Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Play Your Cards Right

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Play Your Cards Right

Constructor: Noelle Griskey

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• ACTS (5A: Performs in "Oh, Mary!") The answer here was inferable, but the play Oh, Mary! is new to me. Oh, Mary! premiered off-Broadway and has been on Broadway since July of last year. The play is a comedic spoof of the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. According to the show's website, "Oh, Mary! is a dark comedy about a miserable, suffocated Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln's assassination." The play was written by Cole Escola, who also originated the role of Mary.
• JANE'S (55A: ___ Addiction (rock band)) The rock band Jane's Addiction formed in 1985 in Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of Eric Avery, Dave Navarro, and Stephen Perkins. The band was named in honor of Jane Bainter, who was a housemate of one of the founding members. Fun fact: The band's first farewell tour (guess it didn't stick...) in 1991 launched Lollapalooza, a music festival that now takes place in Chicago.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• TESSA (19A: "Selma" actress Thompson) The 2014 MOVIE, Selma, directed by Ava Duvernay, is a historical drama about the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. TESSA Thompson portrays Diane Nash, a Civil Rights activist who helped organize the Freedom Rides.
• RIO (25A: City whose official song is "Cidade Maravilhosa") RIO de Janeiro, Brazil is one of the Southern Hemisphere's most visited cities. One of RIO de Janeiro's nicknames and its official song is "Cidade Maravilhosa," which translates to "Marvelous City." RIO de Janeiro hosts a Carnival each year for five days prior to Lent. The song was composed for the 1935 carnival.
• EAR (29A: Mr. Potato Head piece) This clue is a bit ambiguous. Is it "eye," or "arm," or "leg," or "hat?" Oh, it's EAR! So many three-letter Mr. Potato Head pieces. That's what crossing answers are for.
• SEVEN (34A: Square root of 49) and SIETE (68A: Seis mas uno) First of all, who put math in our word puzzle? (For the record, I enjoy math.) Secondly, it's fun to have both the English and Spanish words SEVEN and SIETE in the puzzle, and to have them each clued with an equation.
• LOKI (42A: Mischievous Norse god) In Norse mythology, the god LOKI is a shape shifter, sometimes appearing in the form of a salmon, a mare, or a fly. LOKI has made appearances in modern pop culture, including as a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (played by Tom Hiddleston), and in Rick Riordan's trilogy, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.
• FETA (53A: Spanakopita cheese)  Spanakopita is a spinach pie of Greek origin. A filling - traditionally spinach, eggs, FETA cheese, and onions - is layered in phyllo pastry. 
• FUNNY BUSINESS (57A: Shenanigans) This answer made me smile, because just yesterday we saw the answer DON'T GET ANY IDEAS clued as [No funny business], and we saw FUNNY BUSINESS as a theme answer (for a different theme) just three days ago.
• AMINO (61A: ___ acid (protein building block)) I have previously geeked out about AMINO acids. Always happy to see science in the crossword.
• SHASTA (1D: Soda brand named for a California peak) Mount SHASTA is located in the Cascade Mountain Range in northern California, Oregon, and Washington. Mount SHASTA, which is at the southern end of the Cascades, is its second-highest peak. (Mount Rainier is the highest peak in the Cascades.) SHASTA Beverages, which takes its name from Mount SHASTA, began as "The SHASTA Mineral Springs Company" in 1889. It didn't produce its first soft drink, ginger ale, until 1931. SHASTA currently produces 34 varieties of soda (or pop, depending on where you live).
• COUPON (2D: Discount document that might be clipped) My first thought when I read this was, "Do people still clip COUPONs?" And then I remembered I have some COUPONs hanging on my refrigerator, so I guess the answer is yes... Many COUPONs are digital these days, making the clipping part symbolic.
• PASTRAMI (11D: Brined and seasoned deli meat) PASTRAMI is a type of cured meat that originated from Romania. The preparation method was created as a way to preserve meat before refrigeration was invented.
• ETS (12D: Alf and Mork, e.g. (Abbr.)) Alf is  a TV sitcom that ran for four seasons from 1986 to 1990. The title character was an "alien life form" (aka an extraterrestrial, or ET) from the planet Melmac. Mork, one of the title characters on the sitcom Mork & Mindy (which also ran for four seasons, but from 1978-1982), was an ET from the planet Ork. Robin Williams (1951-2014) portrayed Mork in what turned out to be his breakthrough role.
• STEEL (21D: Material associated with Pittsburgh) Pittsburgh is the second-most populous city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia. One of Pittsburgh's nicknames is "the STEEL City," in recognition of its major role in the history of the U.S. STEEL industry.
• POE (22D: "The Force Awakens" pilot Dameron) POE Dameron is an X-wing fighter pilot for the Resistance. He was introduced in the 2015 movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. From 2016 to 2018, he was featured in his own comic book series: Star Wars: POE Dameron. Óscar Isaac played the role of POE Dameron in the movies. 
• OKAY FINE (38D: "Yeah, whatevs") This clue / answer pair has some Attitude with a capital A. (I like it!)
• EMOJI (41D: Face Blowing a Kiss, for example) 😘
• LOS (42D: The "L" of LACMA) The LOS Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is the largest art museum in the western United States. It is located in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of LOS Angeles, California, and is adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits. 
• REN (46D: Stimpy's sidekick) The REN & Stimpy Show is an animated TV series that originally aired from 1991-1996. REN is a chihuahua, and Stimpy is a Manx cat. I asked my cat, Willow – who is a calico, not a Manx – if she would like a chihuahua sidekick. She said no.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• SPONSORED POST (20A: Type of paid ad on social media)
• COLLEGE CREDIT (37A: University semester hour)
• FUNNY BUSINESS (57A: Shenanigans)

PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT: The word on the RIGHT side of each theme answer can be paired with the word CARD to form a new phrase: POST CARD, CREDIT CARD, and BUSINESS CARD.

From today's title, I expected the theme to be found on the RIGHT side of the theme answers, which it was. I appreciate that the words in the theme answers change meaning from the theme answers to the new phrases. For example, in SPONSORED POST, the word POST refers to a social media POST, but in POST CARD, the word POST refers to mail. That meaning change isn't a prerequisite for making a theme work, but it is especially satisfying when it does happen. Thank you, Noelle, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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