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There are spoilers ahead. Before you read on, you might want to try solving today’s puzzle.shuffleboard
constructor: larry snyder
Editor: Jared Gosmit

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor
Larry: This is my first puzzle for USA TODAY, and I couldn’t be more excited to debut it. This is also the first puzzle with bilateral symmetry (as opposed to rotational symmetry, which is more common). It took a few tries to get the grid layout I liked, but in the end I was happy with the results. I love the entry “HOMEWARD BOUND”. The editor changed my clue from a reference to Simon and Garfunkel to a (slightly) outdated reference to Disney, but both are good ones. Enjoy the puzzle. And enjoy the day of the solar eclipse.
What I learned from today’s puzzle
- EDDIE (33A: NFL Running Back Lacy) EDDIE Lacy is a former NFL player. He played for the Packers from 2013 to 2016 in Green Bay, where he was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He also played for the Seattle Seahawks in 2017. Add his EDDIE Lacy to the sports information learned from crossword puzzles.
- ART (60A: Mizuhiki or Carving) Mizuhiki is a Japanese ART that uses rice paper cord to tie elaborate knots and is used to decorate envelopes for special occasions. The art of tying this knot dates back to around the 6th century. Mizuhiki can also be used to create three-dimensional shapes. Today we learned about mizuhiki, but we also recognized that carving is ART, and were able to write down our answers. If he provides two examples as a clue, the solver can succeed if he is familiar with either example.
- RON (2D: Jazz Bassist Carter) RON Carter is a Grammy Award-winning double bass player and jazz musician. In the mid-1960s, he was a member of the Miles Davis Quintet. He also plays the cello. In 2022, Ron Carter recorded a Tiny Desk (Home) concert for NPR.
- OPERA (54D: Shows such as “Champion”) champion is a 2013 opera by Terrence Blanchard (music) and Michael Christopher (libretto). The opera was commissioned by the Opera House of St. Louis and Jazz St. Louis and is based on the life of boxer Emil Griffith.
Random thoughts and interesting things
- PRAY (16A: “Eat, ____, love”) eat, pray, love: One woman searches for everything in Italy, India and Indonesia This book describes the author’s travels around the world after her divorce and the lessons she learned along the way. A movie based on this book was released in 2010 and starred Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem.
- EMPTY (23A: “No thought, head ___”) “No thought, head ___” is a catchphrase attached to various images posted on social media.
- Wonton (31A: Gyoza-like dumplings) Wonton and gyoza are a type of dumpling made of minced meat or vegetable filling wrapped in thinly rolled dough. Wontons typically have thinner skins and less filling than dumplings. Wontons are traditionally served with soup, while dumplings are usually served with a dipping sauce.
- HOMEWARD BOUND (38A: 1993 Disney film about three nautical pets) 1993 film HOMEWARD BOUND: An incredible journey It’s a remake of the 1963 movie. incredible journey. The 1963 film is based on Sheila Burnford’s 1961 book of the same name. The film tells the story of her three pets: Chance, an American bulldog, Shadow, a golden retriever, and Sassy, a Himalayan cat. My cat, Willow, is currently my only cat, but that wasn’t always the case. When our family adopted Willow 12 years ago, she became the third member of our pet trio. Unlike HOMEWARD BOUND’s trio of two dogs and one cat, ours was two cats and one dog.Fortunately, they never On the way home Let’s go on an adventure together.

- Aurora Borealis (53A: ___ borealis) Auroras are displays of natural light in the sky that occur when the solar wind disturbs the magnetosphere. Seeing the Northern Lights is one of the few things on my bucket list. someday!
- DUO (57A: a music group similar to OutKast) OutKast is a hip-hop DUO from Atlanta, Georgia. The members of DUO are Big Boi and André 3000.
- Iris (68A: Blue Flowers in Van Gogh’s Paintings) Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) painted several paintings of iris. One of his most famous paintings of iris is simply titled. iris. It depicts numerous blue irises and his one white iris. iris This work is now part of the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.
- Taco (6D: food that may be stuffed with birria) In Mexican cuisine, birria is slow-cooked meat (goat, beef, lamb) with chili peppers, garlic, cumin, bay leaves, and thyme. Tacos de birria is an American take on birria, which uses slow-cooked beef to make the tacos. Tacos are served with soup that can be used as a dipping sauce.
- NERDY (8D: Like a Crossword Enthusiast) Well, I like this answer!
- Argentina (11D: Land of Plaza de Mayo) Plaza de Mayo is a city square in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Many important events and demonstrations were held in his Plaza de Mayo. Its name commemorates his May Revolution of 1810, which was a key event leading to Argentina’s independence from Spain in 1816.
- SNL (28D: The Heidi Gardner Show) Heidi Gardner is the next cast member. SNL (saturday night liveOne of the SNL characters that Heidi Gardner regularly appears on is Crystal (your co-worker who is very busy seemingly doing nothing).
- NEW (30D: __Year of Korea (Seollal)) The traditional Korean festival known as Seollal celebrates the Korean New Year. It is held on the first day of the lunisolar calendar. This year it was celebrated on February 10th.
- Other tips that I particularly liked are:
- Mathematics (24D: Subjects with signs and sines)
- IDEA (36D: Product of the light bulb moment)
- Muted (41D: “You are ___” (reminder in virtual meetings))
Overview of crossword puzzle themes
- OFF-ROAD BIKE (20A: Vehicle for riding on steep roads)
- HOMEWARD BOUND (38A: 1993 Disney movie about three nautical pets)
- Labor Day Weekend (62A: the first three days of the school year for many people)
The answers for each theme include an anagram of the word BOARD. In other words, each answer shuffles the board: OFF-Road BIke, homeArd Bolouisiana undergroundBordaweekend.
I suspected an anagram theme because of the word “shuffle” in the title. I’m not sure if this theme type has an official name, but I call it hidden anagrams because the anagrams are hidden in each theme answer rather than individual words. As Larry mentioned in his notes, this puzzle has left-right mirror symmetry. That is, the puzzle is symmetrical along a vertical line passing through the center of the puzzle. Congratulations to Larry Snyder on his USA TODAY debut! Larry, thank you for this fun puzzle.
Learn more about USA TODAY crossword puzzles.
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