Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, EIEIO

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! EIEIOConstructors: Shannon Rapp & Will Eisenberg

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructors

Shannon & Will: When making crosswords, constructors typically work from an established set of words and phrases called a wordlist. Each constructor refines their wordlist to their own taste over years of constructing puzzles, but even the most perfectly curated wordlists will still be missing some hidden gems. When we first sent this idea to Amanda for consideration, we proposed CELINEDION, SELFINSERTION, and FRENCHIMMERSION - all phrases that were on our wordlists and fit the EIEIO theme. Amanda pointed out that FRENCHIMMERSION is a little less solid as a phrase compared to the other two, since there are immersion schools for many different languages. She asked us to dig a little deeper. When re-examining our wordlists turned up no further good options, we decided to hack our usual process a little bit to see if there were good options out there we weren't accounting for. So first we went in search of strings of EIEI and IEIO to see if there were any results we could combine with another word to make a solid phrase. We found EINSTEN and using that as the base to search the internet beyond our wordlists, we came across EINSTEINBROS and this puzzle was saved. Thanks for solving with us!

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• AMA (31A: "Beasts of No Nation" actress ___ K. Abebrese) Beasts of No Nation is a 2015 movie based on Uzodinma Iweala's 2005 book of the same name. The movie follows a young boy who becomes a child soldier in a civil war. The movie was filmed in Ghana, and British Ghanian actress AMA K. Abebrese plays the role of Mother.
• LESSER (44D: "Birds of a ___ Paradise" (short story collection)) Birds of a LESSER Paradise is the debut collection of short stories by Megan Mayhew Bergman, published in 2012. Megan Mayhew Bergman's other short story collections include Almost Famous Women: Stories (2015) and How Strange a Season (2022).

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• CELINE DION (17A: "I Am: ___" (2024 documentary about the "Queen of Power Ballads")) The documentary, I Am: CELINE DION, premiered in June of this year, and is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. In addition to discussing CELINE DION's life and career, the film documents the challenges she's faced with stiff-person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes muscular rigidity and stiffness. CELINE DION earned her nickname, "Queen of Power Ballads," with songs such as "The Power of Love" (1993), "Have You Ever Been in Love" (2003), and "My Heart Will Go On" (1997).
• SAN (30A: ___ Antonio River Walk) The San Antonio River Walk in San Antonio, Texas is a 15-mile pedestrian trail located below street level.
• SELF-INSERTION (37A: Author-as-character literary device) This clue does a nice, succinct job of describing the literary device of SELF-INSERTION. Rather than describe it further and risk redundancy, I thought I'd find some examples of SELF-INSERTION to share with you.
  • Stephen King's The Dark Tower series contains a character named Stephen King.
  • The character of Ariadne Oliver, who is a mystery writer, appears in multiple Agatha Christie books, and is considered to be a SELF-INSERTION.
  • Louise Erdrich's novel, The Sentence, centers on a bookstore owned by "a quirky writer of a certain age named Louise." Louise Erdrich owns Birchbark Books, an independent bookstore in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• PEA (40A: Veggie studied by Mendel) Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) was an Austrian-Czech biologist who is considered the founder of modern genetics. Mendel conducted studies on PEA plants, looking at seven characteristics of the plants, and noting which characteristics were passed down when the plants were cross-bred. He coined the terms "recessive" and "dominant" to refer to certain traits, and described the actions of invisible "factors," which are now known as genes. The significance of Mendel's work was not realized until after his death. Hooray for science in the crossword!
• EINSTEIN BROS. (53A: Bagel chain rival of Bruegger's) EINSTEIN BROS. Bagels is a retail chain specializing in bagels and coffee. Since 2021, EINSTEIN BROS. has been a part of Panera Brands, with Panera Bread and Caribou Coffee.
• ASIAN (59A: Like about 60% of the world population) The ASIAN continent accounts for almost 30% of Earth's land area. Asia is home to over 4.8 billion people. As the clue informs us, that's about 60% of the world population.
• OAHU (61A: Island home to Waikiki) Waikiki is a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is known for Waikiki Beach, located on the south shore of the island of OAHU.
• YODA (63A: Dagobah swamp dweller) YODA is, of course, a Jedi master in the Star Wars universe. YODA lives alone on the swamp planet Dagobah.
• ZAC (1D: "High School Musical" actor Efron) ZAC Efron portrays Troy Bolton in High School Musical (2006), High School Musical 2 (2007), and High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008). Fun fact: Before ZAC Efron was cast for the first movie, the role of Troy was written for a tenor. ZAC Efron is a baritone, and couldn't sing all of his character's part, so much of the singing in the first movie was provided by Drew Seeley.
• POLTERGEIST (3D: Spirit of German folklore) The German word "POLTERGEIST" is translated as "knocking spirit" or "rumbling ghost." In German folklore, a POLTERGEIST is a ghost responsible for noisy disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved.
• DE NADA (9D: "Don't mention it," in Spanish) The Spanish phrase, "DE NADA," translates literally to "of nothing." DE NADA is used to mean "it's nothing," or "think nothing of it," and is used as a reply to "gracias" (thank you).
• HEADCANON (11D: Fan's belief that's not confirmed on-screen) The word "canon" can be used to refer to the works of a writer, including movies adapted from an author's work. The term "HEADCANON" is used to refer to ideas that have emerged about a character or story that are not directly supported by books or movies. A related word, "fanon," is used to describe when someone's HEADCANON is shared and becomes accepted by others. Although HEADCANON is not in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is a word they're watching.
• GOBI (25D: Aloo ___ (vegetarian dish)) Aloo GOBI is a vegetable dish in Indian cuisine that contains potatoes (aloo) and cauliflower (GOBI).
• ESPY (34D: Best Team, for one) In 2024, the Best Team ESPY Award was presented to the NCAA women's basketball team from the University of South Carolina, the South Carolina Gamecocks.
• ARI (43D: Sports journalist Chambers) Arielle "ARI" Chambers is a multimedia journalist whose focus is to amplify women's sports. She is a commentator for ESPN and the founder of HighlightHer, which highlights women's sports on social media platforms. I learned about ARI Chambers from the January 10, 2022 puzzle.
• EATS (55D: Has tonkotsu ramen, say) Tonkotsu ramen is a type of ramen made by boiling pork bones until a creamy, rich broth is attained.
• AHA (58D: "I've got it!") I frequently experience "AHA!" moments when solving crosswords, so I always enjoy seeing AHA in the grid.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
  • BIB (13D: Spill catcher)
  • ARF (29D: Pup's "Hi!")
  • ALL TIED UP (33D: Like a baseball game headed to the 10th inning)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• CELINE DION (17A: "I Am: ___" (2024 documentary about the "Queen of Power Ballads")
• SELF-INSERTION (37A: Author-as-character literary device)
• EINSTEIN BROS. (53A: Bagel cain rival of Bruegger's)

EIEIO: Each theme answer has the vowel pattern E-I-E-I-O: CELINE DION, SELF-INSERTION, and EINSTEIN BROS.

For some reason, I have "Old MacDonald had a farm..." going through my head. This is a clever and interesting theme, which nicely provided AMUSEMENT. Thank you, Shannon and Will, for this delightful puzzle.

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