SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center:Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, On Top of the World

There are SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Centerspoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! On Top of the World (Freestyle)

Constructor: Michael Teasdale

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• PGA (10A: Rory McIlroy's sports org.) Although Rory McIlroy's name seemed vaguely familiar, I admit that when I read "sports org.," I simply moved and let crossing answers fill in the letters. It's good to be aware of your weak areas. Rory McIlroy is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland. He plays in the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He has won four majors: the U.S. Open (2011), the PGA Championship (2012 and 2014), and the Open Championship (2014).
• BROS (14D: "Two ___, chillin' in a hot tub...") This clue is a reference to a Vine video posted by Anthony Padilla in 2016. The video clip shows two men in a hot tub (on opposite sides of the stairs), while a voice over sings, "Two BROS chillin' in a hot tub, five feet apart cuz they're not gay." The video went viral, and has become a meme.
• PECS (61D: Muscles worked by Svend presses) A Svend press is an exercise that involves holding weights in front of the chest, sandwiched between the palms of the hands. Fingers are forward, and the elbows are raised so the arms are parallel to the floor. The arms are then extended straight forward, and then returned to the starting position. This exercise works the PECS or chest muscles (the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor).

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• TEA (22A: Dianhong or pekoe) Dianhong is a high-end type of TEA grown in Yunnan Province, China. Pekoe is a term used in grading black TEA based on the size of the TEA leaves. The term "orange pekoe" is sometimes used as a generic term for black TEA (which, interestingly, is not orange in color or flavor).
• NALA (32A: Beyonce's role in 2019's "The Lion King") In Disney's 2019 photorealistic animated remake of its 1994 movie, The Lion King, Beyoncé voiced the role of NALA. The role of Simba is voiced by Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino, who I wrote about on Saturday). Disney is currently at work on another photorealistic animated Lion King movie. Mufasa: The Lion King, scheduled to be released in December of this year, is described as a prequel of The Lion King, focusing on Mufasa's formative years, but also includes scenes that happen after the first movie. Beyoncé will reprise her role as NALA. It was recently announced that Beyoncé's daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, will voice the role of Kiara, NALA and Simba's daughter, and Mufasa's granddaughter.
• UAE (34A: Country on the Persian Gulf, for short) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is located on the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Saudi Arabia and Oman and has coastline along the Persian Gulf. The capital of the UAE is Abu Dhabi, and its most populous city is Dubai.
• THE SEVEN SUMMITS (38A: Highest mountains on each continent, collectively) Reaching the heights of THE SEVEN SUMMITS is a goal for some mountaineers. There are several lists of THE SEVEN SUMMITS, which vary depending on how the borders of the continents are determined. One possible list of THE SEVEN SUMMITS is Mount Everest (Asia), Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Elbrus (Europe), Mount Vinson (Antarctica), and Mount Kosciuszko (Australia).
• MUY (56A: "___ bien!") The word "MUY" is Spanish for "very." The phrase "MUY bien!" means "very good!"
• MINESWEEPER (64A: Logic puzzle video game with flagged tiles) When playing MINESWEEPER, one begins with a grid of squares. The goal is to uncover all the squares (by selecting each one in turn) except for the ones containing mines. When a square is clicked on, a number is revealed indicating how many adjacent squares contain mines. Flags are used by a player to mark squares thought to contain a mine. If a mine-containing square is selected, the game ends. I find MINESWEEPER to be one of those games that's easy to play, but still interestingly tricky, especially as the playing field gets larger.
• MID (67A: Just so-so in slang) I learned this meaning of MID just a few weeks ago, and was able to confidently plonk it in here.
• PTO (69A: _aid _ime _ff) PTO here stands for Paid Time Off.
• ELON (5D: North Carolina college town) ELON, North Carolina is the home of ELON University, a private university founded in 1889.
• ORE (7D: ___-Ida (frozen food brand named after two states)) Here's a fun fact: the name "tater tot" is a registered trademark of the ORE-Ida company (though it's often used as a generic term). The ORE-Ida founders invented tater tots in 1953 as a way to deal with the slivers of potatoes leftover from making french fries.
• EL DORADO (40D: Fabled city of gold) EL DORADO, the fabled city of gold, is said to be located somewhere in the Americas. We saw EL DORADO in the puzzle about five weeks ago.
• GEMS (53D: "Uncut ___" (2019 thriller)) Uncut GEMS is a 2019 movie starring Adam Sandler as a jeweler in New York City who must retrieve a rare black opal to pay off his gambling debts.
• VAMP (58D: Play a looping musical passage) In music, a VAMP is a repeating section, which is often open to variation and improvisation. The word is also used as a verb, as it is here, to refer to playing such a looping musical passage.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless puzzle. The title, ON TOP OF THE WORLD, is a nod to THE SEVEN SUMMITS (38A: Highest mountains on each continent, collectively).

THE SEVEN SUMMITS is a great grid-spanning entry, and a highlight of this freestyle puzzle. I also enjoyed the answers GREENLIT, PASTRAMI, and SMOKESCREEN. AERIAL seems appropriate for ON TOP OF THE WORLD, and is particularly fun crossing AIR FORCE TWO. Congratulations to Michael Teasdale making a USA TODAY debut! Thank you, Michael, for this interesting puzzle.

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