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

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

Constructors: Carolyn Davies Lynch & Olivia Mitra Framke

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructors

Carolyn & Olivia: This puzzle’s theme was born as part of a broader Discord chat among various crossword constructor friends back in March. We were joking about the large number of nascent theme ideas each person had floating around in various notes apps on their phones…many of which no longer seemed to make any sense, even to the person who had come up with them originally. Olivia chimed into the conversation to say, “This reminds me of one of the notes I came across yesterday: ‘VICTOR HUGO, OSCAR WILDE’. That’s it … that’s the whole note.” Carolyn somehow jumped onto the original wavelength that (we assume) Olivia was on when originally writing this note, responding “Hmm … are there any writers named CHARLIE or INDIA? I like this!” Olivia DMed Carolyn to follow up on the exchange, and the rest was history! It took a few iterations to come up with a set of four "NATO alphabet-named" writers of different types who we thought made a nice, balanced set – during which time we dropped OSCAR WILDE and added SIERRA KATOW, MIKE WHITE, and INDIA.ARIE. We’re excited about the amazing writers highlighted in the final puzzle – do yourself a favor and read / watch / listen to them if you have a chance! 😊

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• SIERRA KATOW (45A: Comedian who wrote "I'm gonna be a fun aunt. Or a funt.") SIERRA KATOW's debut comedy special – Funt – is available on Amazon Prime. According to her website, SIERRA KATOW "towers at 5'1" and very much appreciates when people say, 'Wow. You seem taller than you are.'"
• MIKE WHITE (56A: TV writer who wrote "Your power is your independence; don't give up your power") MIKE WHITE's screenwriting credits include the TV series White Lotus, which I have written about previously. "Your power is your independence; don't give up your power," is a line spoken by Nicole (played by Connie Britton) on White Lotus.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• SPUD (5A: Tater) and TOT (34A: Tater ___) This is a fun "tater" clue echo.
• INDIA.ARIE (18A: Songwriter who wrote "My mama said a lady ain't what she wears, but what she knows") "Video" is a 2001 song from INDIA.ARIE's debut album, Acoustic Soul. The song includes the lines, "My mama said a lady ain't what she wears, but what she knows," and "But I learned to love myself unconditionally / Because I am a queen."
• DRANK (22A: Sipped a Spindrift, say) Did you know that "spindrift" is a term for the spray blown from cresting waves? The Spindrift company, which makes seltzer, is named after this term. Spindrift was founded by Bill Creelman in 2010. The company originally made soda and seltzer, but discontinued its soda line in 2016.
• PETCO (23A: Brand with the NASDAQ symbol WOOF) This is just an adorable fact, isn't it? It's nice that this is somewhat inferable even for solvers not familiar with NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations – a New York City-based stock exchange).
• VICTOR HUGO (26A: Poet who wrote "My heart has far more fire than you can frost to chill") VICTOR HUGO (1802-1885) was a French writer known for his novels (including The Hunchback of Notre Dame), plays (including Cromwell), and poetry collections (including Les Contemplations). He also created more than 4,000 drawings, most in pen-and-ink wash. "My heart has far more fire than you can frost to chill," is a line from VICTOR HUGO's poem, "More Strong Than Time."
• NDA (30A: Doc blocking talking) Ah, this is ever-so-slightly tricky! The "doc" here is not a doctor, but a document. The shortened form of document alerts solvers the answer will be the abbreviation NDA, which stands for non-disclosure agreement.
• DEBATER (38A: Person arguing competitively) I was a DEBATER in high school. I only signed up for the debate class my sophomore year because my best friend was signed up for it and convinced me to join her. That led to three years on the debate team, and the formation of many friendships I still have today. Also, according to my husband, I am skilled at arguing.
• DEM (44A: "___ Bones" (spiritual)) The lyrics of the spiritual, "DEM Bones," written by brothers James Weldon and J. Rosamond Johnson, were inspired by the Biblical story of the prophet Ezekiel visiting the Valley of Dry Bones. First recorded by The Famous Myers Jubilee Singers in 1928, "Dem Bones" has been recorded by several artists since that time, including the Delta Rhythm Boys. 
• COWS (63A: Heifers, after having babies) As you might have picked up from the context of this clue, COWS that have not had calves are referred to as heifers.
• ECHO (2D: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta follower) In the NATO phonetic alphabet, ECHO is the word for E. This is a great bonus answer for today's theme.
• UNDO (7D: CTRL-Z function) Oh, look, it's my favorite computer shortcut! CTRL-Z (Command-Z on a Mac) has saved me numerous times.
• SOMEONE (14D: "___ Like You" (Adele song)) "SOMEONE Like You" is a song from Adele's 2011 album, 21. "Never mind I'll find SOMEONE like you / I wish nothing but the best for you, too..."
• ADA (19D: "___ Twist, Scientist" (kid-lit book that celebrates Lovelace)) The main character of the children's book, ADA Twist, Scientist, is a young girl named ADA Marie, whose name was chosen to honor scientists ADA Lovelace and Marie Curie. This is a great book that celebrates asking questions. I first learned about the book, ADA Twist, Scientist, from the April 23, 2021 puzzle. Shortly before I learned about the book, my CSA farmer had just had her first child, a girl named ADA Marie! Yes, I did buy a copy of the book for the ADA Marie I know.
• IMAGE (27D: NAACP ___ Awards) The NAACP IMAGE Awards are presented annually by the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) to honor artists and entertainers of color in the film, television, theater, music, and literature industries. Beyoncé has won 25 NAACP IMAGE Awards, the most of any individual artist.
• GOD (29D: Mitra, Mars or Morpheus, e.g.) Mitra is the name of an Indo-Iranian GOD, and is also the name of a Hindu GOD. (Clever Olivia for working her middle name into this clue.) In Roman mythology, Mars is the GOD of war. Morpheus is a Greek GOD associated with sleep and dreams. I enjoyed the alliteration of the GOD's names in this clue.
• DIEGO (31D: Dora the Explorer's animal-loving cousin) The title character of the animated children's TV series, Dora the Explorer is a seven-year-old Latina girl. Dora's eight-year-old cousin, DIEGO has his own spin-off series, Go, DIEGO, Go! DIEGO's adventures involve helping animals and protecting the environment.
• TRAITOR (42D: Betrayal at House on the Hill role) Betrayal at House on the Hill is a board game in which players explore a haunted house. Part of the game is that one of the players is secretly a TRAITOR, and the other players must discover the TRAITOR'S identity.
• SKYE (53D: ___ terrier) The Scottish dog breed known as the SKYE terrier is named for Scotland's Isle of SKYE, where the breed was discovered. This breed is considered vulnerable and in danger of extinction. Next month my husband and I are going to the Isle of SKYE. Maybe we will meet a SKYE terrier while we are there. We will probably at least visit the statue of a SKYE terrier known as Greyfriars Bobby while we are in Edinburgh.
• NOV (59D: Mo. that includes Fibonacci Day) The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two numbers that precede it. The sequence begins with the numbers zero and one. The third number in the Fibonacci sequence is also one, as zero plus one equals one. Fibonacci Day is celebrated on NOV. 23, because the date's numbers (11/23) are the second through the fifth numbers of the Fibonacci sequence (0, 1, 1, 2, 3…). The Fibonacci sequence is important, because it reflects many of the patterns found in nature.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• INDIA.ARIE (18A: Songwriter who wrote "My mama said a lady ain't what she wears, but what she knows")
• VICTOR HUGO (26A: Poet who wrote "My heart has far more fire than you can frost to chill")
• SIERRA KATOW (45A: Comedian who wrote "I'm gonna be a fun aunt. Or a funt.")
• MIKE WHITE (56A: TV writer who wrote "Your power Is your independence; don't give up your power")

NATO MEMBERS: Each theme answer is the name of a person whose first name represents a letter in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet: INDIA, VICTOR, SIERRA, and MIKE.

Each time the NATO alphabet is mentioned in a puzzle, I like to take that as an opportunity to review part of the alphabet. This puzzle has given me a lot of NATO alphabet review. I appreciate the specificity of this theme. I like the fact that, not only are the theme answers all names of people (to fit the MEMBERS part of the title), but they are all writers. And we have four different types of writing represented: songwriting, poetry, comedy, and screenwriting. Thank you, Carolyn and Olivia, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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