Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Torchbearers

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

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• ALOE (35A: Succulent used in Ayurveda) Ayurveda is a healing science that utilizes natural and holistic approaches to health. Ayurveda has been practiced for over 5,000 years, and has its roots in the Indian subcontinent. In Ayurveda, an emphasis is placed on maintaining balance of mind, body, and consciousness. ALOE has a long history of use within (and beyond) Ayurvedic medicine, and may be used to treat a variety of conditions.
• EMO POP (1D: New Found Glory genre) New Found Glory's music has been classified as EMO POP, alt rock, and POP punk. The band formed in 1997 in Florida. New Found Glory's most recent album is Make the Most of It (2023).

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• OCELOT (23A: Spotted wild cat) The OCELOT is a medium-sized wild cat with a spotted coat. The OCELOT's length is 21 to 39 inches, not counting its tail which can be 12 to 17 inches long. Ocelots weigh between 15 to 34 pounds. In comparison, domestic cats average 18 inches in body length (plus a 12 inch tail) and weigh 9 to 11 pounds (although there have been domestic cats that weighed up to 46 pounds!) Essentially, an OCELOT is a bit larger than a house cat. OCELOTs are native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. My cat, Willow, is a petite calico, so she's definitely smaller than an OCELOT. Here she is pretending she's a wildcat draped over a tree branch (the footboard of our bed).

• DOHA (24A: Biggest city in Qatar) DOHA is the capital of Qatar, as well as its biggest city. The country of Qatar occupies a peninsula with the Persian Gulf on one side, and the Gulf of Bahrain on the other. DOHA is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf.
• ORC (29A: Middle-earth monster) Middle-earth is the fantasy setting described in the J. R. R. Tolkien works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In Middle-earth, ORCs are humanoid monsters that are brutish and malevolent.
• FUN HOME (31A: Musical with the song "Changing My Major") FUN HOME is a 2013 musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir of the same name. "Changing My Major" is sung by Medium Alison, the 19-year-old version of the main character. Since PIT ORCHESTRA (20A: Group of musicians performing the score of a musical, often) is one of the theme answers today, it's nice to have a musical mentioned in the grid.
• SMILEY (33A: Happy-looking symbol that's often yellow) 😃
• GHOST ORCHID (53A: White flower named for the fact that it appears to float) The GHOST ORCHID is a species of ORCHID native to Florida, the Bahamas, and Cuba. The GHOST ORCHID is leafless and has a reduced stem. Its roots cling to the trunks of trees. The population of GHOST ORCHIDs has been affected by habitat changes and destruction, and the plant is classified as Critically Imperiled. It's estimated there are only 1,500 GHOST ORCHID plants remaining in Florida. The GHOST ORCHID is featured in Susan Orlean's 1998 non-fiction book, The ORCHID Thief.
• RAGA (60A: Framework in Indian classical music)  In classical Indian music, RAGA is a melodic framework used to create mood or atmosphere. A RAGA is derived from a scale, but is more specific. Each RAGA provides a framework within which a musician may improvise. The word "RAGA" comes from the Sanskrit word for "color" or "passion." 
• IRIS (63A: Eye part that contracts) The IRIS is the part of the eye that defines eye color. The IRIS also controls the size of the pupil. When the IRIS contracts, the size of the pupil decreases, letting in less light.
• ELECTRIC (5D: "You can't see it, it's ___! Boogie woogie woogie!") "You can't see it, it's ELECTRIC! Boogie woogie woogie!" is a line from the song "ELECTRIC Boogie" – also known as "ELECTRIC SLIDE." The most popular version of the song was a remix version by Marcia Griffith released in 1989.
• OUTRAN (9D: Defeated in a race) This is a nice bonus answer in this puzzle whose theme nods at the Olympics.
• ASIA (10D: Singapore's continent) Singapore is an island city-state (a country that exists completely within the borders of a single city) in Southeast ASIA. Singapore has a population of over 5 million people.
• ERA (12D: TTPD is Taylor Swift's latest one) TTPD stands for The Tortured Poets Department, the title of Taylor Swift's most recent album, which was released earlier this year. During her current tour, The ERAs Tour, each of Taylor Swift's albums is recognized as an ERA.
• HAHN (32D: "WandaVision" actress Kathryn) WandaVision is a 2021 TV miniseries featuring Marvel Comics characters Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). The series begins with events occurring three weeks after the action of the 2019 movie, Avengers: Endgame. Kathryn HAHN portrays Agatha Harkness, a witch masquerading as Wanda and Vision's neighbor, Agnes.
• RETRONYM (38D: "Landline," silent film," or "meatspace," e.g.) A RETRONYM is a new name for something that comes into use in order to differentiate it from something else that is newer and similar. For example, the term "landline" arose to refer to a telephone connection that uses wires, to distinguish it from a mobile telephone. Prior to the existence of movies with sound, a "silent film" was simply known as a film. It was only later that the term "silent film" was needed to differentiate these movies from movies with sound. The word "meatspace" arose to refer to events happening face-to-face, as opposed to occurring online in cyberspace.
• EPHRON (43D: Rom-com legend Nora) Nora EPHRON (1941-2012) wrote, directed, and/or produced so many of my favorite rom-coms. In addition to You've Got Mail (1998), there's When Harry Met Sally (1989), Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and Julie & Julia (2009).
• SAHARA (45D: It means "desert" in Arabic) The SAHARA is the world's largest hot desert. Extending over much of North Africa, the SAHARA covers parts of 11 countries: Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan, and Tunisia.
• MCRIB (52D: Golden Arches sandwich that debuted in Kansas City) It's fitting that the McDonald's barbecue-flavored pork sandwich – the MCRIB – debuted in Kansas City, Missouri, a city known for barbecue. Since its introduction in 1981, the MCRIB has made occasional appearances on the McDonald's menu. It is generally available in the fall at most McDonald's locations. If you're a fan of the MCRIB, you might be interested to know it's a permanent menu item at McDonald's in Germany and Luxembourg.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• PIT ORCHESTRA (20A: Group of musicians performing the score of a musical, often)
• APRICOT ORCHARD (36A: Certain fruit farm)
• GHOST ORCHID (53A: White flower named for the fact that it appears to float)

Each theme answer contains (or BEARS) the word TORCH: PIT ORCHESTRA, APRICOT ORCHARD, and GHOST ORCHID.

Today's theme is timely, since the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics will take place today in Paris, France. The Olympic TORCH relay began this year on April 16 in Olympia, Greece. There have been many TORCHBEARERS (over 11,000!) as the Olympic flame made its way to Paris. Thank you, Amanda, for this excellent, timely puzzle.

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