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

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

Constructor: Jon Pennington

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• LINDA HAMILTON (36A: "Terminator: Dark Fate" actress) Terminator: Dark Fate was released in 2019, and is the sixth movie in the Terminator franchise. Terminator: Dark Fate is a direct sequel of the first two movies, The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). LINDA HAMILTON portrays Sarah Connor in Terminator: Dark Fate. It is a role she also plays in the first two movies. I'm always a bit hesitant to admit when I haven't seen popular movies and TV shows, but I've never seen any of the Terminator movies. I needed the help of crossing answers here to figure out LINDA HAMILTON's name.
• BELA (65A: Banjoist Fleck) I wrote about BÈLA Fleck in July, when we saw BANJO clued as [String instrument played by Bela Fleck and Steve Martin]. BÉLA Fleck is a member of the jazz fusion band BÉLA Fleck and the Flecktones. He has won 17 Grammy Awards.
• CEO (9D: Mpumi Madisa, for Bidvest Group) The Bidvest Group is a South African services and distribution company with headquarters in Johannesburg. Mpumi Madisa became the CEO of Bidvest Group in 2019. She is the first Black woman to be appointed CEO of a Johannesburg Stock Exchange top 40 company. I am always happy to learn about a woman CEO.
• LARRY (39D: Sly and the Family Stone bassist Graham) I am familiar with the music of the funk and psychedelic soul band Sly and the Family Stone. They were active from 1966 to 1983, and their songs include "Dance to the Music," and "Everyday People." I did not, however, remember the name of their bassist, LARRY Graham, without the help of crossing answers. That's okay. That is, after all, what crossing answers are for!
• TAMARA (40D: Powerlifter Walcott) TAMARA Walcott is a powerlifter. She holds a Guinness World Record for heaviest total weight moved by a woman in competition – 1,620.4 pounds across bench press, squat, and deadlift.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• CGI (9A: Action movie FX) The abbreviation FX (for special effects) in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation. CGI stands for computer-generated imagery. The first feature-length movie to make use of CGI was Westworld in 1973. 
• ODIE (13A: Jon Arbuckle's dog) In the Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis, Jon Arbuckle is Garfield's owner. Jon has another pet, of course; he's also the owner of ODIE.
• RED (25A: Color of Mushu in "Mulan") I wrote about Mushu just a few days ago, when he was mentioned – along with Smaug and Nidhogg – in a clue for DRAGONS. Mushu is a dragon in Disney's 1998 animated movie, Mulan. The RED dragon also appears in the 2004 sequel Mulan II.
• TACOS (40A: Food sometimes filled with carnitas) Carnitas is a dish in Mexican cuisine made by simmering pork for several hours, until it is tender and juicy. The pork is sometimes used as filling for TACOS.
• PAR (52A: Score that's one worse than a birdie) In golf, PAR is the expected score (number of strokes) for a proficient golfer on any given hole. A birdie is one stroke under PAR, which makes the score of PAR one worse than a birdie.
• PET BED (3D: Place for a dog or cat to sleep) Although we have occasionally purchased special PET BEDs, our PETs generally tend to prefer sleeping on our BEDs. This is certainly true of my cat, Willow.

• NINE (7D: Number of candles on a hanukkiah) A hanukkiah is a Hanukkah menorah, a candelabra that holds nine candles. The center candle is the shamash, which is used to light the other eight candles during the celebration of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
• LANDMASS (36D: Afro-Eurasia or Antarctica) A LANDMASS, by definition, is a large region of land that is all one piece, not broken up by oceans. Afro-Eurasia includes the continents of Africa, Europe and Asia, since these three continents form a single contiguous land connection.
• PLANET (47D: Arrakis or Naboo) Arrakis and Naboo are both fictional PLANETs. Arrakis is a PLANET in the Dune series of books by Frank Herbert (and the movies based on the books). Naboo is a PLANET in the Star Wars franchise.
• ADELE (53D: "Skyfall" singer) ADELE's song "Skyfall" is the theme song for the 2012 James Bond movie of the same name.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• ELBOW GREASE (19A: Strenuous physical effort)
• LINDA HAMILTON (36A: "Terminator: Dark Fate" actress)
• SCAREDY CATS (56A: Easily frightened folks)

SHOWSTOPPERS: The last word of each theme answer (the "STOPPER," in a way) is the name of a Broadway SHOW: GREASE, HAMILTON, and CATS.

I may not have seen any of the Terminator movies, but I have seen GREASE, HAMILTON, and CATS (some of them multiple times...)! As a fan of musicals, I enjoyed this theme. Thank you, Jon, for this entertaining puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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