Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Athletes' Parade

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

Constructor: Jared Goudsmit

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• ELVIS (24A: Film critic Mitchell) ELVIS Mitchell has been a film critic for several papers, including The New York Times and the LA Weekly. He also hosts a public radio podcast called The Treatment. ELVIS Mitchell wrote and directed the documentary Is That Black Enough for You?!? (2022), which explores the history of Black cinema.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• SAM'S (5A: ___ Club (retail chain)) SAM'S Club is a membership-required retail chain owned by Walmart. The store is named for SAM Walton, the founder of Walmart.
• MOIRA (17A: Name that anagrams to "Maori") and TITO (46D: Name hidden in "Spit it out!") When names appear in a crossword grid, it's an opportunity to highlight individuals with that name. However, an abundance of names in a grid can raise the difficulty level of a puzzle, particularly for solvers not familiar with the people mentioned. Including names and keeping the puzzle accessible to solvers can be a balancing act. One option for making names easier to uncover is to clue them in a more generic manner, for example with an anagram or hidden word clue. We have two examples of that today. These clues for MOIRA and TITO balance out the more specific clues for ELVIS Mitchell, EMMA Stone, and OTTO Octavius.
• EMMA (18A: "Birdman" actress Stone) Birdman is a 2014 movie about a former Hollywood actor (portrayed by Michael Keaton) who is best known for playing a superhero named Birdman. EMMA Stone plays the role of the actor's daughter. She won Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress for the role.
• DEL (23A: Tierra ___ Fuego) Tierra DEL Fuego (Spanish for "Land of Fire") is an archipelago (a group of islands) located off of the southernmost tip of South America. The countries of Argentina and Chile have islands that are part of Tierra DEL Fuego.
• NOHO (41A: Lower Manhattan neighborhood) and NEW (53A: The "N" in NYC) NOHO is a primarily residential neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, NEW York City. NOHO stands for "North of Houston Street," in contrast to the SOHO neighborhood, which is "South of Houston Street."
• UFO (42A: Vehicle in "E.T.") I was in high school when the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestial was released in 1982. E.T. features an (adorable) alien, a UFO, children as main characters, and a flying bicycle. I like it! I'm not alone; E.T. has a 99% Tomatometer score on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
• OTTO (45A: ___ Octavius aka Doctor Octopus) Dr. OTTO Gunther Octavius also known as Doctor Octopus, or Doc Ock, is a Marvel Comics mad scientist character. Doc Ock, who has four mechanical appendages, debuted as an enemy of Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man #3, published in 1963.
• STATE (55A: Kelantan or Kentucky) Kelantan is one of thirteen STATEs in the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia. Kentucky is one of 50 U.S. STATEs.
• SAILOR MOON (58A: Manga heroine aka Usagi Tsukino) SAILOR MOON is a Japanese manga (graphic novel) series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. The protagonist of the series is a schoolgirl, Tsukino Usagi, who can transform into the superhero, SAILOR MOON.
• EMMY (60A: Award for "Fleabag" or "The Bear") Fleabag is a BBC TV series that centers on the title character – portrayed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge – a free-spirited single young woman living in London. Fleabag won six EMMY Awards in 2019, including Outstanding Comedy Series. The Bear is a TV series about Carmy Berzatto – portrayed by Jeremy Allen White – a chef from New York City who returns to his hometown of Chicago to run his family's Italian beef sandwich shop, The Beef. The Bear won ten EMMY Awards in 2023, including Outstanding Comedy Series.
• LAMBDA (1D: ___ Legal (group with a Greek letter in its name)) LAMBDA Legal is an organization that "represents LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV – in the court of law and in the court of public opinion." LAMBDA is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet. It follows kappa and precedes mu.
• ELEMENTS (21D: Holmium, tungsten, dysprosium, etc.) There are currently 118 ELEMENTS that have been recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Ninety-four of those ELEMENTS occur naturally on Earth. Dysproprium (Dy) and Holmium (Ho) are rare-earth ELEMENTS with the atomic numbers 66 and 67, respectively. Tungsten (W), also called wolfram, is a rare metal with an atomic number of 74. Hooray for science in the crossword!
• DYE (28D: Huito or henna) Huito is a natural dark blue DYE obtained from the fruit of a tree that grows in tropical and subtropical areas of Central and South America. Huito is used as a DYE in the textile, cosmetic, and food industries. Henna is a reddish DYE obtained from the dried and powdered leaves of the henna tree. Henna is used as a hair and body DYE.
• EDAMAME (40D: Soybeans often served with shochu) EDAMAME are immature soybeans that are boiled or steamed in the pod. Shōchu is a Japanese alcohol distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar.
• OPERAS (47D: "Angel's Bone" and "Carmen") Angel's Bone is a one-act OPERA by Chinese-born American composer Du Yun. Angel's Bone is the story of two angels who are nostalgic for earthly delights and mysteriously find themselves back on Earth. The angels are discovered by a couple in financial crisis who enslave and exploit them. Angel's Bone won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Carmen is an 1875 OPERA by French composer Georges Bizet. Carmen is set in southern Spain, and tells the story of the downfall of a soldier who is seduced by the title character.
• SWANS (48D: "Trumpeter" birds) Trumpeter SWANS are found in North America. With a wingspan of six to ten feet, trumpeter SWANS are the largest living species of waterfowl.
• A few other clues and answers I especially enjoyed:
  • RULED (25A: Ran things like a queen)
  • NO CLUE (9D: "I dunno!")
  • BAD KARMA (35D: Wrongdoer's consequence from the universe)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• BREAKER PANEL (20A: Electrical control center with switches and fuses)
• BOXER SHORTS (35A: Alternative to briefs)
• SAILOR MOON (58A: Manga heroine aka Usagi Tsukino)

ATHLETES' PARADE: The first word of each theme answer is a type of ATHLETE. Today's PARADE features a BREAKER, BOXER, and SAILOR.

I have enjoyed the Olympic-themed puzzles that we've seen during the last two weeks. This includes "Torchbearers" on July 26, "Floor Routine" on August 2, and "Athletes' Parade" today. In today's theme, I appreciate that the words BREAKER, BOXER, and SAILOR have completely different meanings in the theme answers than they do when used to refer to athletes. I have watched a little bit of the Olympics, but I haven't watched breaking, boxing, or sailing yet. This puzzle might be my nudge to do so. Thank you, Jared, for this timely puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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