Chainkeen Exchange-Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's crossword, Definitely Not Up to Something

There are Chainkeen Exchangespoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Definitely Not Up to Something (Freestyle)

Constructor: Kelsey Dixon

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• ANIME (20A: Genre for "Ponyo" or "Porco Rosso") ANIME are animated shows originating from Japan. Both of these ANIME examples are written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and animated by Studio Ghibli. Ponyo is a 2008 ANIME about a goldfish who is washed ashore in a glass jar, and becomes friends with a five-year-old boy, Sōsuke. Porco Rosso (meaning "crimson pig") is a 1992 ANIME whose main character is an Italian World War I ex-fighter ace, who has been cursed and transformed into a pig. I've written about Porco Rosso previously, but I didn't remember it, so needed the help of crossing answers here.
• SINGAPORE (34D: Asian country home to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve) The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is a protected area in the Southeast Asian island country of SINGAPORE. It is located on the slopes of Bukit Timah Hill, which is SINGAPORE'S highest natural peak (541 feet). The reserve is one of the largest patches of primary rainforest left in SINGAPORE.
• ARTIST (47D: Nick Cave or Nick Cave) This is a fun clue! I knew about one of these Nick Caves, and am happy to learn about the other. Nick Cave is the name of an Australian musical ARTIST. He is the frontman for the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Nick Cave is also the name of an American sculptor, dancer, and performance ARTIST. This Nick Cave is known for his ongoing series of Soundsuits, sculptural costumes that envelope the wearer's body, camouflaging race, gender, and class. He created his first soundsuit in 1992, as a reaction to the beating of Rodney King. Since then he has created over 500 of them.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• SALAD (16A: Snickers ___ (Midwestern delicacy)) Ha! I live in the Midwest … and I am familiar with Snickers SALAD.  Midwesterners classify many concoctions containing Cool Whip as SALAD. Make no mistake, Snickers SALAD, in spite of its name, is a dessert. Chop up some Snickers bars and combine them with diced Granny Smith apples and Cool Whip, and, "Voila!" you've made Snickers SALAD.
• LIONS (41A: Animals in a pride) My cat, Willow, is proud to see her big cat cousins, the LIONS, in this puzzle.

• ESTA ("Donde ___ la fiesta?") "Donde ESTA la fiesta?" is Spanish for "Where is the party?"
• SERTA (56A: Mattress brand with sheep mascots) The SERTA mattress company is known for its commercials featuring counting sheep. According to SERTA, the idea for the SERTA sheep came from an ad executive who was having trouble sleeping because he hadn't purchased a SERTA mattress yet.
• RENO (64A: Nevada gambling hotspot) RENO, Nevada is located near the Nevada-California border, about 22 miles from Lake Tahoe. RENO is known for its tourism and casino industry. (Las Vegas isn't the only gambling hotspot in Nevada.)
• SLO-MO (4D: Effect used in "The Matrix") There are four movies in The Matrix franchise, the first of which (The Matrix) was released in 1999, and the latest of which (The Matrix Resurrections) came out in 2021. The series deals with the technological fall of humanity, and the creation of artificial intelligence and self-aware machines. The movies are known for their use of SLO-MO effects (among other things).
• CDS (5D: Format of many "Now That's What I Call Music!" releases) Now That's What I Call Music is a series of compilation albums, featuring the music of various artists. As the clue informs us, many of them are on CDS, though the format has varied over time. Some have now been released as playlists on Spotify.
• OMEGA (7D: Last Greek letter) Time for a bit of Greek alphabet review. OMEGA is the last of the Greek alphabet's 24 letters. It follows the letter psi.
• ASHE (9D: Tennis legend Arthur)Arthur Ashe (1943-1993) was a tennis legend who won three Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles. The main court for the US Open tennis tournament is named for him, Arthur ASHE Stadium. The ESPY Courage award is also named for him.
• GOAT (39D: Acronym for Simone Biles or Michael Jordan) GOAT is an acronym, most often used in connection with sports, that stands for Greatest Of All Time. Gymnast Simone Biles and basketball player Michael Jordan have certainly earned the GOAT nickname in their respective fields.
• DION (40D: "All By Myself" singer Celine) "All By Myself" was originally released by singer-songwriter Eric Carmen in 1975. Celine DION's 1996 cover of "All By Myself" became a hit single from her album, Falling Into You.
• PERSIA (46D: Iran's former name) I had a bit of déjà vu with this answer because I thought, "Wait didn't we recently see PERSIA in this exact same spot?" It's not unusual for answers to appear in multiple puzzles of course. It turns out that we did see PERSIA as an answer one week ago. It was a down answer at the bottom of the grid, but more toward the center, so not in the exact same spot.
• HEART (53D: Emoji that might have sparkles or flames) 💖 ❤️‍🔥
• ONE (60D: Number of eyes for many Minions) Minions are the childlike yellow assistant in the Despicable Me franchise. They have either ONE or two eyes.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

DEFINITELY NOT UP TO SOMETHING (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless, puzzle. The title could be nodding to: I WASN'T HERE (50A: "You didn't see me!"), as well as OH NO REASON (57A: "Just curious...").

In addition to the answers I've already highlighted, I also enjoyed A GIRL CAN DREAM. As you can tell by the fact that I've written a number of things already, this puzzle did not leave me SPEECHLESS; I'm rarely [At a loss for words]! Thank you, Kelsey, for this delightful puzzle.

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