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Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Break the Silence

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Break the Silence

Constructor: Dob Olino

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• MAIL CHUTE (17A: Vertical passage for letters)
• MURDER, SHE WROTE (24A: Angela Lansbury mystery series)
• MEAT SUBSTITUTE (40A: Tofu or tempeh)
• MAIN ROUTE (53A: Major highway)

Each theme answer BREAKS THE SILENCE by breaking the word MUTE, such that part of the word appears at the beginning of the theme answer, and the rest of the word appears at the end: MAIL CHUTE, MURDER SHE WROTE, MEAT SUBSTITUTE, MAIN ROUTE.

Comments from Today's Crossword Constructor

Dob: This idea came to me during a work conference in which I had just been, you guessed it, on mute. This is my condemnation of conference calls in a way.

What I Learned from Today's Puzzle

• UDON (46D: Haikara ___ (noodle dish)) In Japanese cuisine, UDON are thick noodles made using wheat flour. They are served hot or cold, often as a soup with various toppings. Haikara UDON is a hot UDON noodle soup that is topped with pieces of fried tempura batter. Although I wasn't familiar with this particular dish, the "noodle" hint in the clue helped me get at the answer.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• SIPS (5A: Small tastes of lassi) Lassi is a yogurt-based drink that originated in the Punjab area of the Indian subcontinent. There are many varieties of lassi, including traditional lassi (with added salt), sweet lassi (flavored with sugar or fruit juice), mango lassi (with added mango pulp), and bhang lassi (infused with cannabis).
• MURDER, SHE WROTE (24A: Angela Lansbury mystery series)The TV series MURDER, SHE WROTE starring the fabulous Dame Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective, Jessica Fletcher, ran for 12 seasons on CBS, from 1984-1996. MURDER SHE WROTE is set in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, which seemed to have an exceptionally high MURDER rate.
• FEST (36A: Suffix for "snooze" or "Oktober") This clue is fun. Hopefully an OktoberFEST would not be a snoozeFEST.
• MEAT SUBSTITUTE (40A: Tofu or tempeh) Tofu and tempeh are soy products sometimes used as MEAT SUBSTITUTEs. Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans.
• HULA (43A: ___ kahiko (traditional Hawaiian dance)) There are two main types of the Hawaiian dance form, HULA: HULA kahiko and HULA 'auana. HULA kahiko is a traditional form of the dance, performed accompanied by chant and traditional Hawaiian instruments. HULA 'auana is a modern, less formal version of the dance, accompanied by song and instruments such as ukulele and guitar.
• FRUIT HAT (47A: Headpiece that might incorporate bananas) A FRUIT HAT is exactly what it sounds like, a HAT adorned with FRUIT. The FRUIT HAT is often associated with singer, dancer, and movie star Carmen Miranda (1909-1955) who wore exotic HATs that were frequently adorned with FRUIT. The Chiquita Banana logo featuring a woman wearing a FRUIT HAT was inspired by Carmen Miranda.
• FENDI (57A: High-end Italian fashion brand) The luxury fashion house FENDI is known for its fur and leather goods. The company was founded in Rome, Italy in 1925 by Adele and Edoardo FENDI.
• ODIE (3D: Drooling dog in "Garfield") The protagonist of the Garfield comic strips created by Jim Davis is, of course, the title character, an orange tabby cat that loves lasagna and hates Mondays. Garfield has been published in nationwide syndication since June 1978. ODIE, the dog with yellow fur and brown ears who's often depicted with his tongue hanging out, made his first appearance in August of that year. Every main character needs a loyal sidekick. I have a cat named Willow who is my sidekick and often helps me while I'm writing. Her idea of helping is to sit on my desk blocking my view of the computer monitor, to put her face in mine and meow demanding to be petted, or to lay on my lap draped over my arm requiring me to type carefully so I don't disturb her. In acknowledgement of her help, Willow and I have an agreement that anytime there's a cat reference in the puzzle, I will share a photo of her. Here's a photo of Willow looking at a comic featuring Garfield and ODIE.

• TV SHOWS (9D: "The Bear" and "Abbott Elementary") The Bear is a TV SHOW about a New York City chef who has returned to his hometown of Chicago to run his family's Italian beef sandwich shop. Jeremy Allen White stars as that chef, Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto. The TV SHOW Abbott Elementary is a mockumentary (a show that presents fictional events as if they were being filmed as a documentary) about a group of educators in the Philadelphia public school system. Abbott Elementary was created by Quinta Brunson, who also stars in the show as a second grade teacher.
• CREED (21D: "Rocky" spinoff starring Michael B. Jordan) Michael B. Jordan stars as Adonis "Donnie" CREED in the 2015 boxing movie, CREED. The character is the son of Apollo Creed, the boxer portrayed by Carl Weathers in Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), and Rocky IV (1985). Michael B. Jordan won several awards for his performance in Creed, including an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture. He reprised the role of Adonis CREED in the movies CREED II (2018) and CREED III (2023).
• MONAE (24D: "Make Me Feel" singer Janelle) "Make Me Feel" is a 2018 song from Janelle MONAE's album, Dirty Computer. "Make Me Feel" is the theme song for the animated TV sitcom Human Resources, a spinoff of the series Big Mouth.
• TASTE (29D: ___ of Chicago (annual food celebration)) TASTE of Chicago is a festival held in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois. This year's TASTE of Chicago will be September 6-8. Started in 1980, the festival – as the name suggests – is an opportunity to highlight Chicago's restaurants, but it also features music and rides. Combined with the mention of The Bear in the clue for TV SHOWS, today's puzzle has two mentions of Chicago. Can you guess where today's constructor lives? One of the joys of solving crosswords made by a variety of constructors is that each constructor brings their own voice to the puzzle by highlighting topics and places meaningful to them.
• HAMM (31D: Soccer legend Mia) Mia HAMM is a retired professional soccer player. She was a member of the U.S. women's national soccer team that won Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2004, and an Olympic silver medal in 2000. In 2013, Mia HAMM was the first woman inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame. (Remember that the sport the United States calls soccer is known as football in many parts of the world.)
• FOUR TOPS (36D: "Baby I Need Your Loving" quartet) "Baby I Need Your Loving" was released in 1964, and was the first hit for the Motown group the FOUR TOPS. Thank you, puzzle, for the fact that this song has now become my earworm. "Baby I need your lovin' / Got to have all your lovin'..."
• RITA (48D: EGOT winner Moreno) EGOT is an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards, and is used as a designation for people, like RITA Moreno, who have won all four of these honors. RITA Moreno achieved EGOT status in 1977, and was the third person to do so, following Richard Rogers (1962), and Helen Hayes (also in 1977). RITA Moreno won an Emmy Award in 1977 for The Muppet Show and in 1978 for The Rockford Files, a Grammy in 1972 for a recording of The Electric Company, an Oscar in 1962 for Westside Story, and a Tony in 1975 for The Ritz.
• HULU (49D: "Ramy" streaming service) Ramy is a TV SHOW that premiered on the streaming service HULU in 2019. Ramy Youssef co-created the series and portrays the title character, a millennial American Muslim.

"You're on MUTE." I imagine many of us have experienced either hearing these words and/or saying them. It's fun to see that experience developed into a theme with the word MUTE being broken by the theme answers. Congratulations to Dob Olino making a USA TODAY debut! I had the pleasure of working with Dob last year at Lil AVC X, the midi division of the indie crossword organization, AVCX, and I am thrilled to see his byline on today's puzzle. Thank you, Dob, for this delightful puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY's Crossword Puzzles

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