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

Sally Hoelscher, USA TODAY
·5-min read

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Assorted Danish

Constructor: Erik Agard

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

October 8, 2024
October 8, 2024

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

  • UPANISHAD (16A: Hindu scripture) An UPANISHAD is a text dealing with meditation and philosophy. The UPANISHADs are part of the Vedas, religious texts that are the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.

  • NWSL (59A: KC Current's league) Kansas City (KC) Current is a team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team joined the NWSL in 2021 as an expansion team. The abbreviation of Kansas City in the clue alerts solvers the answer will be an abbreviation.

  • UGANDAN SHILLING (7D: Currency in Kampala) Kampala is the capital of Uganda, and its largest city. Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. The UGANDAN SHILLING has been the country's currency since 1966.

  • ALGERIA (8D: Home country of boxer Imane Khelif) Imane Khelif is a professional boxer from ALGERIA. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, she won a gold medal in women's welterweight boxing.

  • ESPN (26D: Chiney Ogwumike's channel) Chiney Ogwumike is a basketball analyst for ESPN. In August 2020, she became the first Black woman to host a national radio show for ESPN, and also the first WNBA player to do so, as at the time she was playing for WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. Chiney Ogwumike recently announced the launch of a new foundation, Queens of the Continent.

  • DICK (56D: Comedian ___ Gregory) DICK Gregory (1932-2017) was a comedian, writer, and activist. DICK Gregory gained attention as a comedian in the 1960s, and was also know for his political and social activism. A 2021 documentary about his life is titled The One and Only DICK Gregory.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

  • EDU (5A: www.famu.___) Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (www.famu.EDU), known as Florida A&M, is located in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida A&M is a historically Black college.

  • BMW (30A: Company whose M stands for "Motoren") The full name of the German luxury vehicle manufacturer commonly known as BMW is Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.

  • BANANA (60A: Yellow source of potassium)In addition to BANANAs, other foods rich in potassium are baked potatoes, pinto beans, lentils, and avocados.

  • COMET (66A: Celestial body with a tail) A COMET is essentially an icy ball of dirt. Left over from the formation of the solar system approximately 4.6 billion years ago, COMETs are made of dust, rocks, and ice. COMETs orbit the Sun. When a COMET gets close to the Sun, it heats up, and releases dust and gases that trail behind the COMET and form its characteristic tail.

  • KREME (69A: Krispy ___) The first Krispy KREME store opened in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Krispy KREME doughnuts are now sold around the world, with stores in 32 countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, South Africa, and Qatar.

  • LEI (9D: Maile ___ (Hawaiian garland)) Maile is a species of flowering plant that is native to Hawaii, and can be used to make LEI. The maile LEI is often worn open ended, rather than as a circular garland. This type of LEI signifies respect, peace, friendship, and love, and was traditionally used for special celebrations.

  • MMA (31D: UFC sport) The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is a company that promotes MMA (mixed martial arts). The UFC produces men's and women's MMA events worldwide.

  • WITH (32D: The W in TV's "HTGAWM") HTGAWM here stands for How to Get Away WITH Murder (2014-2020), a legal thriller TV series about a law professor who, with five of her students, becomes involved in a murder plot. Viola Davis portrays the law professor, Annalise Keating. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for the role.

  • RNA (35D: m___ vaccine) An mRNA vaccine uses a copy of messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response that teaches the body to destroy pathogens. COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are mRNA vaccines. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman in 2023, for their work that led to the development of effective COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.

  • THAI (38D: Phat si-io cuisine) Phat si-io is a THAI stir-fried noodle dish. It is also known as pad see ew.

  • YEN (41D: Currency in Kyoto) Kyoto is a city in Japan. The Japanese YEN is the currency used in Japan.

  • LONDON (51D: U.K.'s largest city) In addition to being the largest city in the United Kingdom (U.K.), LONDON is also its capital. LONDON is also the capital of England, one of the countries in the U.K.

  • TAHOE (54D: Truckee River's source lake) The Truckee River is the only outlet of Lake TAHOE. The river extends from Lake TAHOE on the California-Nevada border to Pyramid Lake in Nevada, running through the city of Reno.

  • BATS (60D: Brewers swing them) That would be MLB's Milwaukee Brewers swinging those BATS.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

  • UPANISHAD (16A: Hindu scripture)

  • OUTLANDISH (27A: Bizarre)

  • HAND SIGNAL (48A: Cyclist's gesture)

  • HIS AND HIS (64A: Words on some towels)

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ASSORTED DANISH: Each theme answer contains a letter sequence that is an anagram of DANISH: UPANISHAD, OUTLANDISH, HAND SIGNAL, and HIS AND HIS.

Today we have a hidden anagram theme. Each theme answer contains one of the following letter sequences: NISHAD, ANDISH, HANDSI, or HISAND. These are all ASSORTED anagrams of the word DANISH. It's impressive to see theme answers with anagrams of a six-letter word. It's also fun that the anagram of DANISH found in HIS AND HIS could be either the first six letters (HIS AND HIS) or the last six letters (HIS AND HIS). Thank you, Erik, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for October 8, 2024 by Sally Hoelscher

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