SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center:Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Road Trip

There are SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Centerspoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Road Trip

Constructor: Sean Ziebarth

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor

Sean: Hello USA Today puzzlers! I'm thrilled to make my USA Today debut and I loved collaborating with Amanda and Jared as they pushed me to make this puzzle as fun as possible. This puzzle's theme goes back two years when I was brainstorming with my family on, wait for it.... , a road trip and I've been fiddling with it ever since. I tried hiding synonyms for road in phrases, like HURL AN EPITHET, then I used the names of different roads in phrases, like SMOOTH AS SILK, but I finally figured the simplest idea was the best. I hope this was a short and sweet road trip for you! I need to thank my wife and son in advance as we're about to embark on another road trip and they're going to have to listen to my crossword rantings for hours!

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• ATE (30A: Had some msemmen) Msemmen is a type of flatbread. It is a traditional dish from the Maghreb, a region in northwestern Africa that includes Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. To make msemmen, dough is folded into layers, flattened into a square, and cooked on a griddle.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• BOBA (1A: Drink with chewy pearls) BOBA, also known as BOBA tea, bubble tea, or pearl milk tea, is a tea drink (with or without milk) accompanied by chewy tapioca balls.
• NOVA (5A: Bossa ___ music) Bossa NOVA is a music style that developed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Bossa NOVA is a relaxed style of samba music, and also contains components of jazz and classical music.
• MAKOS (15A: Some mackerel sharks) MAKOS are a genus of sharks of which there are two living species, the longfin MAKO shark, and the more common shortfin MAKO shark. Several extinct species of MAKO shark have been identified from fossil evidence. MAKOS can swim at speeds up to 30 miles per hour.
• ROTI (17A: Tandoor bread) ROTI is a flatbread made with atta flour. A tandoor is a cylindrical oven made of clay or metal. ROTI is sometimes baked in a tandoor.
• OLLIE (37A: Skateboarding jump) An OLLIE is a skateboarding maneuver in which the rider and skateboard essentially leap into the air together.
• ANSEL (44A: Photographer/environmentalist Adams) ANSEL Adams (1902-1984) is known for his black-and-white landscape photos and his advocacy efforts for environmental conservation and for the National Parks. He was an active member of the Sierra Club and took photos of National Parks for the United States Department of the Interior. Yosemite National Park in California is one of the parks ANSEL Adams frequently photographed. It was while he was visiting Yosemite National Park when he was 14 years old that he received his first camera. One of my fond memories of a 2017 trip I took to Yosemite National Park is my husband (who is a photographer and a fan of ANSEL Adams' work) saying, "Just think, ANSEL Adams probably stood in this very spot!"
• SLAV (45A: Ukrainian or Pole) SLAVs are a group of people who speak any of the Slavic languages: Russian, Belarusian, Ukranian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, and Slovene. The Slavic people are the largest ethnographic-linguistic group in Europe.
• OMAR (46A: "The Takedown" actor Sy) The Takedown (2022) is a French movie distributed by Netflix. It is the sequel to the 2012 movie, On the Other Side of the Tracks. OMAR Sy and Laurent Lafitte star in both movies. OMAR Sy also plays Assane Diop, a professional thief who styles himself after the character of Arsène Lupin (from the Maurice Leblanc books), in the Netflix TV series, Lupin. 
• OPI (51A: Rust & Relaxation nail polish brand) OPI's Rust & Relaxation is a warm red shade of nail polish.
• AHS (52A: Scary TV show with a season titled "Cult") AHS here stands for American Horror Story, a TV series that first aired in 2011. AHS is an anthology TV series, meaning each season is a self-contained miniseries with a different set of characters and story lines. American Horror Story: Cult is the show's seventh season. It is set in a fictional suburb in Michigan, and centers on a cult that is terrorizing residents in the aftermath of the 2016 election.
• YOGI (55A: Ashtanga practitioner) Ashtanga is a classification of yoga as described by Patanjali, the author of Yoga Sutras. A YOGI is a practitioner of yoga.
• LIPA (64A: "Hallucinate" singer Dua) "Hallucinate" is a 2020 song by Dua LIPA, from her album, Future Nostalgia. The music video for "Hallucinate" is animated and features a cartoon version of Dua LIPA.
• AVEC (69A: Voulez-vous coucher ___ moi?") The French phrase, "Voulez-vous couchez AVEC moi?" is familiar to many folks that don't speak French because it is a repeated lyric in the song "Lady Marmalade." "Voulez-vous couchez AVEC moi?" means "Do you want to sleep with me?"
• IMPOSTOR (9D: ___ syndrome (self-doubting feeling)) My guess is that IMPOSTOR syndrome, that feeling of doubting one's abilities and being afraid you will be exposed as a fraud, is something most of us have experienced to some degree. Please don't tell me otherwise, as it would only exacerbate my own, always just under the surface, IMPOSTOR syndrome. Originally researched in high-achieving women, IMPOSTOR syndrome has been found to affect people of all genders. 
• DEA (22D: Operation Prevention org.) Operation Prevention is an educational initiative of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in partnership with Discovery Education. The program is aimed at educating people of all ages about avoiding substance misuse.
• ELMO (31D: Muppet who said, "Rocco's a rock!")  In case you're not up on Sesame Street dynamics, Rocco is Zoe's pet rock. In 2004, Sesame Street aired a clip (as part of Episode 4077, if you're into details) titled "ELMO feels he's treated unfairly by Rocco." The clip, which shows ELMO getting upset when Rocco gets a cookie ELMO wants, and shouting, "Rocco's a rock!" resurfaced on social media in 2022 and went viral. After the renewed attention, Sesame Street responded to let everyone know that ELMO and Zoe are still best buds. Even so, ELMO says, "ELMO doesn't want to talk about Rocco."
• HARPO (53D: ___ Productions (Oprah's company)) HARPO is Oprah spelled backwards. Oprah Winfrey founded HARPO Productions in 1986, and serves as CEO of the company.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• WAY AHEAD OF YOU (20A: "I've already thought about that")
• YOUR PLACE OR MINE (41A: "Where should we go canoodle?")
• BACKSTAGE PASS (60A: Credential that might allow a fan to meet a performer)

ROAD TRIP: Each theme answer contains a synonym of the word ROAD: WAY, PLACE, and PASS. The "ROAD" is going on a TRIP of sorts, appearing at the beginning of the first theme answer, inside the second theme answer, and at the end of the third theme answer.

This theme is more subtle than some of the themes we see in the USA Today crosswords. In fact, it took me a few moments after solving to figure out the theme. I don't mind that – it was a good mental workout. Congratulations to Sean Ziebarth making a USA Today debut! Thank you, Sean, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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