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

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! The Right Thing

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• LYON (14A: French city with more than 500 secret passageways) LYON is the second largest city in France, following Paris, the country's capital. LYON is located at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. The secret covered passageways in LYON are known as traboules, a word derived from a Latin word meaning "to cross." Some of the traboules in LYON date back to the fourth century. There's a lot of history associated with these passageways. In the early 1800s, silk workers in LYON used the traboules to transport fabrics safely across the city, while avoiding rain and dirt. During the Canut revolts of the 1830s and 1840s, exploited silk workers used the passageways to sneak into the city center. Later, during World War II, the traboules of LYON were used by the French Resistance to evade Nazis and avoid capture. Today, most of the traboules are used by private residents and only about 80 of the passageways are open to the public.
• CLE (24A: Rockers' city (Abbr.)) When I read the clue, I had a hunch this was a sports thing. Although I've learned a lot about sports from crossword puzzles, and am familiar with many more team names than I used to be, I didn't know about the Cleveland (CLE) Rockers. The Cleveland Rockers were established in 1997 as one of the first eight teams in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team got its name from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, also located in Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately, the team folded after the 2003 season and is no longer in existence.
• POEM (12D: "Snow and Dirty Rain," e.g.) Richard Siken is a poet, painter, and filmmaker. "Snow and Dirty Rain" is a POEM from his 2005 poetry collection, Crush.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• MILAN (1A: Fashion capital of Italy) Milan is the second-largest city in Italy, following Rome, the country's capital. (Apparently it's a good day to highlight the second largest cities of countries – see LYON.) As the clue informs us, MILAN is considered the fashion capital of Italy. The city hosts MILAN Fashion Week twice a year, and its fashion quadrangle – the quadrilateral della moda – is home to numerous boutiques and retail stores and is one of fashion's most influential neighborhoods.
• MINE (18A: "You are the best thing that's ever been ___") and TAY (28A: Nickname for singer Swift) "You are the best thing that's ever been MINE" is a line from Taylor (aka TAY) Swift's 2010 song "MINE." I appreciate the use of the lyric here rather than just the song title, as it makes the answer more easily inferable for solvers who might not be familiar with all things Taylor Swift. The best crosswords (in my opinion) are those in which the constructor's voice and personality shine through in the entries and clues. Amanda includes Taylor Swift references in her puzzles on a regular basis, and that always makes me smile.
• ADHD (23A: Condition with an "inattentive" type) ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition whose symptoms may include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Three types of ADHD are predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and a combined presentation of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive.
• ROM (34A: ___-com ("Imagine Me & You" genre)) Imagine Me & You is a ROM-com about a relationship between two women who meet on the day one of the women is getting married (to a man). Lena Headey and Piper Perabo star in this 2005 movie.
• THA (43A: Theresa ___ S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D.) Theresa THA S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. is a spoken word poet, singer, and songwriter. I learned about her from the November 15, 2022 puzzle. As I did when I first wrote about her, I recommend you take three minutes and watch Theresa THA S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. perform her poem, "You So Black." The poem has been turned into a picture book, and you can also watch Theresa THA S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. read her book.
• EURO (60A: Currency in Belgium) Belgium is a country in Northwestern Europe. Its capital is Brussels. Belgium is one of the 20 member states of the European Union that use the EURO as currency.
• LEAH (3D: Chase dubbed the "Queen of Creole Cuisine") LEAH Chase (1923-2019) was a chef based in New Orleans. In 2018, the restaurant LEAH and her husband founded was named one of the 40 most important restaurants of the last 40 years by Food & Wine magazine. The restaurant, named Dooky Chase for her husband, was a gathering place for Civil Rights Movement participants in the 1960s, and was known as a gallery due to its extensive collection of art by Black artists. After Dooky Chase was flooded by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the restaurant community of New Orleans held a benefit to raise funds for LEAH Chase, who was 82 years old at the time.
• COCKATOO (7D: Crested parrot) There are roughly 410 species of birds classified as parrots. About 21 of those species are COCKATOOs. They are recognizable by their prominent crests, feathers on the back of their head that are often colorful. With the exception of their crests, COCKATOOs are generally white, grey, or black, and less colorful than other parrots. Scientists have discovered that COCKATOOs can learn new behaviors from watching each other. In New South Wales, after COCKATOOs in some neighborhoods learned to open trash bins to gain access to the contents, the behavior quickly spread to birds in other neighborhoods.
• ANNE (11D: "Eileen" actress Hathaway) Eileen is a 2023 movie based on Ottessa Moshfegh's 2015 book of the same name. The psychological thriller takes place in Massachusetts in the 1960s, and follows the relationship between two women who work at a juvenile detention facility. Thomasin McKenzie portrays Eileen, who is a secretary at the facility. ANNE Hathaway portrays Rebecca, a psychologist who joins the staff at the corrections facility.
• LIONS (25D: Big cats with manes) My not-so-big cat, Willow, is always happy to see her big cat cousins, the LIONS, mentioned in the puzzle. The other day, my husband and I noticed that Willow had positioned herself in the corner. Perhaps she felt the need for a time-out.

• ERNIE (26D: Muppet with a striped shirt) ERNIE is, of course, half of the classic Sesame Street Muppet duo, Bert and ERNIE. Both ERNIE and Bert wear striped shirts. ERNIE's shirt has horizontal stripes, and Bert's shirt has vertical stripes. It's nice that Bert and ERNIE's names are of different lengths, so we knew which Muppet was the answer here.
• P-TOWN (46D: Cape Cod destination with an annual Women's Week, for short) The peninsula of Cape Cod extends into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeast corner of Massachusetts. Provincetown, also referred to as P-TOWN, is located at the extreme tip of the peninsula. P-TOWN is known for its beaches and tourist industry and for being a popular vacation spot for the LGBTQ+ community. Women's Week is an annual LGBTQ+ festival that has been held in P-TOWN in mid-October since 1984. The 2024 Women's Week Festival ended just a few days ago.
• ELMS (54D: Central Park trees) Central Park in New York City is home to approximately 1,200 American ELMS.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• HOT TICKET ITEM (19A: Product that flies off the shelves)
• MONEY IS NO OBJECT (36A: "I'll buy you whatever you want!")
• FEATURE ARTICLE (49A: Piece of writing that deep-dives into a topic)

THE RIGHT THING: The word on THE RIGHT side of each theme answer is a synonym for THING: ITEM, OBJECT, ARTICLE.

A fun set of theme answers today for this synonym-themed puzzle. I especially like the grid-spanning "MONEY IS NO OBJECT!" I also enjoyed learning about the secret passageways in LYON, France. Thank you, Amanda, for this delightful puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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