Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Use the Right Pronouns

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Use the Right Pronouns

Constructors: Rachel Fabi & Benjamin Panico

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor

Ben: I was so excited when Rachel offered me a collaboration for USA Today's Pride Month series. This puzzle is my USA Today debut, and my second overall publication: I can only wish to maintain a ratio of 50% queer-related puzzles. Rachel has been a great crossword mentor, and I love the opportunity to collab, to see where someone else goes and what we come up with together. 

While we struggled at first to find a theme set that worked, the singular 'they' being quite limiting, Rachel's suggestion of GAY ANTHEM was really the cherry on top that brought the whole set together. As a queer and trans constructor, I enjoyed finding ways to include LGBTQ artists, icons, and references to our community in this puzzle. I love that we managed to fit in two different drag queens and the iconic queer hero, Cinderella's Fairy GODMOTHER. Happy Pride, y'all!

Rachel: It was such a blast working with Ben on this puzzle! He's a rising star constructor with a great eye for themes and impeccable gridding skills. Happy Pride indeed!!!

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• YOUR (20A: "___ Heart Is an Empty Room) "YOUR Heart Is an Empty Room" is a song on the 2005 album Plans by Death Cab for Cutie.
• OOP (51A: "and I ___" (Jasmine Masters meme)) Jasmine Masters is a drag queen who competed on season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race, and season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. The viral meme "and I OOP," originated from a 2015 YouTube video. In the video, Jasmine Masters is ranting about friends who can't handle their liquor. About four and a half minutes into the rant, Jasmine suddenly exclaims, "and I OOP..." and freezes for a few seconds before going on to say, "Ahh, I just hit my balls..." Four years later, people began using the "and I OOP" moment as a meme; it became the most widely-used gif of 2019. Like so many things that go viral on the Internet, this one managed to miss my attention. It made me laugh today though!

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• OHIO (15A: Home to Cleveland's Detroit Shoreway) Cleveland is a city in northeastern OHIO situated on the shores of Lake Erie. Detroit-Shoreway is a Cleveland neighborhood located between Interstate 90 and Lake Erie.
• XENA (23A: TV's "Warrior Princess") XENA is the title character of the XENA: Warrior Princess franchise. Lucy Lawless played XENA on the TV series.
• USA TODAY (31A: Newspaper that this crossword is in) This is a fun self-referential answer.
• ADORE (43A: Drag queen Delano) ADORE Delano is a drag queen, singer-songwriter, and TV personality. ADORE Delano competed on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, placing in the final three. She also participated in season two of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, and appeared as a guest in the premiere of season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race. ADORE Delano has released three musical albums: Till Death Do Us Party (2014), After Party (2016) and Whatever (2017).
• SNL (58A: Show with Bowen Yang and Molly Kearney, for short) Bowen Yang and Molly Kearney are cast members on Saturday Night Live, (SNL, for short). As Advocate noted a couple of years ago, both Bowen Yang and Molly Kearney are part of SNL's "queer history." Bowen Yang was the show's first out gay Asian cast member, and Molly Kearney was the show's first out nonbinary featured player.
• GAY ANTHEM (64A: Song like "Y.M.C.A." or "It's Raining Men") Well, now these two GAY ANTHEMs are battling to be my earworm of the day! The Village People recorded "Y.M.C.A.," in 1978. "It's Raining Men" is a 1982 song by The Weather Girls. In 2022, Time Out included both of these songs on their list of "The 50 Best GAY Songs to Celebrate Pride All Year Long."
• EVER (69A: "Happier Than ___" (Billie Eilish song)) "Happier Than EVER" is the title track from Billie Eilish's second studio album released in 2021.
• LADY GAGA (3D: "Born This Way" singer) Speaking of GAY ANTHEMs ... LADY GAGA released her song, "Born This Way," in 2011. (Now this song is also a contender for today's earworm.) In 2012, LADY GAGA and her mother founded a non-profit organization named after this song. The Born This Way Foundation works to "empower and inspire young people to build a kinder, braver world that supports their mental wellness."
• HOT ROD (5D: Greased Lightnin' or Hell's Chariot, e.g.) Greased Lightnin' and Hell's Chariot are the names of two HOT RODs in the musical Grease. "Greased Lightnin'" is also one of the songs in Grease, sung by Danny and the T-Birds.
• AIR (9D: Breathe it in!) When a crossword clue features an exclamation mark, as this one does, it is an indication that the clue is to be taken literally. What is it that you breathe in? AIR, of course.
• MACAW (22D: Colorful parrot) The MACAW, known for its colorful plumage, is native to Central and South American rainforests. These birds are sometimes referred to as "winged rainbows." There are at least 17 species of MACAW, several of which are endangered or extinct.
• PSI (25D: Trident-shaped Greek letter) PSI is the 23rd of the Greek alphabet's 24 letters. PSI follows the letter chi, and precedes omega. The letter PSI (Ψ) is shaped like a trident, a three-pronged spear.
• MANHATTAN (29D: The Stonewall Inn's borough) The Stonewall Inn is a gay bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of MANHATTAN in New York City. The Stonewall Riots that occurred in response to a police raid on the Stonewall Inn on Saturday, June 28, 1969 were an important event in the fight for LGBTQ+ Rights in the United States.

• SOAPS (40D: Telenovelas) Telenovelas are SOAP operas produced primarily in Latin America.
• LOVATO (47D: "Sorry Not Sorry" singer Demi) Well, here's another option for today's earworm. "Sorry Not Sorry" is a 2017 song by Demi LOVATO.
• ANGER (53D: Red "Inside Out" character)  In Pixar's 2015 animated movie, Inside Out, the emotions of a young girl named Riley are depicted as colorful beings helping her navigate life. As this clue notes, ANGER is depicted as Red. Inside Out is one of my two all-time favorite animated movies. I highly recommend it. (Meet the Robinsons is my other favorite.) Given how much I enjoyed the first movie, I am looking forward to Inside Out 2, scheduled to be released in six days. I'm looking forward to making the acquaintance of some of Riley's new emotions, such as Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy, and Ennui
• NILE (57D: North-flowing African river) The longest river in Africa, the NILE passes through 11 countries as it flows north into the Mediterranean Sea.
• LAVA (59D: "The floor is ___") Did you ever play, "The floor is LAVA," when you were a kid, jumping on the furniture to avoid touching the floor? (Maybe you still play it – no judgment here!) In the summer of 2020, Netflix released a game show based on this concept called Floor is LAVA.  On the show, the floor was covered with 80,000 gallons of goop simulating LAVA. Winners of the game show received a trophy in the form of a LAVA lamp and $10,000.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• GODMOTHER (17A: Fairy ___ (Cinderella's guardian))
• ACTS ON A WHIM (39A: Behaves impulsively)
• GAY ANTHEM (64A: Song like "Y.M.C.A." or "It's Raining Men")

A PRONOUN is found at the RIGHT end of each theme answer: HER in GODMOTHER, HIM in ACTS ON A WHIM, and THEM in GAY ANTHEM.

I adore everything about this puzzle. It has a great theme that comes with a gentle reminder to USE THE RIGHT PRONOUNS. I enjoyed the fill and the clueing voice; so many things made me smile as I was solving this puzzle. Congratulations to Benjamin Panico making a USA TODAY debut! Thank you, Rachel and Ben, for this delightful puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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