Chainkeen Exchange-Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Green Initiatives

There are Chainkeen Exchangespoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Green Initiatives

Constructor: Chandi Deitmer

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• RIVER (51D: The Loire, for one) The Loire is the longest RIVER in France. One of the (many) things I enjoy about solving crosswords is the nudge to brush up on my geography, which is not one of my strong suits.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• BORIS (26A: ___ and Natasha (Bullwinkle foes)) The animated TV series commonly known as Rocky and Bullwinkle (full name The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends) originally aired from 1959 to 1964. The show featured the adventures of two anthropomorphic animals – Rocket J. "Rocky" Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose. The main antagonists on the show were spies named BORIS Badenov and Natasha Fatale.
• MIA (30A: "In the Country" author Alvar) MIA Alvar's debut book, In the Country, was published in 2015. The book is a collection of nine short stories about people of the Filipino diaspora. MIA Alvar was awarded a PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize (an award that recognizes fiction writers whose debut work suggests great promise) for In the Country.
• EGOT (36A: Four-award feat that Robert Lopez has achieved twice) As you may remember from the EGOT-themed puzzle we saw a few days ago, EGOT is an acronym for EMMY, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards, and is used as a designation for people who have won all four of these honors. Robert Lopez is, so far, the only double EGOT winner, an accomplishment he achieved in 2018 when he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song (for "Remember Me" from Coco. In total, Robert Lopez has won two Academy Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Tony Awards. It looks like a triple EGOT could be in his future.
• PESO (43A: Filipino currency) The Philippines is one of eight countries that currently use the PESO as their currency. The other seven countries that use the PESO are Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Uruguay. However, the currencies are not interchangeable, as each country has its own PESO. 
• SPAR (48A: Practice in a dojang, maybe) A dojang is a training hall for Korean martial arts. Its meaning is similar to the Japanese word dojo.
• LAP (54A: Place for a kitty who's "helping" with crossword construction) It will likely come as no surprise that this is my favorite clue in this puzzle. Sometimes when my cat, Willow, jumps up on my LAP to help me with crossword construction (or writing "Off the Grid) I let her distract me and we take selfies instead.

• LOLCAT (1D: Feline who might want a "cheezburger") A LOLCAT is essentially a cat meme, and the term is particularly used to refer to cat images that feature intentionally grammatically incorrect text. A classic example of a LOLCAT is an image Eric Nakagawa posted in 2007 of a gray cat that appeared to be smiling with the caption, "I can HAS cheezburger?" Willow and I enjoyed this clue.
• MAV (3D: Dallas NBA player) The Dallas Mavericks, or Mavs, are an NBA team. Since the clue references a single player, the answer is MAV.
• ALTER EGO (9D: Stefan Urquelle, for Steve Urkel) Steve Urkel, played by Jaleel White, is a character from the TV series, Family Matters. Urkel is characterized as a nerd who is kind and well-meaning, but a bungling meddler. In the "Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool" episode of the show that aired in season five, Steve Urkel creates an ALTER EGO by using a serum that suppresses his "nerd genes" and brings out his "cool genes." Steve Urkel's ALTER EGO, Stefan Urquelle, appeared in another episode in season five, "Stefan Returns," and in the season seven finale, "Send in the Clones."
• POG (11D: 90's toy flipped by a slammer) A POG (also called a milk cap) is a flat circular cardboard disk used to play a game. The name POG is derived from a brand of juice made from passionfruit, orange, and guava. At one time, the juice was sold in bottles with cardboard lids, which were collected and used to play the game. In the 1990s, sets of POGs were sold. The disks had designs on one or both sides. The POGs are stacked and players take turns dropping a heavier object – the slammer – onto the stack to disrupt the POGs. The player keeps any POGs that have flipped over.
• DOS (35D: "Por que no los ___?") "Por que no los DOS?" "Why not both?" This phrase, featured in memes, became popular following a 2011 Old El Paso commercial.
• DYE (40D: Batiking need) Batik is an art form that originated in Indonesia. A design is blocked out by applying hot wax to fabric before DYE is applied. The parts of the fabric covered with wax will remain the original color. This process can be repeated multiple times to create elaborate designs. After the final DYE application, the wax is removed. When I was in the seventh grade, we did a batik project in art class. It was one of my favorite projects, and somewhere I still have a piece of fabric with a tiger design on it made using batik.
• PRAGUE (43D: European capital with a Jewish Quarter) PRAGUE is the capital of the Czech Republic, and the country's largest city. The Jewish Quarter in PRAGUE, also known as Josefov, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. Jews first settled in PRAGUE in the ninth century, and at first lived in various areas of the city. In the 13th century, Jews were ordered to move to a certain area of the city, which became the Jewish Quarter.
• ART (59D: "Life beats down and crushes the soul and ___ reminds you that you have one") "Life beats down and crushes the soul and ART reminds you that you have one," is a quote attributed to actor and teacher Stella Adler (1901-1992). This is a lovely sentiment, and I enjoyed its use to add interest to the clue for ART, a three-letter word that we see in crosswords on a regular basis.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
  • ODOR (5A: Trademark of a dumpster or gym shoes)
  • MAAM (24A: "Yes, ___" (response to VPOTUS)
  • ETS (47A: UFO drivers, presumably)
  • SO LIKE (44D: Words used to set up a story)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• OLIVE BRANCH (15A: Symbolic peace offering)
• MINT CONDITION (37A: Perfect shape, for collectibles)
• SAGE ADVICE (58A: Wise words of counsel)

GREEN INITIATIVES: Each theme answer begins with a shade of GREEN: OLIVE, MINT, and SAGE.

The word INITIATIVES in the title tipped me off to look for the theme at the beginning of the theme answers. Filling in OLIVE BRANCH confirmed my suspicion that the theme answers would feature shades of GREEN. It's a nice extra touch that all three of these shades of GREEN are also foods. Thank you, Chandi, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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