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

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

Constructors: Shannon Rapp & Will Eisenberg

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructors

Shannon & Will: The heart of collaborative puzzlemaking is the courage to ask "can this idea be a crossword?" The story of this puzzle – our 33rd published together, and each one before and after it – begins with one of us asking that question. We constantly bounce potential ideas back and forth, generating themes and wordplay that if we're lucky lead to a crossword. It's a perpetual, flowing conversation from which branches spawn into threads, some of which need months or years to marinate. We've been spending a lot of time lately riffing on music-related ideas, the results of which can be found here at USA Today and across the puzzleverse. One day, Will said "Radiohead-Headcold-Coldplay: is this a thing?" and Shannon started making a list of musical acts with cold-sounding names. Eventually when we realized that Cold Play could be the title of the puzzle and not one of the answers, we knew it would be a good fit for USA Today. Our apologies to The Decemberists who didn't quite fit here, but don't worry; we'll find a home for you somewhere else down the branch. Thanks so much for solving with us today. We both - and Sally! - will be at the Midwest Crossword Tournament in Chicago on October 5. We'd love to see you there! Seats for the in-person tournament are filling up quickly, so check it out and register today! There's also an online option for those who can't make it to Chicago.

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• ATONAL (44D: Like Berg's music) Alban Berg (1885-1935) was an Austrian composer known for his ATONAL and twelve-tone compositions. (Twelve-tone is a method of composition that gives all 12 notes of the chromatic scale equal importance.) Among Berg's most-known works are the operas Wozzeck and Lulu.
• BARONS (47D: Coronet-wearing noblemen) I'll be honest; I have difficulty keeping the ranks of the various noble titles straight. The five ranks of British nobility (all of which rank below the royalty) are Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and BARON. A coronet is a crown worn by one whose rank is below that of royalty. The design of the coronet generally signifies its wearer's rank.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• HISS (4A: Sound from a goose, cat, or snake) This is a fun clue. My cat, Willow, protests that she does not HISS. (She does. Particularly if another cat is allowed into our house.) The other day I found Willow atop a basket with her paws and head hanging over the edge. She looked so silly, and I think she might have fallen asleep in that position.

• ICE SPICE (17A: Rapper on the "Barbie" soundtrack) Rappers ICE SPICE and Nicki Minaj teamed up on the song, "Barbie World," which is included on the Barbie soundtrack. The band Aqua is also credited as performers and co-writers of the song.
• E-GIRLS (19A: Some teens embracing scene fashion) The E-GIRLS (and e-boys) aesthetic emerged in the late 2010s, and was popularized by TikTok. The look of this fashion subculture may include baggy clothes, neon-colored hair, nail polish, and decorative chains.
• MARS (20A: Planet explored by the Opportunity rover) It was just five days ago that we saw the MARS rover, Perseverance, mentioned in a clue for NASA. Unlike Perseverance, the MARS rover, Opportunity, is no longer active. Opportunity landed on MARS in 2004, and was active until 2019. Interestingly, Opportunity was active 57 times longer than NASA had planned; its original mission was planned for 90 days! Among other findings, Opportunity found evidence that at one time MARS had liquid water on it.
• AMOR (35A: Love, in telenovelas) Telenovelas are soap operas primarily produced in Latin America. Telenovelas differ from soap operas produced in the United States in that they generally tell one self-contained story over a series (a definitive length of time), rather than having several intertwined storylines that continue for an indefinite period. AMOR is the Spanish word for love.
• ARCTIC MONKEYS (37D: Band with the Grammy-nominated album "The Car") The ARCTIC MONKEYS are an English rock band composed of Alex Turner (lead singer), Matt Helders (drums), Jamie Cook (guitar), and Nick O'Malley (bass). The Car, released in 2022, was their seventh and most-recent studio album.
• ASL (44A: "A Quiet Place" language) The 2018 movie, A Quiet Place - starring Emily Blunt and John Krasinski - is a horror film that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by blind monsters with acute hearing. The characters in the movie use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate without making noise. 
• POE (49A: "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. Oscar Isaac played the role of POE Dameron in the movies. 
• TIME LOOP (55A: Plot device in "Groundhog Day" and "Russian Doll") Groundhog Day is a 1993 movie in which the main character – played by Bill Murray – is stuck in a TIME LOOP and has to relive February 2 repeatedly. Russian Doll is a TV series that aired from 2019-2022 in which the main character – played by Natasha Lyonne – is stuck in a TIME LOOP, and repeatedly dies and relives the same night.
• SNOW PATROL (60A: Rock group known for the song "Chasing Cars") SNOW PATROL is a Northern Irish-Scottish rock band currently composed of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (guitar, piano, keyboards, backing vocals). Their 2006 song, "Chasing Cars," is their biggest-selling single to date. This answer happens to be extremely timely, as SNOW PATROL's newest album, The Forest Is The Path, is being released today.
• IBIS (5D: Bird that forages in mud) The IBIS is a long-legged wading bird. It has a long bill that curves downward, which it uses to forage in the mud for food items.
• ING (9D: Gerund suffix) For those of us that haven't studied grammar for some time, a gerund is the -ING form of a word. In English, a gerund is derived from a verb, but functions as a noun, and can be a subject or object of a sentence. For example, the word solving is a gerund.
• TED (28D: "The Good Place" actor Danson) The Good Place (2016-2020) is a TV series about a heaven-like utopia where humans spend their afterlife. TED Danson portrays Michael, an afterlife "architect" who designs the Good Place neighborhood where the main characters of the show reside.
• ACME (35D: Agency seeking Carmen Sandiego) Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? is the name of the 1985 Broderbund video game which led to an entire series of video games, an educational children's quiz show, and several animated TV series. Carmen Sandiego is the nemesis of the ACME Detective Agency. She is the head of ACME's rival organization, V.I.L.E. Carmen Sandiego and her fellow crooks stole things such as The Nile River Delta, The Statue of Liberty's Torch, or Ghandi's Glasses. A knowledge of geography and an appreciation of punny humor were needed to thwart Carmen's plans. I'm always up for a Carmen Sandiego reference! I enjoyed playing these video games with my kids. And now I have the theme song for the quiz show (sung by Rockapella) as my earworm for the day.
• DNA (36D: Molecule edited by CRISPR) CRISPR is a genetic engineering technique that can be used to modify DNA. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier earned a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 for the development of the CRISPR technique. CRISPR stands for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats." I can understand why it's referred to as CRISPR.
• OSLO (40D: Holmenkollbakken city) Holmenkollen is a mountain and a neighborhood in OSLO, Norway. Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jumping hill that is a landmark of the neighborhood. Located underneath the ski jump is the Holmenkollen Ski Museum that includes an exhibition of 2,500 pairs of skis. The Holmenkollen Ski Festival began in 1892, and occurs annually in March. This is a lovely bonus entry for a puzzle titled "Cold Play."

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• ICE SPICE (17A: Rapper on the "Barbie" soundtrack)
• ARCTIC MONKEYS (37D: Band with the Grammy-nominated album "The Car")
• SNOW PATROL (60A: Rock group known for the song "Chasing Cars")

COLD PLAY: Each theme answer is a musical group whose name begins with a COLD-related word.

What a fun theme! I like that the theme answers are tied together in two ways – by starting with a COLD-related word, and by all being groups that PLAY music. It's an especially nice touch that the title is a nod to another musical group, the British rock band Coldplay. Thank you, Shannon and Will, for this excellent puzzle. Also, I want to echo Shannon and Will's invitation to check out the Midwest Crossword Tournament. I'd love to see you in Chicago!

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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