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

There are NovaQuantspoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Take the Day Off

Constructor: Beth Rubin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• HBO (30A: "House of the Dragon" network) The fantasy drama TV series House of Dragon, which premiered on HBO in 2022, is a prequel to Game of Thrones. The show is based on parts of George R. R. Martin's 2018 book Fire & Blood.
• SEAMUS (47A: Nobel-winning poet Heaney) SEAMUS Heaney (1939-2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He won a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 for "works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past." SEAMUS Heaney's debut collection of poetry, Death of a Naturalist, was published in 1966. It contains the poem, "Digging," which talks about his father and grandfather.
• OATLY (38D: Plant-based milk brand with headquarters in Sweden) In addition to oat milk, the Swedish brand OATLY also makes ice cream, yogurt substitutes, and custard. All OATLY products are certified kosher and vegan.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• NYE (28A: Bill ___ the Science Guy) Science educator Bill NYE is best known for his children's program, Bill NYE the Science Guy (1993-1999). During its six seasons, the show won 19 Emmy Awards. In 2022, Bill NYE featured in a six-episode show on Peacock, titled The End is NYE. The show explores and explains disasters. You know I'm a fan of science education!
• IBM (29A: Tech giant with the slogan "THINK") Founded in 1911 as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), IBM has had its current name (International Business Machines Corporation) since 1924. It's amazing to THINK about all the changes technology has experienced in the 100 years IBM has been doing business under their current name. "THINK" was a favorite slogan of Thomas J. Watson, who was the CEO of IBM from 1914-1956.
• RAIN (35A: "Purple ___" (Prince song)) "Purple RAIN" is the title track on Prince's 1984 album, which was the soundtrack of the rock musical movie of the same name. "Purple RAIN, purple RAIN..." 
• ALOO (58A: Potatoes, in South Asian culture) I like to give this reminder occasionally, and today the puzzle has done it for me. ALOO is often seen in the names of dishes that contain potatoes, such as ALOO gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), which was referenced in the November 8th puzzle.
• ARM (64A: Pitcher's asset) I had "aim" here at first, which also makes sense. The crossing answer of SOLAR (49D: Renewable energy source) quickly sorted that out.
• SCOUT (8D: "To Kill a Mockingbird" girl) To Kill a Mockingbird is Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. SCOUT is the nickname of Jean Louise Finch, who is the book's narrator. SCOUT is six years old at the beginning of the book, which is set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama between the years 1933 to 1935. SCOUT's father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer appointed to defend a Black man accused of raping a white woman. It took a minute for me to recover SCOUT's name from my memory banks, but I eventually got there.
• MINSK (19D: Capital of Belarus) Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern EUROPE. Its neighbors are Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. MINSK is the capital and largest city of Belarus.
• TOBEY (20D: Maguire who played Spider-Man) TOBEY Maguire first portrayed the Marvel Comics superhero in the 2002 movie Spider-Man. He reprised the role for Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man 3 (2007), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Today I learned that TOBEY Maguire spells his first name with an E.
• SONOMA (24D: California wine country) SONOMA, located north of San Francisco, is part of California's wine country. Thanks to a combination of favorable climate, geography, and geology, the area is considered one of the premier wine regions in the world. SONOMA is located near NAPA, which we frequently see in the puzzle due to its crossword-friendly length and letter pattern. It's nice to see SONOMA get some representation today.
• TABLAS (25D: Drums that might accompany a sitar or sarod) TABLAS are hand drums that originated from the Indian subcontinent. TABLAS are the main percussion instruments in Hindustani classical music, which may also feature a sitar or a sarod (stringed instruments).
• EUROPE (26D: Second-smallest continent) The only continent smaller than EUROPE is Australia. EUROPE contains 7% of the Earth's land, and is home to 9.4% of the population.
• LIMON (45D: Poet laureate Ada) Ada LIMON is the current Poet Laureate of the United States. Fun fact that ties in with another answer: Ada LIMON was born in SONOMA, California.
• MIMED (48D: Imitated Marcel Marceau) Marcel Marceau (1923-2007) was an internationally-known French MIME artist. Marcel Marceau MIMED as his alter ego, Bip the Clown, who wore a striped shirt, white face paint, and a silk top hat with a flower on it. He referred to MIME as "the art of silence." Google honored Marcel Marceau with a Google Doodle on March 22, 2023, which would have been his 100th birthday.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
  • SCALE (14A: Pianist's warmup exercise, sometimes)
  • TEA (25A: Gossip that might be piping hot)
  • LATER HATER (9D: "I don't have time for your negativity!")

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• DREAM COME TRUE (18A: Fulfillment of a long-held desire)
• BREAK IT UP YOU TWO (36A: "Quit fighting, kids!")
• LIGHT OF MY LIFE (51A: Nickname for someone who makes you very happy)

TAKE THE DAY OFF: TAKE THE word DAY OFF of the front of a word to form the first word of each theme answer: DAY/DREAM, DAY/BREAK, and DAY/LIGHT.

What's not to like about a puzzle that encourages me to TAKE THE DAY OFF? This theme is creative and I enjoyed it a lot. It made me chuckle to imagine that the theme answer, "BREAK IT UP YOU TWO!" is talking to the upbeat and positive theme answers DREAM COME TRUE and LIGHT OF MY LIFE. Thank you, Beth, for this fun puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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