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

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

Constructor: Claire Rimkus

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• RAW EGG (41A: Uncooked ingredient in ca phe trung) Cà phê trứng, also known as EGG coffee, is a drink that originated in Vietnam. The ingredients in cà phê trứng are RAW EGGs, sugar, milk, and coffee.
• VAL (54D: ___ Ackerman (first WNBA president)) The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) was founded in 1996. VAL Ackerman was the WNBA's first president, serving in the position until 2005. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• ABBA (6A: "The Winner Takes It All" band) "The Winner Takes It All" is a 1980 song by the pop group ABBA. The song, from the album Super Trouper, was a hit in several countries, including Sweden (the group's home country), the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• SCOUT (14A: Hockey team employee) and WILD (22D: Minnesota's NHL team) One of the fun things about paying attention to who constructs the crosswords you solve, is that you get to know a little bit about the constructors, by the things they choose to include in their puzzles. Claire Rimkus, for example, often includes hockey references in their puzzles, and I have learned a few things about hockey from them.
• ORE (15A: Rock that sounds like a conjunction) ORE (a rock) and our (a conjunction) are homophones.
• DREAM SEQUENCE (33A: Many a scene in "Inception") Inception is a 2010 movie directed by Christopher Nolan, who also wrote the screenplay. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as an "extractor," one who infiltrates the DREAMs of people to extract information. The film includes multiple DREAM SEQUENCEs, and if I recall correctly, it's sometimes difficult to discern what's a DREAM and what's not. Inception won four Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects.
• OCEAN (42A: Backdrop for much of "Muppet Treasure Island") The Muppet's 1996 movie, Muppet Treasure Island, is an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel, Treasure Island. Much of the movie takes place on a ship and an island, against the backdrop of the OCEAN. I'm always up for a Muppet mention in the crossword.
• EDU (57A: Wellesley College website ending) Wellesley College is a women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Wellesley alumni include Madeline Albright, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dorothy Day, and Nora Ephron.
• ADUBA (59A: "Orange Is the New Black" actress Uzo) Orange is the New Black (2013-2019) is a Netflix TV series based on Piper Kerman's memoir about her year in a women's prison. Uzo ADUBA portrayed inmate Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the role.
• TIM (1D: Actor Curry) TIM Curry has appeared in numerous shows on stage and screen (both movies and TV), and has done voice work for video games and audiobooks. He originated the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical The Rocky Horror Show, both in London (1973) and on Broadway (1975). He reprised the role in the movie adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).
• ADO (2D: "Much ___ About Nothing") William Shakespeare's play, Much ADO About Nothing was written in the 1590s. The comedy involves secrets and trickery and revolves around the story of two couples, Claudio and Hero, and Benedick and Beatrice. It's probably impossible to calculate the number of times the play and its adaptations have been performed in the over 400 years since it was written.
• CABLE CARS (3D: San Franciscan modes of transport) San Francisco's CABLE CAR system was established between 1873-1890. Only three of the original 23 CABLE CAR lines remain. San Francisco's iconic CABLE CARS are pulled by a CABLE that runs below the street.
• OHIO (4D: Cleveland's state) Cleveland is a city in northeastern OHIO. It is the most populous of the five cities along the U.S. shores of Lake Erie: Toledo, OHIO; Cleveland, OHIO; Erie, Pennsylvania; Monroe, Michigan; and Buffalo, New York.
• SOLO (5D: Han ___ (friend of Chewbacca)) Han SOLO and his first mate Chewbacca (a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk), first appear on the Star Wars scene as smugglers in the original film trilogy.
• SENECA (24D: Some Haudenosaunee) The Haudenosaunee are an indigenous confederacy comprised of Six Nations: the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, SENECA, and Tuscarora peoples. The SENECA Nation is based in western New York, near Buffalo.
• LIU (29D: Lucy who voices Master Viper in "Kung Fu Panda") Kung Fu Panda is a franchise of animated movies about a group of anthropomorphic animals. Lucy LIU voices Master Viper in the first three movies, Kung Fu Panda (2008), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), and Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016). In Kung Fu Panda 4, which was released earlier this year, Master Viper has a non-speaking role.
• OWNER (42D: Pet's butler, essentially) Ha! This clue made me laugh. It is so true. I think of this every time I turn on the faucet for my cat, Willow, to get a drink. She prefers her water fresh from the tap.

• MALI (49D: Country where Bambara is spoken) Hopefully if you solved yesterday's crossword, "Mixed Drink," you were able to easily fill in this answer. We saw a similar clue for MALI in that puzzle.
• GOAT (51D: Capricorn symbol) People born between December 21 and January 20 have the zodiac sign of Capricorn. The symbol for Capricorn is the GOAT.
• UNDO (52D: Ctrl+Z command) Ctrl+Z (or command+Z for me on a Mac) is my favorite computer shortcut. It has saved me many times! Oftentimes my use of this command is accompanied by the exclamation, "Ack! No! UNDO! UNDO! UNDO!"

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• MOBILE PHONE (16A: Device that may be "smart")
• DREAM SEQUENCE (33A: Many a scene in "Inception")
• VACATION DAY (54A: Time out of the office)

The first word of each theme answer – that is, the STARTER – can precede (or be a STARTER for) the word HOME to form a new phrase: MOBILE HOME, DREAM HOME, and VACATION HOME.

There's no place like HOME, whether it's a MOBILE HOME, your DREAM HOME, or a VACATION HOME. I found this to be a cozy theme. In addition to the answers I've highlighted above, I also enjoyed WHAT NOW (20D: "Is there another problem?") and SCREWED UP (32D: Made a mistake), which seem to pair well together. Thank you, Claire, for this delightful puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

• USA TODAY’s Daily Crossword Puzzles
• Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers