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- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, Independence Day: Resurgence</p>
<p>Sally Hoelscher, USA TODAYJuly 5, 2025 at 6:00 AM</p>
<p>There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Independence Day: Resurgence</p>
<p>Constructor: Kate Chin Park</p>
<p>Editor: Amanda Rafkin</p>
<p>July 5, 2025What I Learned from Today's Puzzle -</p>
<p>TWO (25A: Number of MVP awards for Steph Curry) I am giving myself points for at least knowing who Steph Curry is! Steph Curry plays basketball for NBA's Golden State Warriors. The Warriors were NBA champions in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022. He has been named NBA MVP (most valuable player) TWO times, in 2015 and 2016.</p>
<p>IPAS (61A: Beers with West Coast varieties) The word "beers" in the clue allowed me to correctly guess the answer. However, not being a beer drinker, I didn't realize there were different IPA varieties. IPAS (India pale ales) are hoppy beers that originated in the United Kingdom to be exported to India (thus the name). The interest in craft beer in the United States during the late 20th century led to a renewed interest in IPAS and the development of IPA subtypes. West Coast IPAS, also referred to as Classic IPAS, are considered the traditional American IPA style.</p>
<p>Random Thoughts & Interesting Things -</p>
<p>PEZ (6A: Dispenser candy) PEZ candy has been around since 1927. The first PEZ dispensers were similar in shape to a cigarette lighter, and dispensed mints marketed as an alternative to tobacco. It wasn't until 1955 that PEZ placed heads on the dispensers and began marketing them to children. Since that time, over 1500 different PEZ dispenser designs have been created. I don't know what it is about PEZ. I don't really like the candy, and it's a pain to get the candy into the dispensers (which are made of plastic – also not great), but I do have a soft spot for these silly candy dispensers.</p>
<p>INNIE (16A: Work persona, in "Severance") On the TV series Severance, workers at Lumon Industries agree to a "severance" procedure that separates work memories from non-work memories. After the procedure, there is a work persona, or INNIE, and a home persona, or outie.</p>
<p>DANCING ON MY OWN (19A: Robyn hit about being alone in the club) Robyn is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Her song "DANCING ON MY OWN," was a hit when it was released in 2010 and has since been covered by other artists and used in several TV shows, including RuPaul's Drag Race and Orange is the New Black. The song talks about DANCING alone while watching an ex dance with a new love. "I keep DANCING ON MY OWN."</p>
<p>NEST (23A: Stick-y home) This is a fun clue. Not a "sticky" home, as in glue, but a "stick-y" home, as in a NEST made of sticks.</p>
<p>ALOHA (29A: Word on a Hawaii license plate)The nice thing about this clue is that it's inferable even for solvers who might not have seen a Hawaii license plate recently.</p>
<p>CARL (32A: Cranky 78-year-old in "Up") Indeed, CARL, the 78-year-old character voiced by Ed Asner in Pixar's 2009 movie Up, is a tad cranky. He's a lovable curmudgeon though, and he does come around in the end. Up is a great movie.</p>
<p>LOSE YOU TO LOVE ME (36A: Selena Gomez hit about leaving a toxic relationship) The lyrics of Selena Gomez's 2019 song "LOSE YOU TO LOVE ME" focus on discovering one's true self. That's always a worthy message. "I needed to LOSE YOU TO find ME / This dancing was killing me softly..."</p>
<p>PESOS (41A: Money in Sinaloa) Sinaloa is one of Mexico's 31 states. It is located in northwest Mexico. The currency used in Mexico is PESOS.</p>
<p>SINCE U BEEN GONE (51A: Kelly Clarkson hit about triumphantly moving on) "SINCE U BEEN GONE" is a 2004 song from Kelly Clarkson's album, Breakaway. The song talks about moving on from a relationship. "But SINCE you've BEEN GONE / I can breathe for the first time / I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah / Thanks to you / Now I get what I want..."</p>
<p>EAR (62A: Triangular cat part) and FEET (47D: Padded cat parts) My cat, Willow, is a fan of the choice to clue EAR and FEET in reference to cats. I chose a photo that shows Willow's triangular EARs and her padded FEET.</p>
<p>Willow -</p>
<p>SUNNI (3D: Largest denomination of Islam) The two main branches of Islam are SUNNI Islam and Shia Islam. SUNNI is the largest Islam denomination, accounting for 87-90% of Muslims.</p>
<p>ERIC (4D: Comedian Andre) ERIC André is the creator, host, and co-writer of The ERIC Andre Show, which aired on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block from 2012-2023. He is known for his surreal comedy and shock humor.</p>
<p>STEINWAY (5D: High-end piano maker) STEINWAY (officially STEINWAY & Sons) was founded in New York City in 1853 by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (who was later known as Henry E. STEINWAY). As the company grew, an additional factory was opened in Hamburg, Germany. STEINWAY is known for its high quality, as well as its inventions in piano development.</p>
<p>NEO (20D: "The Matrix" role) In The Matrix movies - of which there have been four to date - Keanu Reeves portrays computer programmer Thomas Anderson, who operates as a hacker using the name NEO. The name NEO is an anagram of "one." In The Matrix, "The One" refers to a randomly selected human that carries a special code. I have never seen The Matrix, but I have learned this information from solving crosswords.</p>
<p>OSLO (31D: Setting for the Norwegian film "The Worst Person in the World") The 2021 movie The Worst Person in the World (in Norwegian, Verdens verste menneske) is the third film in director Eskil Vogt's OSLO trilogy. The movie is a romantic dramedy (a hybrid of comedy and drama). As the clue informs us, the movie is set in OSLO, Norway. The Worst Person in the World made The New York Times list of the 100 best movies of the 21st century.</p>
<p>ORC (43D: "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" speaker, in "The Two Towers") "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" is a line from the 2002 movie Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. It is spoken by an ORC, and the line has become infamous among the Lord of the Rings fandom, as fans say the ORC would have had no idea what a menu is.</p>
<p>IOWA (52D: Cedar Rapids' state) This clue hit close to home. Cedar Rapids is about 30 miles north of where I live, and it is the second largest city in IOWA, following the state's capital, Des Moines. However, this is IOWA, so our second largest city has a population of around 135,000 people. It would take 62 cities the size of Cedar Rapids to equal one New York City. The nickname of Cedar Rapids is the "City of Five Seasons," the "fifth season" being time to enjoy the other four. To Iowans, Cedar Rapids is also known as the "City of Five Smells." The smell of the city varies depending on the daily production at the Quaker plant.</p>
<p>A few other clues I especially enjoyed:</p>
<p>IRL (45A: Like face time, but not FaceTime (Abbr.))</p>
<p>PILOT (6D: Airplane's "driver")</p>
<p>THE THING IS (25D: "Okay, but listen...")</p>
<p>Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis -</p>
<p>DANCING ON MY OWN (19A: Robyn hit about being alone in the club)</p>
<p>LOSE YOU TO LOVE ME (36A: Selena Gomez hit about leaving a toxic relationship)</p>
<p>SINCE U BEEN GONE (51A: Kelly Clarkson hit about triumphantly moving on)</p>
<p>INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE: Each theme answer is the title of a song that is about a woman becoming independent after the breakup of a relationship.</p>
<p>One of the theme answers in yesterday's puzzle, which was titled "Independence Day," referenced the 1996 movie Independence Day. There is a 2016 sequel to that movie titled Independence Day: Resurgence. The title of today's puzzle cleverly uses the sequel's title to indicate that, like yesterday's puzzle, the theme of today's puzzle is "Independence Day" – it's a sequel of a sort. I really enjoyed the approach to this theme. What a great trio of songs represented here. Thank you, Kate, for this excellent puzzle.</p>
<p>For more on USA TODAY's Crossword Puzzles -</p>
<p>USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles</p>
<p>Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers</p>
<p>This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for July 5, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher</p>
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