Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Chopped Liver
Constructor: Kareem Ayas
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Kareem: Hope this puzzle inspires you to do two things: 1) Add Latvia to your travel bucket list - a country I have always wanted to see, but never had the chance just yet! 2) Add some Bon Jovi to your workout playlist - nothing makes me want to crank the treadmill up to 9.5 like some Bon Jovi. Kane turned 9 years old this month! Here's a picture of him having some birthday steak. Happy Thursday everybody and thanks for solving!
IRAN (13A: Modern Persia) It was in 1935 that the Shah of Persia (Reza Shah) requested the country be referred to as IRAN rather than Persia. In 1959, Reza Shah's son decided that the names Persia and IRAN could be used interchangeably in formal correspondence, but IRAN is the name that is generally used for official purposes.
ALOO (14A: ___ paratha (potato dish)) ALOO paratha, which is a flatbread with potato filling, is a dish in Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi cuisine. This is my occasional reminder that ALOO is a South Asian term for potatoes, so when a dish in a crossword clue is described as containing potato, the answer may be ALOO.
RULE (39A: "You do not talk about Fight Club," e.g.) The first RULE of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club." This line is spoken by the character Tyler Durden (portrayed by Brad Pitt) in the 1999 movie Fight Club. I haven't seen the movie, but that line has made it into mainstream culture, and I knew the answer immediately.
O'NEAL (40A: Name on Shaq's jersey) Shaquille O'NEAL whose nickname is Shaq, is a former professional basketball player and a current sports analyst for Inside the NBA. The name O'NEAL has been on a number of teams' jerseys, as during his 19-year NBA career, Shaq played for the Orlando Magic (1992-1996), the Los Angeles Lakers (1996-2004), the Miami Heat (2004-2008), the Phoenix Suns (2008-2009), the Cleveland Cavaliers (2009-2010), and the Boston Celtics (2010-2011).
CASS (43A: Mama ___ of the Mamas and the Papas) Mama CASS Elliot (1941-1974) was a member of the folk rock group, The Mamas & the Papas, and also had a successful solo career before she died of heart failure at the age of 32.
ADDAMS (48A: Last name of Wednesday, Pugsley and Uncle Fester) The ADDAMS Family is a creation of cartoonist Charles ADDAMS. The ADDAMS Family consists of Morticia and Gomez ADDAMS, their children Wednesday and Pugsley, Uncle Fester, Grandmama, and Cousin Itt. Other characters include a butler named Lurch, Thing (a disembodied hand), Aristotle (Pugsley's pet octopus), Kitty Kat (Morticia's pet lion), and Cleopatra (a carnivorous plant). Cartoons featuring the ADDAMS Family appeared in The New Yorker between 1938 and 1988. There have been four TV show adaptations of the ADDAMS Family. The first three shows, which originally aired in 1964, 1973, and 1992, were all called The ADDAMS Family. In 1998, the fourth TV series about the family premiered, and was titled The New ADDAMS Family. Wednesday ADDAMS received her own TV show on Netflix in 2022; it is appropriately titled Wednesday.
LIVIN' ON A PRAYER (53A: 1986 Bon Jovi hit with the lyric "Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear") "LIVIN' ON A PRAYER" was Bon Jovi's second number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100. ("You Give Love a Bad Name" was Bon Jovi's first number one hit.) Thanks for this earworm, puzzle! "Oh, we're half way there / Oh-oh, LIVIN' ON A PRAYER / Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear / Oh-oh, LIVIN' ON A PRAYER..."
EURO (58A: Currency used in Estonia and Lithuania) and LATVIA (11D: Country located between Estonia and Lithuania) Estonia, Lithuania, and LATVIA are three of the 20 members of the European Union that have adopted the EURO as their currency. These three countries are located in northern Europe. LATVIA is located south of Estonia and north of Lithuania. Let's do some word capital review while we're at it: The capital of Estonia is Tallinn, the capital of LATVIA is Riga, and the capital of Lithuania is Vilnius.
MICE (63A: Cats stereotypically chase them) Fortunately, we have never had MICE in the house we're living in now, so my cat, Willow, has never had the opportunity to chase them. She has to settle for catching the occasional fly. When I first graduated from college, I rented a house that had occasional wildlife visitors – not only MICE, but also bats and raccoons! I remember the first time the cat I had at the time, whose name was Indy, caught a mouse. He woke me up at one in the morning, upset because his mouse friend had stopped playing with him... I have more MICE stories from my time in that house, but they will have to wait for another time.
SOUR (7D: ___ Patch Kids) SOUR Patch Kids is a brand of SOUR and sweet gummy candy.
ALLEN (9D: British singer Lily with the hit "Smile") Lily ALLEN's music incorporates elements of electro pop, R&B, and reggae. "Smile" is a 2006 single from her debut studio album, Alright, Still.
SUSHI (22D: Uramaki or futomaki) Uramaki is a cylindrical style of SUSHI. Two or more fillings are wrapped in nori, and the roll has a layer of rice on the outside. "Uramaki" means "inside out" or "reverse roll" in Japanese, and the SUSHI is named because the nori is inside of the rice. Futomaki is also a cylindrical style of SUSHI, but it usually has nori on the outside. "Futomaki" means "fat roll" in Japanese, and this type of SUSHI is typically 1.5 to 2.5 inches in diameter.
FROYO (35D: Dessert portmanteau) FROYO is a portmanteau of "frozen" and "yogurt."
AMERICA (41D: Captain ___ (Marvel superhero)) Captain AMERICA, aka Steve Rogers, made his first appearance in the comics in 1940. Captain AMERICA's superpower abilities are a result of being administered a "super-soldier serum" after joining the U.S. Army in World War II. Chris Evans portrays Captain AMERICA in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
ANIMAL (44D: ___ Crossing (video game series)) In the video game series ANIMAL Crossing, players take up residence in a village populated by anthropomorphic animals. As I have mentioned previously, everything I know about ANIMAL Crossing, I have learned from crosswords.
ANDES (50D: Mountain range in Peru) The ANDES mountain range runs along the western edge of South America, and is the longest continental mountain range in the world. Seven countries contain part of the ANDES: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.
LIFE PRESERVER (20A: Buoyant device for staying afloat)
LYFT DRIVER (34A: Person making pickups and drop-offs)
LIVIN' ON A PRAYER (53A: 1986 Bon Jovi hit with the lyric "Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear")
CHOPPED LIVER: The word LIVER has been CHOPPED by each theme answer: LIFE PRESERVER, LYFT DRIVER, and LIVIN' ON A PRAYER.
As I have been writing this, I have amused myself by imagining the puzzle asking, "What am I, CHOPPED LIVER?" Yes, puzzle, that is exactly what you are. Fun that we have the LIVER CHOPPED in a variety of ways: LI/VER, L/IVER, and LIV/ER. Thank you, Kareem, for this delightful puzzle.
USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for May 29, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
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Indiana Pacers NAME: Boomer The Pacers Panther (1990) Boomer made the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2019. If you asked most fans "What kind of animal is the Pacers mascot?" they would probably struggle to find an answer. But here is the problem: If you showed them a picture of the guy, I'm willing to bet that most would still likely not get that this dude was a panther. I just told you that he was a panther and by the end of this sentence you're probably going to forget again. I much preferred Bowser, who was their funny little gray dog that was a part of the franchise from 2002 until 2010. Much like Bill Bradley or Calvin Murphy, I'm not entirely sure how he made his Hall of Fame. More: The Pacers mascot went on a trampoline and lost his (mascot) head 19. Sacramento Kings NAME: Slamson the Lion a.k.a. Felinus Entertanus Maximus (1997) According to his official bio, "he was acquired" by scouts "while taking a cat-nap under a tree" so I hope he was OK with that. 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In fact, the Trail Blazers probably recognized that because a couple years ago, they decided to add a new mascot into the rotation. Douglas Fur, pictured above handing out with comedian Ian Karmel, is far from forgettable. I'd say that this guy solved one problem but created a new one. Douglas, who is named after the Douglas Fir tree popular to the Pacific Northwest, is weird. But that's part of the city's identity, right? He knows his lane role: Keep Portland Weird. 23. Los Angeles Clippers NAME: Chuck the Condor (2016) Chuck the Condor was NBA Mascot of the Year in 2022. To his credit, some people probably love Chuck the Condor. Sadly for him in these rankings, however, I'm not one of those people. As we once wrote at For The Win several years ago, Chuck is a "disgrace". Remember that time Chuck greeted everyone he met at his first game with a free pair of Chuck Taylor shoes? It was all downhill from there. The good news, however, is Steve Ballmer did not let Ye (formerly Kanye West) design the mascot, which is a concept that was actually briefly considered. More: Steve Ballmer dunks, Clippers debut strange-looking condor mascot on same night 24. Brooklyn Nets* NAME: N/A As the singer Kenny Rogers once wrote: You've got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them. The Nets got rid of the BrooklyKnight (who For The Win once described as an "unequivocal disaster") as well as New Jersey's Duncan the Dragon, Super Dunk, and Sly the Silver Fox. Now, they have no mascot whatsoever. Pictured above is their old mascot, Sly. 25. Golden State Warriors* NAME: N/A Golden State had some unfortunate luck with mascots, retiring Berserker in 1997 and the unfortunately-timed Thunder (when it became the name of a rival NBA team) in 2007. Above, you can watch a weird video that the team released explaining what happened to its former mascot. More: Damian Lillard told a great story about seeing the Warriors' old mascot when he was a little kid 26. Los Angeles Lakers* NAME: N/A There is some dignity and class to the Lakers never even attempting to have a mascot. It is worse than having a bad one! Instead, let's take a moment to remember that time in 2013 when a fan dressed up as a bear and pretended to be a mascot at Dodger Stadium. Maybe under new ownership, the Lakers can find this guy and get him full-time employment. 27. New York Knicks* NAME: N/A Like the Lakers, the Knicks have never embarrassed themselves with a mascot that aged poorly or humiliated the franchise. Instead, they have celebrities like Spike Lee who take care of the duties that would otherwise usually get assigned to a mascot. By the way, it is worth noting that New York's G League team has a mascot (a dog who is named Hudson Knickerbocker) and might deserve a call-up to the NBA squad. 28. Boston Celtics NAME: Lucky a.k.a. Lucky the Leprechaun (2003) I'm sorry but your mascot should not look like he plays backup point guard in the G League and decided to do some last-minute Halloween costume shopping. The original logo is classic but the human is just not cutting it. 29. Dallas Mavericks NAME: Champ (2002) and Mavs Man (2000) I like Champ, although the Mavericks can't seem to decide whether or not he has white hair or green hair. As much as I like that horse, though, I don't like MavsMan. You're scaring the kids, Mavs Man, and I don't think you should exist. 30. New Orleans Pelicans NAME: Pierre T. Pelican (2013) and King Cake Baby (2014) Even though I usually don't like birds, Pierre is fine, although a bit underwhelming. Here is what we wrote about him in 2014: "It's not awful, but it has no edge. His eyes don't drill holes into your very essence. The beak is friendly, not demonic. There's no real material for the Photoshop artists of Twitter to work with. You can't superimpose this Pierre's face onto horror-movie monsters and give it nearly the same gravitas as the original." I spoke too soon about the scaring the kids, though. The other New Orleans mascot, King Cake Baby, is so much scarier than the rest of the mascots in the league combined. Whatever this is feels illegal and I don't like it one bit. The league has no place for this monstrosity. More: The Pelicans' creepy King Cake Baby mascot was roasted with all of your 'Mean Tweets'
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5 hours ago
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Former Boston Celtics big man Guerschon Yabusele on why he signed with the New York Knicks
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