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

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

Constructors: Katja Brinck & Matthew Brinck

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructors

Katja: I came up with this idea several years ago – my husband Matt, who is a pilot, has shared how he and other members of the flight crew often enjoy solving the USA Today crossword puzzle in between flights – and so I often thought it would be fun to have an airline-themed puzzle. I came back to the idea this year, and decided it would be even more fun to construct this puzzle WITH my husband. It was also great working with Amanda and finding a solid set of theme entries that fit the construct of “airline + food.”  And I’m so proud that Matt can now also call himself a published crossword constructor. 

Matt: Katja came up with the theme for this puzzle, and I was really excited about the idea. As a pilot who is constantly on the move and in and out of airports and hotels, I’ve solved a LOT of USA Today crossword puzzles over the years, and I think this theme will be very much appreciated by others who travel. I’m a first-time constructor, so this process was a lot of fun, and I learned a tremendous amount about crossword construction. Although Katja’s been constructing for a few years, I wasn’t aware of how much thought goes into filling and clueing a grid, and I have even more respect now for the art of crossword construction. 

We hope you all enjoy solving!

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• HARI (15A: "Transparent" actress Nef) Transparent (2014-2019) is a TV series revolving around a family that discovers their parent is a trans woman named Maura. Beginning in the show's second season, HARI Nef had a recurring role on Transparent as Tante Gittel, Maura's aunt from Germany. HARI Nef's character is seen in flashback scenes set in the 1930s.
• OTIS (18A: "King of Soul" Redding) "King of Soul" OTIS Redding (1941-1967) had his first single, "These Arms of Mine," in 1962. His last single was "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," which he recorded in 1967, shortly before his death in a plane crash. Released in 1968, the song became the first posthumous Billboard number one hit.
• SOUTHWEST CHILI (20A: Tex-Mex cook-off entry) What differentiates SOUTHWEST CHILI from other variations of CHILI? (I am not going to get into a discussion of what makes a perfect CHILI – I know people have strong opinions on this subject! My take is to gladly eat any CHILI served to me.) The recipes I found for SOUTHWEST CHILI seem to have a few common key ingredients: tomatoes, black beans, corn, and jalapeños.
• SHALE (24A: Oil-bearing rock) SHALE is a sedimentary rock characterized by its tendency to split into thin layers. Oil SHALE contains organic chemical compounds that can be refined into oil.
• DOT (28A: Component of a 12-Down) and ELLIPSIS (12D: ...) This is a fun cross-reference. I am a huge fan of the ELLIPSIS ... so useful and expressive. You may have noticed that I'm also a fan of the em dash – for similar reasons.
• CSI (31A: CBS forensics hit with the theme song "Who Are You") The original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV show aired from 2000-2015, and was set in Las Vegas. The show's four spin-offs are CSI: Miami (2002-2011), CSI:NY (2004-2013), CSI: Cyber (2014-2015), and CSI: Vegas (2021-present). All five shows have theme songs that are remixes of songs by The Who. "WhoAre You" – the title track from The Who's 1978 album – is the theme song for the original CSI and CSI: Vegas. The other songs from The Who that have been used as CSI theme songs are "Won't Get Fooled Again" (CSI: Miami), "Baba O'Riley" (CSI: Cyber), and "I Can See for Miles" (CSI: Cyber).
• HAWAIIAN ROLLS (35A: Bakery items based on Portuguese sweet bread) Portuguese sweet bread is a sweetened yeast bread. This type of bread was brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants in the 1800s, and became a part of Hawaiian cuisine. In the late 1950s, Robert Tairo tweaked the recipe so the HAWAIIAN ROLLS would be shelf-stable. After he opened King's Bakery in 1963 (named because of its location on King Street), they became known as King's HAWAIIAN ROLLS.
• FOUR (39A: Number of quarters in a football game) This clue made me chuckle a bit. Is this a trick question?
• EPA (41A: Government org. established in 1970) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a U.S. government agency whose mission is to protect human health and the environment. The EPA was established in 1970 as the result of an executive order by President Richard Nixon. The federal government had agencies that addressed environmental concerns prior to that time, such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior, but the creation of the EPA consolidated the efforts into one agency.
• ITT (42A: Super-hairy Addams Family cousin) Just yesterday we saw a reference to Morticia and Wednesday Addams, mother and daughter of the Addams Family, characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams. Cousin ITT, a character developed for The Addams Family TV series (1964-1966), has floor-length hair, often wears a bowler hat and sunglasses, and speaks in gibberish that's only understood by other members of the Addams Family.
• AMERICAN CHEESE (53A: Versatile food known for being very meltable) AMERICAN CHEESE is a type of processed CHEESE, like Velveeta, which I wrote about ten days ago. James L. Kraft invented processed AMERICAN CHEESE in the 1910s.
• FRED (58A: Barney's buddy on "The Flintstones") The animated TV sitcom The Flintstones originally aired from 1960-1966, and was the first animated show to air on prime time. The show is set in a romanticized version of the Stone Age. FRED and Wilma and their daughter, Pebbles, are the titular family of the series. Barney Rubble is FRED's best friend and next-door neighbor.
• NILE (60A: River home to many crocodiles) If you encounter a crocodile in the NILE River, it will likely be (appropriately) a NILE crocodile, a species native to freshwater habitats in Africa. The NILE crocodile is the second-largest crocodile species; only the saltwater crocodile is larger.
• TREE (61A: Valley oak, for one) The valley oak TREE is endemic to the state of California. It is the largest species of California oak TREES. The tallest known valley oak TREE is located in Covelo, California, and is named the "Henley Oak." This particular valley oak TREE is over 150 feet tall, and is estimated to be over 500 years old.
• IRISH (7D: ___ coffee (Buena Vista Cafe's signature drink)) The Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco, California opened its doors in 1916. The cafe is credited with introducing IRISH coffee to the United States in 1952. The ingredients in IRISH coffee are IRISH whiskey, coffee, sugar, and cream.
• LICHEN (9D: Mosslike organism) A LICHEN is not a single organism, but rather a composite organism made up of algae and fungus and/or cyanobacteria, living together symbiotically. There are many kinds of lichen, and although some of them resemble moss, and some have moss in their names (e.g. "reindeer moss"), they are not plants.
• HYDRA (21A: Multiheaded serpentine lake monster) In Greek and Roman mythology, the HYDRA is a serpentine lake monster with multiple heads. The killing of the HYDRA is recounted as the second of the 12 Labors of Hercules.
• EWR (32D: JFK alternative) EWR is the code for Newark Liberty International Airport, which is located in New Jersey. It is just 30-40 miles from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in Queens, New York City. Fun to see an airport code in this AIRLINE-themed puzzle.
• TAU (33D: T as in Thanatos) Thanatos was a figure in Greek mythology considered to be the personification of death. In the Greek alphabet, T is TAU, the nineteenth letter. I mentioned the other day that we've seen a lot of Greek letters in the puzzle recently. This is the second reference to TAU this month.
• FLA (34D: Kennedy Space Center st.) The Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida (FLA), is one of NASA's ten field centers. The Kennedy Space Center is NASA's primary launch center. The abbreviation of the word state (st.) in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation.
• OPRAH (38D: Celebrity with an annual list of Favorite Things) OPRAH Winfrey's Favorite Things 2023 List includes a wide variety of items: cashmere sweaters, holiday jammies, high-top shoes, basketballs, a Le Creuset bread oven, shower caps, and apple cake, just to name a few.
• SIERRA (45D: Romeo, ___, Tango...) Not only did we get a Greek alphabet review with this puzzle (looking at you, TAU), we're also getting a review of the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, a widely used radiotelephone spelling alphabet. I took this opportunity to look back at what parts of the NATO alphabet I've recently reviewed. Let's take a moment to fill in the blanks and complete the review of the entire alphabet. Earlier this month I reviewed the beginning of the NATO alphabet (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, and Hotel). Picking up at the letter I, we have India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, and Mike. In April I reviewed N through Q (November, Oscar, Papa, and Quebec). Today's puzzle provides us with Romeo, SIERRA, and Tango. The alphabet finishes off with Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, Xray, Yankee, and Zulu.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
  • GRR (44A: Sound you don't want to hear while camping)
  • GUAVA (56A: Tropical fruit that rhymes with "lava")
  • AIL (26D: Lie on the couch moaning and groaning)
  • LEFTS (52D: Three of these make a right)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• SOUTHWEST CHILI (20A: Tex-Mex cook-off entry)
• HAWAIIAN ROLLS (35A: Bakery items based on Portuguese sweet bread)
• AMERICAN CHEESE (53A: Versatile food known for being very meltable)

Each theme answer is a FOOD, whose first word is the name of an AIRLINE.

Earlier this year when my husband and I were on a road trip through California, we got to meet Katja and Matt. While enjoying some excellent pizza, the four of us discussed many things, including a theme idea Katja had that involved AIRLINE FOOD. I was delighted to see that this puzzle finally came together. It's a fun idea, and this is a great set of theme answers. Congratulations to Matthew Brinck on a USA Today debut! Thank you, Katja and Matt, for this excellent puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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