Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, It Started With the Wine

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! It Started With the Wine

Constructors: Amanda Rafkin & Jared Goudsmit

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor

Jared: This was my first time co-creating a USA Today puzzle, and it was a ton of fun! Amanda is wonderful to work with. I pitched her the theme (inspired by the song “Fine” from Ordinary Days), and then we narrowed down the list of possible theme entries to a strong set of three. She constructed the grid, and we each wrote half of the clues! I especially love the Taylor Swift lyric she included at 28-Down. Happy solving!

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• HAITI (13A: Caribbean country that's the birthplace of rara music) Rara music is a form of festival music. It originated in HAITI, where it is used for street processions, often during Easter Week. Rara music features vaksen (bamboo trumpets), drums, maracas, and other percussion instruments. Songs are performed in Haitian Creole, and celebrate the African ancestry of many of the people of HAITI.
• KAT (45A: "My Garden" singer ___ Dahlia) My Garden is KAT Dahlia's debut studio album, released in 2015. Her second studio album, Seven, was released in 2020.
• HIP HOP (55A: Little Simz's genre) Little Simz is an English HIP HOP artist. Her 2021 album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (2021) won the Mercury Prize, which honors the best album from a musical act from the United Kingdom or Ireland.
• ORANGE (2D: Citrus fruit in suntala sadheko) Suntala sadheko is a dish that originated in Nepal. It consists of ORANGEs, sour curd (yogurt) and spices.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• ELLA (25A: Actress Purnell) ELLA Purnell's acting credits include the TV shows Yellowjackets (2021-2023) and Fallout (2024-present), and the movies Army of the Dead (2021) and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016).
• DOS (32A: "Por que no los ___?") "Por que no los DOS?" "Why not both?" This phrase, which is featured in many memes, became popular following a 2011 Old El Paso commercial.
• ANA (33A: "Blonde" actress de Armas) ANA de Armas portrays Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane) in the 2022 movie Blonde. The film is based on a 2000 book of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates.
• EMMYS (36A: Awards for Ted Lasso) The TV series Ted Lasso won four EMMYS in 2021, and four more EMMYS in 2022. Ted Lasso won the EMMY for Outstanding Comedy Series both of those years.
• TOUR DE FORCE (38A: Outstanding achievement) TOUR DE FORCE is a French phrase meaning "feat of strength."
• SOUPS (43A: Butajiru, bouillabaisse, etc.) Butajiru is a version of miso SOUP made with pork and vegetables. Bouillabaisse is a fish soup that originated in the Provençal region of France.
• SMU (49A: Dallas sch.)  Southern Methodist University (SMU) is located in University Park, a suburb of Dallas, Texas. The abbreviation of school in the clue alerts solvers the answer will be an abbreviation.
• BAR MITZVAH (63A: Coming-of-age ritual often held at a synagogue) BAR MITZVAH is a Jewish coming-of-age ritual for a (usually 13-year-old) boy. For girls, the equivalent rite is called a bat MITZVAH. Some Jewish synagogues and institutions are moving away from the gendered language of BAR MITZVAH and bat MITZVAH, and using the term B-MITZVAH to refer to both celebrations.
• WHO'D A THUNK IT (4D: "Real surprising, huh?") This is a fun answer! I tried to find the origin of the phrase "WHO'D A THUNK IT?", but was unable to track down a definitive answer. I saw some suggestions that the phrase might have originated with Mortimer Snerd, one of Edgar Bergen's ventriloquist dummies.
• I'M OLD (14D: Comment after realizing you're sleepy at 8 p.m.) Just at me next time (as I'm sure the kids no longer say...)!
• LASER POINTER (22D: Popular cat toy) I talked about cats and LASER POINTERs when we saw this answer last month. As I'm writing this (and quite possibly when you're reading this), my cat, Willow is snoozing away. Perhaps she's dreaming of finally catching the red dot of a LASER POINTER.

• WAS (28D: "I ___ supposed to be sent away, but they forgot to come and get me" ("Fortnight" lyric)) "I WAS supposed to be sent away, but they forgot to come and get me," is the opening line of Taylor Swift's song, "Fortnight." The song, which features Post Malone, is from the 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department. The music video for "Fortnight" won Video of the Year and four other awards at the MTV Video Music Awards last week.
• DND (31D: RPG with warlocks and paladins) Dungeons & Dragons (DND) is a role-playing game (RPG). Warlocks and paladins are two of the character classes (roles assigned to a character) in DND. Warlocks have spell-like abilities they can use at will. Paladins are a class of holy knights and divine spell casters.
• AHAB (46D: "Moby Dick" captain) and SMEE (59D: Captain Hook's right-hand man) We have a pair of literary maritime clues. Captain AHAB is the captain of the whaling ship Pequod, whose adventures are described in the 1851 Herman Melville novel, Moby-Dick. SMEE is the right-hand man of Captain Hook in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, and his 1911 book, Peter and Wendy.
• ONE (61D: "Wow, look at her moving, baby, she's the ___" (Chappell Roan lyric)) This lyric, "Wow, look at her moving, baby, she's the ONE," is from the Chappell Roan song, "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl." The song appears on Chappell Roan's 2023 debut studio album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
• A few bonus answers related to the WINE theme:
  • THAT (8A: I'll drink to ___!") "I'll drink to THAT! Cheers!"
  • WHINY (34A: Prone to complaining) This might be my favorite answer today! This puzzle isn't WHINY, but it sure is "WINE-y."
  • NOSE (65A: Odor-sensing organ) The NOSE of a WINE is the aroma or scent of the WINE.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• RACK OF LAMB (16A: Entree that might be served with mint jelly)
• TOUR DE FORCE (38A: Outstanding achievement)
• BAR MITZVAH (63A: Coming-of-age ritual often held at a synagogue)

IT STARTED WITH THE WINE: The STARTing word of each theme answer can be paired with the word WINE to form a new phrase: WINE RACK, WINE TOUR, and WINE BAR.

I was not familiar with the song "Fine" that Jared referenced in his notes, but it does indeed begin with the line, "IT STARTED WITH THE WINE." The song is from the musical Ordinary Days, which tells the story of two men and two women whose lives intersect. The line makes a fitting theme for today's puzzle. Thank you, Amanda and Jared, for this delightful puzzle.

One more thing today: an announcement that pairs well with this puzzle! Speaking of WINE and STARTing things, USA TODAY is launching a wine club. Wine and puzzles make a perfect pairing! Test your mind and have fun while you sip. Save big with our USA TODAY Wine Club intro offer: $54 for 6 bottles or $96 for 12 bottles. Explore together: https://wineclub.usatoday.com/ 

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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