Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Laundry Day

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

Constructor: Stella Zawistowski

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• ATLANTA (11D: TV show featuring Zazie Beetz) ATLANTA is a TV series that follows the life of Earnest "Earn" Marks (portrayed by Donald Glover), a Princeton dropout struggling with homelessness and poverty. Zazie Beetz portrays Vanessa "Van" Kiefer, Earn's ex-girlfriend, and the mother of Earn's daughter Lottie. ATLANTA originally aired from 2016-2022.
• EUGENE (45D: "Nimona" actor ___ Lee Yang) Nimona is a 2023 animated movie based on the 2015 graphic novel of the same name by ND Stevenson. Nimona is set in a sci-fi world influenced by the Middle Ages. The title character, voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz, is a teenage girl with shapeshifting abilities. EUGENE Lee Yang voices the character of Ambrosius Goldenloin. Although Nimona is new to me, I recognized the name of EUGENE Lee Yang, whom I have written about previously. EUGENE Lee Yang is one of the founding members of The Try Guys, a group with a YouTube TV series of the same name. EUGENE Lee Yang left The Try Guys show earlier this year, but retains co-ownership of the company.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• ABBA (1A: "Dancing Queen" band) Thanks for this earworm, puzzle! I'm not sad about this. ABBA's 1976 song, "Dancing Queen," is a fun song to accompany my day. "You can dance, you can jive / Having the time of your life / Ooh, see that girl, watch that scene / Digging the dancing queen..."
• GAY (10A: ___ Liberation Front) The United States GAY Liberation Front formed in New York City in 1969 following the Stonewall Riots. The group developed a platform and advocated for GAY rights. Groups of the same name have also formed in the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, and New Zealand.
• DRUM (13A: Taiko or snare) In Japanese, the word "taiko" is used to refer to any kind of DRUM. (In Japan, a snare DRUM would be a taiko.) The word is also used to refer to a Japanese drumming style. A snare is a type of DRUM that produces a sharp staccato sound when played with a stick. A snare DRUM is one of the central pieces in a DRUM set, and is often used in marching bands and DRUM lines.
• MARTHA WASH (17A: Singer who was half of the Weather Girls) MARTHA WASH and Izora Armstead formed a duo called Two Tons of Fun in 1976. They changed their name to the Weather Girls in 1982. The duo's biggest hit was "It's Raining Men," released that same year. Since 1988, MARTHA WASH has had a solo career, and has had a number of hits on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart.
• CATTAIL (22A: Marsh plant named after a fuzzy animal part) The CATTAIL plant is also known by the names bulrush, reedmace, raupo, and cumbungi. Prevalent in wetland areas and mud flats, CATTAILs have wind-dispersed seeds (like dandelions), and their seeds can survive being buried for long periods of time. Of all the names for this plant, my cat, Willow, prefers CATTAIL, of course. Willow's fuzzy tail is actually three inches shorter than it used to be as a result of an accident, but she doesn't like to talk about that.

• SUR (28A: Big ___ International Marathon (California race)) Big SUR is a section of the southern California coast known for its rugged mountainous scenery. The Big SUR International Marathon takes place in the Big SUR region along California's scenic Highway 1. The next Big SUR International Marathon will be April 27, 2025.
• DAFOE (29A: Willem who played the Green Goblin) Willem DAFOE has portrayed Dr. Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin, in Sam Raimi's Spider-man movie trilogy, and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The Green Goblin has superhuman strength as a result of ingesting an unstable performance-enhancing serum.
• KIT (50A: Baby fox, or a first-aid box) Often when a clue provides two examples, those examples refer to the same meaning of the word. For instance, the DRUM clue discussed above provides examples of two kinds of DRUMs. This clue for KIT is the first of two clues in today's puzzle that provide two different definitions of a word. A baby fox is a KIT, and a first aid box is a KIT, but a fox KIT and a first aid KIT are definitely two different things. I'm generally a fan of clues that provide two examples, as they provide solvers multiple chances to be successful.
• MUSHED (52A: Squooshed) I'm just highlighting this answer because I like the word squooshed. It's quite fun to say, especially if you say it slowly and draw it out a bit. (Go ahead, try it!)
• IGNORE (58A: Don't deal with) and NAH (34D: "Eh, I don't wanna") Some days I relate to this vibe.
• PIPE (59A: Tube that transports Mario) Of course the title character of the Mario video games moves through PIPEs. After all, he's an Italian plumber.
• ELI (61A: Name hidden in "delicious") This is a fun hidden word clue.
• GNU (35D: Antelope with a beard) A GNU, also known as a wildebeest, is the largest species of antelope. These animals are native to Eastern and Southern Africa. GNUs have manes and a beard. There are two species of GNU: the blue GNU, also called the common wildebeest, and the black GNU, also called the white-tailed GNU.
• YOKE (40A: ___ walk (strongwoman's feat)) I wrote about the lifting YOKE, a piece of equipment used in strongwoman competitions, earlier this year. (That was on a puzzle also constructed by Stella Zawistowski.) A lifting YOKE is a metal frame with a crossbar that is carried on the shoulders. Weights are added to the bottom corners of the frame. To do a YOKE walk, one picks up the lifting YOKE and walks quickly forward.
• SHOUT (47D: Yell, or a 1984 Tears for Fears hit) Here's the second clue that provides solvers with two different examples. To SHOUT is to yell. "SHOUT" is also the name of a 1984 song by Tears for Fears. "SHOUT" spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "SHOUT / SHOUT / Let it all out / These are the things I can do without..." "Dancing Queen" may have competition as my earworm today.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
  • DELI (36A: Place to get chopped liver)
  • MISC (8D: "Everything else" category (Abbr.))
  • CROC (25D: Shoe with ventilation holes)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• MARTHA WASH (17A: Singer who was half of the Weather Girls)
• CANADA DRY (38A: Ginger ale brand)
• RETURN TO THE FOLD (62A: Come back as part of a community)

The last word of each theme answer is a LAUNDRY DAY task: WASH, DRY, and FOLD.

I enjoyed this clever theme. It's essentially a category theme: tasks related to LAUNDRY DAY. I appreciate that the tasks are presented in order, and that WASH, DRY, and FOLD have different meanings in the theme answers than when used as LAUNDRY DAY verbs. Thank you, Stella, for this excellent puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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