Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, At First I Was Afraid

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! At First I Was Afraid

Constructor: Jake Halperin

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• RAPS (1A: Performs like Abigail Asante) Abigail Asante is a British RAP artist, dancer, and Internet personality.
• AMPM (15A: Convenience store chain open 24/7) The AMPM (stylized as ampm) chain of convenience stores is a subsidiary of BP. In the U.S., AMPM stores are often attached to an ARCO or BP gas station. There are no AMPM stores in Iowa, where I live. It's possible I've been in one while traveling, but I definitely found the "24/7" hint in the clue useful.
• MARNI (5D: Ghost singer Nixon) MARNI Nixon (1930-2016) was a ghost singer for lead actresses in several popular musical films. A ghost singer is one that provides the singing voice, but is not shown onscreen. MARNI Nixon provided the singing voice of Deborah Kerr in The King and I (1956), Natalie Wood in West Side Story (1961), and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (1964).
• ATARI (54D: Company that made the CX40 joystick) The ATARI CX40 joystick featured one button and an eight-directional joystick. It became popular in the 1980s, as it was relatively inexpensive and fairly reliable. I read that by 1983, one in every five homes in the U.S. had one. As you might guess, since this is in the "What I Learned..." section, my home was not one of those! The CX40 has generally been replaced by controllers with multiple buttons.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• MISO (5A: ___ soup (dish that often contains wakame)) Wakame is an edible seaweed, also known as "sea mustard." Having a subtly sweet, but distinctive flavor, wakame has been cultivated in Japan and Korea for centuries. It is often added to MISO soup.
• WNBA (16A: Sabrina Ionescu's org.) Sabrina Ionescu is a professional basketball player. She plays for WNBA's New York Liberty. She was selected by the New York Liberty as the first overall draft pick in the 2020 WNBA draft.
• APRIL (17A: Coachella month) The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, often referred to simply as Coachella, is an annual music and arts festival held in Indio, California. Indio is located just southwest of Joshua Tree National Park, I now know, as my husband and I drove by it earlier this year on our way to the park. Coachella, one of the largest music festivals in the U.S., is held on consecutive three-day weekends in APRIL.
• OLSEN (33A: "His Three Daughters" actress Elizabeth) His Three Daughters is a 2023 movie written and directed by Azazel Jacobs. Elizabeth OLSEN, Carrie Coon, and Natasha Lyonne star as the titular daughters, who are brought together as their father's health declines.
• PETRIFIED FOREST (39A: Place with fossilized trees) PETRIFIED FOREST National Park is located in northeastern Arizona in the United States. It is just one of the places around the world where fossilized trees have been discovered. PETRIFIED trees are a type of fossilized wood in which the tree has been replaced by stone.

• BEN (47A: Big ___ (famous clock tower)) Big BEN is located at the north end of the Palace of Westminster (also called the Houses of Parliament) in London, England. Big BEN is the nickname of the clock's bell, and is also used to refer to the clock tower itself.

• NERVOUS SYSTEM (57A: The spinal cord is part of it) In vertebrates (including humans), the spinal cord and the brain make up the central NERVOUS SYSTEM. The peripheral NERVOUS SYSTEM consists of nerves and ganglia in other parts of the body. Hooray for science in the crossword!
• ALANA (63A: Musician/actress Haim) Sisters ALANA, Danielle, and Este are the pop rock band Haim. As an actress, ALANA Haim starred in the 2021 movie Licorice Pizza.
• PARIS (3D: Tuileries Garden city) The Tuileries Garden is located between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in PARIS, France. The garden, which was created by Catherine de' Medici in 1564, is open to the public.
• TWEEN (9D: Ten-year-old, e.g.) The word TWEEN, a shortening of "between," has been used to refer to preteens (who are between being a child and a teenager) since the 1960s.
• PBS (11D: "Masterpiece" channel) Masterpiece, formerly known as Masterpiece Theatre, is a PBS TV series. It is known for presenting adaptations of novels and biographies. Series have included Downton Abbey, Sherlock, and The Forsyte Saga.
• ELK (14D: Deer with two ivory teeth) The teeth of ELK differ from the teeth of other deer in that ELK have upper canines. These canines are made of ivory, like the tusks of walruses and elephants.
• GUS (22D: Toula's dad in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding") Nia Vardalos starred as Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016), and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023). She also wrote the movies, and directed the most recent one. Toula's dad, Costas "GUS" Portokalos, is portrayed by Michael Constantine (1927-2021) in the first two movies. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is set after GUS's death, and sees the family traveling to Greece.
• GRAND SLAM (38D: Serena Williams' achievement) In tennis, the GRAND SLAM tournaments are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Tennis players winning all four tournaments in the same year are said to have achieved a GRAND SLAM. If a player wins all four championships consecutively, but not in the same calendar year, as Serena Williams did in 2002-2003, that is referred to as a non-calendar-year GRAND SLAM, or a Serena SLAM.
• AIR (46D: ___ sign (Libra, e.g.)) Each of the twelve astrological signs is associated with one of the four classical elements - Fire, Earth, AIR, and Water. The AIR signs are Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. (Side note: These four elements were the theme of the first puzzle I blogged about on June 9, 2020.)
• BTS (47D: "Go Go" K-pop band) The K-pop band BTS recorded the song "Go Go" for their 2017 EP Love Yourself: Her. BTS is the best-selling musical act in South Korean history. The group has currently paused their musical activities to allow the members to complete their 18 months of mandatory South Korean military service. Their reunion is planned for next year.
• OUTTA (51D: "___ This World" (Britney Spears song)) "OUTTA This World" is a bonus track on Britney Spears's fifth studio album, Blackout (2007). The song appeared on copies of the album sold by Target.
• AHA (61D: "I've had an epiphany!") I always enjoy seeing AHA in the puzzle, as I have had many "AHA!" moments while solving crosswords.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• CHICKEN FINGER (20A: Breaded poultry strip)
• PETRIFIED FOREST (39A: Place with fossilized trees)
• NERVOUS SYSTEM (57A: The spinal cord is part of it)

The FIRST word of each theme answer is a synonym for AFRAID: CHICKEN, PETRIFIED, and NERVOUS.

"AT FIRST I WAS AFRAID, I was PETRIFIED / Kept thinkin' I could never live without you by my side..." Oh, sorry, we're not actually discussing Gloria Gaynor's 1978 song "I Will Survive," even though it's been my earworm since I read the title of this puzzle! What a great title, and a fun theme for a crossword. Thank you, Jake, for this delightful puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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