Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Broken Lease

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

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• KATE (23D: Swimming sensation Douglass) KATE Douglass is a competitive swimmer. At the recent 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, she won two gold medals for Team USA, in the women's 200 meter breaststroke and the 4x100 meter medley. She also won two silver medals at this year's Olympics, in the 200 meter individual medley and the 4x100 meter freestyle.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• BEAST (1A: Kraken or manticore) The legendary BEAST known as the kraken is a sea creature. Tales of the kraken may have originated from sailors' sightings of giant squid. Any mention of the kraken makes me think of the 2006 movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, in which the BEAST played a significant role. The manticore is a legendary BEAST in ancient Persian mythology. It has the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion. In some versions, the manticore's tail is instead covered in venomous spines similar to porcupine quills.
• STEW (19A: Gumbo or budae-jjigae) Gumbo is a STEW that originated in Louisiana. Gumbo is made of meat or shellfish along with celery, bell peppers, and onions. Budae-jjigae is a spicy sausage STEW made with ham, sausage, spam, baked beans, kimchi, and gochujang. Budae-jjigae originated in South Korea shortly after the end of the Korean War. It uses ingredients from U.S. army bases, and its name translates to "army base STEW."
• ASU (20A: The Sun Devils' sch.) The Sun Devils are the athletic teams at Arizona State University (ASU), which is located in Tempe, Arizona (part of the Phoenix metropolitan area). Sparky the Sun Devil is the official mascot of ASU.
• RESCUE (21A: Pet from a shelter) My cat, Willow, says, "Hey look, it's me! I'm a RESCUE from a shelter." (What she actually says is, "Meow." I have taken the liberty of translating for her.) The other day, I walked downstairs to find Willow engaged in a staring contest with a rabbit in our backyard.

• BREW (34A: Prepare some pu'er) and TEA (5D: Drink often served with pork buns) Pu'er is a type of fermented TEA traditionally produced in Yunnan Province, China. Fun to see this pair of TEA clues.
• SHE (46A: "___ Can't Love You" (Destiny's Child song)) "SHE Can't Love You" is a song from Destiny's Child's 1999 album, The Writing's on the Wall.
• NILLA (49A: Wafer brand named for its flavor) Nabisco has been producing NILLA Wafers since 1898. (That's a long time!) Originally marketed as Vanilla Wafers, the name was shortened to NILLA Wafers in 1967. Due to their use in banana pudding, a recipe especially popular in the southern U.S., Nilla Wafers are consistently in the top five best-selling cookie brands in Atlanta, Georgia and Houston, Texas.
• GIN (54A: Pink Lady liquor) The pink lady is a GIN-based cocktail. In addition to GIN, it also contains grenadine and egg white.
• LEAVE IN SUSPENSE (59A: Keep hanging) This answer makes me think of the Hulu TV series Only Murders in the Building. The show's fourth season began this week, and my husband and I watched it the other night. Each episode of that show tends to LEAVE us IN SUSPENSE, anxiously awaiting the next episode!
• IDES (66A: Time to "beware" after Pi Day) In the Roman calendar, IDES referred to a day near the middle of the month - the 15th of March, May, July, or October, and the 13th of any other month. March 15 is the IDES of March. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated on the IDES of March, making the date notorious. Pi Day is celebrated by math nerds and dessert lovers alike on March 14, just before the IDES of March.
• LEE (8D: "The Morning Show" actress Greta) I learned about Greta LEE from the May 23, 2024 puzzle that referenced her work in the 2023 movie Past Lives. Today I learned about her work on The Morning Show, an Apple TV+ series inspired by Brian Stelter's 2013 book Top of the Morning. The show is based around a network broadcast morning news program. Since the show's second season, Greta LEE has played the role of Stella Bak, president of the network's news division.
• FETT (18D: "Star Wars" bounty hunter Boba) Boba FETT's first appearance in the Star Wars franchise was not in any of the movies, but rather in The Star Wars Holiday Special, a TV special released in 1978, a year after the first movie. Overall the TV special didn't fare well with fans, but an animated sequence featuring the bounty hunter Boba FETT was well-received. Boba FETT went on to feature in The Empire Strikes Back (1983) and Return of the Jedi (1983) and in the prequel trilogy (1999-2005). In 2021 Disney+ released a miniseries that features Boba FETT, The Book of Boba FETT.
• USA (29D: Noah Lyles' Olympic team) Noah Lyles is a professional track and field athlete who competes for Team USA. At the 2024 Olympic Games, Noah Lyles won a gold medal in the men's 100-meter dash.
• LOVE (50D: "What is grief, if not ___ persevering?") This quote, "What is grief, if not LOVE persevering?," is from the penultimate episode of the Marvel Comics miniseries, WandaVision (2021). The line is spoken by the character Vision.
• EIDI (56D: Eid al-Fitr gift) EIDI is a gift of money given as part of the celebration of the Muslim holidays Eid-al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
• HELL (58D: "It's ___ on earth to be heavenly") "Clara Bow" is a song by Taylor Swift from her 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department. The song is named for silent-film actress Clara Bow (1905-1965). The song opens with the line, "You look like Clara Bow in this light," and contains the line, "It's HELL on earth to be heavenly."
• PAC (61D: ___-12 Conference) The PAC-12 is a college athletic conference. If someone asked you how many colleges are in the PAC-12, you might think that was a trick question. The answer is not as obvious as it seems, however. The PAC-12 currently has two members, Oregon State University and Washington State University. Earlier this month, ten former PAC-12 institutions left the conference.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• LIVE A LIFE OF EASE (16A: Have no worries)
• LEGAL CASE (35A: Attorney's assignment)
• LEAVE IN SUSPENSE(59A: Keep hanging)

BROKEN LEASE: The word LEASE is BROKEN by each theme answer: LIVE A LIFE OF EASE, LEGAL CASE, and LEAVE IN SUSPENSE.

Today's title allowed me to correctly guess what the theme was going to be. That always makes me feel smart! I liked the progression of the BROKEN LEASE here from L/EASE to LE/ASE to LEA/SE. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

• USA TODAY’s Daily Crossword Puzzles
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