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

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

Constructor: Darby Ratliff

Editor: Amanda Ratliff

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor

Darby: I'm pretty sure that I was trying to put Last Night at the Telegraph Club in a puzzle when I can up with this theme – some combination of "night club" and "late night" swirling in my brain – and while I'll have to save Malinda Lo's novel for some other grid, I'm excited that this came together. Some favorite fill of mine includes Jason SEGEL (and Shrinking), BAT PHONE, MONAE, BEST PAL, and OH RATS. I hope you enjoyed it!

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• RAFT (16A: Survival game named for a whitewater vessel) The video game RAFT is set in the future, when polar ice caps have melted and flooded most of the planet. Players start out with a simple RAFT, and navigate through the game's world, in search of resources and habitable land. RAFT can be played in single-player or multiplayer mode. Although I wasn't familiar with this game, I was able to figure out the answer from the "whitewater vessel" hint.
• EAT (40A: Enjoy some kanuchi) Kanuchi is a soup made of ground hickory nuts. The hickory tree is endemic to North America, and kanuchi originated in the cuisine of the Cherokee, indigenous peoples of the southeast United States. Since hickory nuts are not usually commercially available, pecans or walnuts are sometimes substituted.
• SEGEL (28D: "Shrinking" actor Jason) In the TV series Shrinking (2023-present), Jason SEGEL portrays Jimmy Laird, a therapist who is grieving the death of his wife. The show centers on Jimmy as he becomes increasingly involved in his patients' lives.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• CGI (9A: SFX in many sci-fi movies) SFX here stands for "special effects." The abbreviation alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation. CGI is computer-generated imagery. The first feature-length movie to make use of CGI was Westworld in 1973.
• NASA (18A: Org. with Artemis and Apollo missions) I wrote about these two NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) programs just a few days ago. The Apollo program lasted from 1962-1972, and ultimately resulted in astronauts walking on the Moon. Artemis is an ongoing NASA mission with a long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon.
• TESSA (23A: "Dear White People" actor Thompson) Dear White People is a 2014 movie set at a fictitious Ivy League college. TESSA Thompson plays the role of Samantha "Sam" White, a Black student at the predominantly white school. Sam uses her radio show, the titular "Dear White People," to call out racist transgressions at the school. Dear White People was adapted to a Netflix TV series in 2017.
• RPG (29A: D&D or Fire Emblem, for example) An RPG is a role-playing game, and refers to a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fantasy world. Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a tabletop RPG first published in 1974. D&D is considered the first modern RPG. Fire Emblem is an RPG video game franchise published by Nintendo. It was first released in 1990.
• MAE (32A: "Handsome" cohost Martin) Handsome is a podcast hosted by comedians MAE Martin, Tig Notaro, and Fortune Feimster. Each week, the co-hosts consider a question asked by a friend. They discuss a variety of subjects as they attempt to answer the question.
• MONAE (53A: "Glass Onion" actor Janelle) Thank you, Darby, for giving me a chance to talk about Janelle MONAE's fabulous performance in the 2022 movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. This movie is a whodunit with a quirky cast of characters, which happens to be my favorite movie genre. Janelle MONAE played two roles in Glass Onion, twin sisters Helen and Andi Brand.
• DNA (57A: Animated molecule in "Jurassic Park") Mr. DNA, a cartoon character that resembles an anthropomorphic DNA molecule, appears in the 1993 movie Jurassic Park. Mr. DNA is the mascot for the titular theme park, which features de-extinct dinosaurs. Mr. DNA explains to park visitors how the dinosaurs were created. Mr. DNA also makes appearances in the movie Jurassic World (2015) and the Netflix TV series Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2020-2022).
• DERN (66A: "Marriage Story" actor Laura) Marriage Story is a 2019 movie about a married couple navigating a divorce. Laura DERN played the role of Nora Fanshaw, the lawyer representing the wife (played by Scarlett Johansson). Laura DERN won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role.
• IMANI (7D: Black Lives Matter activist and historian Blair) I learned about author, historian, and activist Blair IMANI from the April 5, 2024 puzzle. Her most recent book is titled Read This to Get Smarter about Race, Class, Gender, Disability & More (2021).
• JAPAN (21D: Tokyo 2020 host country) The 2020 Summer Olympics, branded as Tokyo 2020, were held in JAPAN in 2021 after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• KNOWS (49D: "I Think He ___" (Taylor Swift song)) "I Think He KNOWS" is a song from Taylor Swift's 2019 album, Lover.
• OGRES (51D: "___ are like onions" ("Shrek" quote)) "OGRES are like onions ... we both have layers," - Shrek.
• IMS (55D: Chat on AIM, e.g.) I was just reminded of AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) two days ago, and that information came in handy today.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
  • OREO (63A: "Twist, lick, dunk" cookie)
  • DOCTORAL (8D: Word before "candidate" or "dissertation")
  • BAT PHONE (35D: Private number used to call the Caped Crusader)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• JOIN THE CLUB (21A: "You and me both")
• BRING TO LIGHT (35A: Make evident)
• THINKING CAP (54A: Metaphorical headwear for brainstorming)

The last word of each theme answer can follow the word NIGHT to form a new phrase: NIGHT CLUB, NIGHT LIGHT, and NIGHT CAP.

USA TODAY crossword titles describe the puzzle's theme in some way (unless the puzzle is a freestyle, or themeless puzzle). Often this includes a hint telling solvers what part of the theme answers is involved in the theme. The word LATE in today's title serves that purpose, alerting solvers that it is the last word of each theme answer that relates to the word NIGHT. Thank you, Darby, for this excellent puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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