, of course...), have been around since 1963. LAVA lamps experienced a surge of popularity in the '90s, partially due to their appearance in the Austin Powers movies.
REN (55A: "Star Wars" villain Kylo) The Star Wars' villain Kylo REN was played by Adam Driver in The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars Resistance (2018-2020), and The Rise of Skywalker. Kylo REN is the chosen name of Ben Solo, the son of Princess Leia Organa Skywalker, and Han Solo. Kylo Ren was originally trained as a Jedi by Luke Skywalker (his uncle), but is persuaded to join the dark side (as his grandfather did).
TAJIN (49A: Seasoning on the rim of a spicy margarita glass, perhaps) TAJÍN is a seasoning consisting mainly of chili peppers, lime, and salt. It is sold by a Mexican company founded in 1985. As the clue informs us, Tajín may be used on the rim of a spicy margarita glass instead of salt.
SO COOL (3D: The cat's meow) Cartoonist Tad Dorgan (1877-1929) is credited with coining the term "the cat's meow" to refer to something that is "SO COOL." My cat, Willow, definitely consider's herself to be the cat's meow.
MESSI (7D: World Cup star Lionel) Lionel MESSI is a professional soccer player for the Argentina national team and for the Major League Soccer (MLS) team Inter Miami. Lionel MESSI is considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time; he led Argentina to a 2022 FIFA World Cup win, the country's first World Cup win since 1986.
ASIA (8D: India's continent) India is a country in South ASIA. The capital of India is New Delhi. This is the second appearance of our crossword friend ASIA this month. It's fun to see our crossword friends ASIA and ERIE in the same puzzle. Although it does happen occasionally, it's been a while since we've seen these two entries in the same puzzle; the last time was March 4, 2024.
DAN (12D: "Schitt's Creek" actor Levy) Schitt's Creek is a TV series about the Rose family, a formerly wealthy family that relocates to a small town named Schitt's Creek, which they once purchased as a joke. DAN Levy co-created Schitt's Creek with his father, Eugene Levy. They both have roles in the show; Eugene Levy portrays Johnny Rose, and DAN Levy portrays his son, David Rose. We've seen this clue before. Sometimes the answer has been DAN, as it is today, and sometimes the answer has been Eugene.
PEDRO (22D: "Gladiator II" actor Pascal) Gladiator II is a 2024 historical epic film, and – as one might guess – a sequel to the movie Gladiator, which was released in 2000. PEDRO Pascal portrays General Acacius, a general in the Roman army.
UMA (35D: "Kill Bill" actress Thurman) In the Kill Bill movies (Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)), UMA Thurman stars as the Bride, a former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad.
KERMIT (48D: Miss Piggy's on-again-off-again partner) I'll always be happy to see a reference to KERMIT and Miss Piggy in the puzzle.
DAMES (54D: Maggie Smith and Judi Dench) Back in January we saw DAMES clued as [Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, e.g.]. Today DAME Maggie Smith gets top billing. DAME Maggie Smith (1934-2024) and Judi Dench have had amazing stage and screen careers.
A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
ELDER (6D: Person who transmits cultural knowledge)
SLEEP (40D: Result of counting sheep (hopefully))
ACRES (53D: Disneyland Park occupies over 100 of them)
STORAGE SPACE (20A: What attics, basements or garages might provide)
TICKLE MONSTER (37A: "Creature" trying to make you laugh)
TAPIOCA PEARL (56A: Bubble tea morsel)
JAM-PACKED: The last word of each theme answer can be paired with the word JAM to create a new phrase: SPACE JAM, MONSTER JAM, and PEARL JAM.
I like that the newly-created phrases represent a variety of types of things. SPACE JAM is a 1996 movie. MONSTER JAM is an event featuring MONSTER trucks. Last but not least, PEARL JAM is a band. Thank you, Sala, for this enjoyable puzzle.
USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for April 23, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
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